Prayer: our greatest untapped resource.

In the past two days I have had the privilege of hearing two different challenges on prayer.  What is interesting is that both asked some of the same questions and concluded the same things.

What is prayer?  Why don't we pray?  How can we learn to pray better?

As I think about prayer, I think the starting premise is always the issue.  How I view God will determine how I talk with Him.  These are my thoughts - not necessarily in any order, or extremely organized, but it is what I am learning.

God is my Master.  If I start with this view, my "conversations" with him will be designed to collect my instructions from Him.  It will be an aligning of my "will" or desires with His, because His is the only will that matters.  He has complete and full control of my life, so my "prayer" life will reflect the necessity of finding out what He wants me to do.  My time in prayer will need to be constant as my own desire to serve myself fights against this reality.  It will reflect a "fear" of displeasing the Master, but in keeping with the message of the Gospel, it will be balanced with the truth that God is pleased with His Son's righteousness that was given to me.  (Christ prayed this way in the garden.)


God is my Father. With this view I recognize the relationship that I have with Him, and I will be interested in honoring Him and giving Him glory.  I will realize that my interactions with Him are balanced with His desire for me and my need for Him.  The conversation could sound very informal and intimate, but at the same time will reflect a "fear" for who He is and the position He has in my life.  Sin, or my desire to do things my own way, will hinder the relationship, so it will be vital that I recognize these areas in my life as they hinder my relationship with Him.  This type of prayer is essential to deepen the longing to make His name great as I live my life, and therefore it will be essential that I pray regularly as my natural bent is to want to make my name great. (Christ prayed this way in John 17)


God is my Guide.  As I go through life, decisions are constant. From the big decisions of, "Where will I go to school?", "Who will I marry?", and "What will I do for a living?", to the day to day questions of, "What will I wear?", "What should I say to people?", "How will I represent Jesus well today?", decisions are constant.  If I recognize my own frailty to make poor decisions and to choose a path that exalts myself and my goals, I will understand my need for a Guide who can see the path more clearly, who knows the dangers and pitfalls, who will direct me in the path that is best, etc.  How often would I talk with the guide if I realize that destruction and calamity are all around me and it would only take a step or two in the wrong direction to bring this into my life?  Continuously!  I would want His instruction with every step I take.  (Jesus prayed this way in Luke 6:12 ff)


God is my Source of Strength.  Daily living requires a lot of strength.  Getting up in the morning, going to work, providing for the family, taking care of the home and various possessions...  The list can go on and on.  Physical strength is necessary, and if I realize it comes from God, I will go to Him to get some.  However, being a faithful and consistent disciple of Christ requires much more than physical energy.  It requires emotional stability, spiritual stamina, psychological perception, mental intelligence, more than we can muster.  As a matter of fact, the more confident we are in our abilities in these areas, the less likely we are to pursue the One who can give us what we really need.  Wisdom is available, but God has told us it must be asked for.  How often do I need wisdom?  More often than I realize.  How often should I ask for it?  Relentlessly!  To have the strength I need to walk after Christ, I need to be connected to the source of all strength. (Jesus prayed this way in Matthew 14:22-23)


God is my Transformer.  Change will not happen by chance.  If I want to be someone different than who I am, if I long to be more like Christ, I will have to come to the conclusion that it is something, or Someone, outside of myself that will make the appropriate changes.  In and of myself, the only changes I will make will be "cosmetic" and temporary changes.  To change the permanent, eternal parts of myself, it will take an eternally wise and powerful Source.  This realization will cause my interactions with God to be open about what I realize needs changing, but even more, a recognition that I don't even know what changes need to be made.  If, in my finite understanding, I can pursue all of the changes that need to be made, I have no real need for God (except to kind of "help me along" in my pursuit of excellence).  If I realize that His unending knowledge knows what changes need to be brought about in me, I will recognize that I need to align myself with Him to be able to understand what He is doing.  I will want to know what He is accomplishing in me to make me more like Him, and therefore would find myself frequently pursuing His instruction, His insight, His power for change.  I will be non-stop in my conversation with Him because I know the changes He is making in me will be for His glory and for my best. (David prayed this way in Psalm 139:23-24)

A teacher I had in high school had a bulletin board on his wall that I have never forgotten.  It had a barrel on it and it said "Prayer: our greatest untapped resource".  Why don't I pray as I ought?  I believe the reality is I don't see God as He really is, and when I do, I am not certain that if I "tapped" that resource I would be able to handle results.

God help me to know You as you are and to submit myself, my will, and my desires, to you in such a way that you can make me the man you want me to be for Your glory.  Help me to pursue you daily through your Word, and to constantly align myself with your Spirit through prayer.

What does it mean to "show grace"?

Fill a house with people, fallen sinners, and watch them jockey for position, seek to get their own desires filled, pursue their own justification, and struggle to come out on top, and watch the sparks fly.  The strong dominate, the weak are swallowed.  The tough mock the weak because they are too sensitive.  Those considered weak actually find themselves thinking that they are better than the "strong".  They all consider their areas of strength more significant than the abilities of the others. They consider their arguments, their logic, their thinking, even their talents and abilities as having higher purpose, value or position.

Enter GRACE. A recognizing that one's own needs and failures were not overlooked, but were seen clearly and completely by someone else, yet they were replaced by the holy perfection of the One who gave His life for you.  He did not simply ignore your faults, but rather saw them completely and thoroughly yet CHOSE to give His holy perfection to you to replace your poop stained, puke soaked, putrid excuse for an attempt at goodness.  Thats right, His perfection for our WORTHLESSNESS!

Reenter the house wearing the cloak of GRACE, viewing others through the eyes of that one who looked on you with love and not disgrace, realizing that apart from His gift you are the most unworthy person in the house, and all of the sudden something begins to happen.  Grace changes everything!  Not because people are behaving differently.  Not because the sparks are no longer flying and the chaos has stopped.  No, but your perceptions have changed, your goals have changed, you have changed.  And that is really all that matters.

Lord help me this day, and every day, to liive in the light of your grace to me that I might offer it freely to others for Your glory.