How do you pray?

September 9, 2015 | Viewpoints | Volume 19 Issue 18
Phil Wagler |

“There are no atheists in foxholes.” So goes the maxim with roots in the Second World War.  Caught in a pinch, surrounded by stress and fear, most human beings turn to some higher power. In fact, one must rationalize away the desire to beseech the divine from deep holes.  

It follows, doesn’t it, that all human beings are given to pray. Under fire and feeling the heat, we don’t simply satisfy ourselves with belief systems. No, we begin to talk. “God, if you’re there…”, “God, I don’t know what to do…”, “God, deliver, save, or heal.” These soul-cries come surprisingly naturally, even for the unreligious.  

Prayers from foxholes, however, are kind of like being able to say a few words in another language. They are understood, even heartfelt—gracias, merci, tesekkurler—but thoroughly incomplete for real life, friendship and community. That’s not to say in the least that such praying doesn’t matter; of course it does. Let’s be honest, though, if that is the extent of your prayer life it’s really rather shallow—even if it is from a deep, dark, hole.  

Prayer is not so much a religious activity but a learned language. Jesus’ disciples observed such closeness and richness of conversation between him and the Father that they asked for some tutoring. He obliged deeply. The Lord’s Prayer is a gateway into the language of heaven, and it goes far beyond where much of our praying generally takes us.

Evaluate your life of prayer, or that of your church, by Jesus’ vocabulary of prayer. He teaches us: to engage a holy God with fatherly love and respect; to desire heaven and pray into being another kingdom within this present mess; to be given only what is needed, not wanted; to be led away from what would tempt us toward sin and a rejection of the Father’s will and thereby fall into the grip of the evil one. This is a tongue that requires practice, coaching, and consistent development.

We need to pray more than foxhole prayers. We need to pray without ceasing, conversationally with our Father in heaven, and with authority and expectation. This is what Jesus models and calls believers to. We need to pray for more than what is visible, but balance that with praying into what is invisible. Jesus’ instruction holds both in dynamic tension. Are we learning his language of prayer?

We pray thanksgiving for a meal, but do we pray to be freed from the infection of materialism which has fed our propensity to gorge? We pray for our children to be safe, find good jobs and be a blessing, but do we pray for them to know the redeeming power of Christ, to discover the will of God and to become selfless, generous, courageous disciples of Jesus?

 We pray for those who suffer physically and spiritually, but do we pray for the Lord to raise up workers for the harvest that is ripe in this generation? We pray for God to bless our choices and to hear the desires of our hearts, but do we pray for the longings of our hearts and our choices to be what he desires? We pray for our governments because we’re in an election, but do we pray for the light of Christ to bring forth justice and righteousness in our land? We pray for our churches and leaders, but do we pray for Christ to be revealed and proclaimed through us and for courage to be a people of the Good News, grounded in truth, and rich in good deeds?   

How do you pray?  I wonder: are we just uttering foxhole prayers or are we learning to converse in the language of heaven?

Phil Wagler is celebrating an ever-deepening capacity to pray.  He’s working on PFL—prayer as his first language (phil_wagler@yahoo.ca).

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Comments

Hi Phil,

Very timely post and helpful for me this morning.

Thanks.

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