13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. -1 John 5:13-15

Prayer is a beautiful thing. It’s the two way conversation with God. The breath in our relationship with the Creator. A lifeline for help, support, and gratitude linked to the most powerful force in all the universe. Prayer changes things – the first and foremost being the one praying.

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It’s also true that prayer can be one of the most intimidating acts of spiritual disciple to maintain and live out…especially in public. I like to remind our St. Paul’s students of one of the first time I attempted to pray publicly. It was during Vacation Bible School and I had been nominated as prayer leader for the day. I had a sticker and everything so there was no backing out. My big prayer debut was to say a word of thanks and blessing over the snack time and those who helped to prepare it. Simple enough, right?

Jesus, thank you for these snacks and all who helped make them.

Give us a great rest of the day here at VBS.

Let us learn more about You as we listen to our teachers.

Any or all of the above would have done the trick and been ample opportunity for my teachers to nod and say, “amen!” But instead I froze. As we all bowed our heads, I chose instead to say, “Dear Jesus…” and then sat quietly for around 30-45 seconds (which seemed like an eternity in the realm of spiritual pregnant pauses). Maybe they’ll think it’s a silent prayer? Maybe if I don’t move or make a sound people will start getting up? Well, nobody moved. And as we sat in sheer awkwardness, one of my good friends lifted his head and gave me the “wrap it up” signal, twirling his index finger vigorously. So I said, “amen.” Dear Jesus…Amen. My first official public act of prayer!

Prayer Vs. Performance

It’s astounding the kind of pressure we place on ourselves when it comes to communicating with God. And it’s unnerving how quickly prayer can devolve into performance. I know I experienced it on that day of VBS. I know I’ve spoken prayers that have not come out as authentic as they were when they were centered in the cry of my heart.

Jesus said in His Sermon on the Mount that we shouldn’t pray like hypocrites. They love the outward recognition. They end up using many words with little heart and meaning. Jesus said to pray in private. To talk to our unseen Father who already knows what we need, but wants us to tell Him about it.

Sometimes I have to remind myself to talk as if God is the only one listening. Not that I don’t want to include and be unified in prayer with fellow believers, that’s huge. But when it comes to the recipient of my prayer, my Father is the only One allowed to occupy that space. Easier said than done. Yet when done, prayer becomes much, much easier my friends.

In the Loop

In Matthew chapter 5, Jesus made it clear- God already knows what we need before we ask Him. That means when we pray we are never telling God something He doesn’t already know. There are times it feels that way, yes; but it’s the truth. The great thing about God is His response is never, “I know, I know…and I’ve been meaning to get to that.” Instead He invites us to share our perspective of that particular pain, or triumph, or person, and then trust that His plan has long been set in motion.

What if we approached prayer more as asking God to keep us in the loop, as opposed to informing God of what we think He needs to do for us?

If God knows our needs and is the most active and powerful force at work in our lives and the world, maybe our prayers can have more of a “God, keep me in the loop as to what You’re doing” kind of posture. Now there is no doubt that prayer changes circumstances- Abraham’s plea to save Sodom is a great example of God being moved by prayer. But maybe that was God’s plan all along. Maybe Abraham was invited into being kept in the loop on how God was going to act.

Prayer is our chance to talk to God about what’s going on and ask Him to help us understand what He’s teaching us in those moments. In the Lord’s Prayer we say, “Thy kingdom come.” God’s kingdom is coming whether we like it or not, pray for it or not. We pray those words because we want to be kept in the loop! Let Your kingdom come to me, God! Help me not miss it…

None of us like to be out of the loop, to miss the memo and be the last to know. Your heavenly Father invites to to ask Him about what’s going on. He sent His Son to give up His life so that His Holy Spirit could enter our hearts and enable us to have this kind of communication.

So forget the fancy words: Tell Him how you’re doing; ask Him what’s going on. And pick it up where you left off.