When I was 12, my father died. A tough age for sure to not have a dad to hang out with, to show me approval, and to teach me how to be a man. So when someone talked to me about having God as my Father, I had mixed feelings. I longed for that, but I thought to myself, if He really cared about me, then why did He take my dad. I was afraid, afraid He wouldn't be there when I needed Him, that He wouldn’t want to bother with someone like me.
But I was wrong. He has shown me exactly how wrong again and again and again – through His Word, other people, and in those moments where we have sat together and connected through prayer.
Prayer is something God has used in my life to change things...to change me. God wants to shower us with His love – to pour grace upon grace over us. Prayer is one way to receive His amazing grace and be transformed in the process.
I have found that it is impossible to do life for God without doing life with God. And prayer is the ‘with’. It’s how we connect. Prayer is accessing, connecting, enjoying an authentic, personal relationship with our spiritual Father.
Prayers in some churches are often written and recited, reverent and lofty. For me, as a squirmy kid in the pew, prayer felt boring and meaningless in that context. I was given words to pray, but I didn’t know why I should pray or how to pray or who I was even praying to.
Research by the Barna Group has consistently found that by far the most common spiritual practice among Americans is prayer. People pray. People pray when a crisis hits, when they want something, or when they are thankful for all the good things on their plate or in their lives. Maybe it’s to impress others, please God, or out of a sense of duty, driven by guilt.
In Luke 11, we read that as Jesus finished praying, one of his disciples came to him and said, “Lord, teach us to pray.” Why? Because when Jesus prayed, stuff happened. People were healed, set free, and brought back to life. The disciples saw Jesus pray and they saw lives changed, including theirs. Prayer connects us to the presence, power, and plans of God.
Why follow Vision Sunday with 104 hours of non-stop prayer? Because it is impossible to do life for God without doing life with God. And prayer is the ‘with’. Prayer is jet fuel. Prayer is access to the one who has the power to move mountains and raise the dead. Prayer is the secret weapon against the powers of darkness, temptation, division, uncertainty, chaos, brokenness and sin. Prayer changes us by connecting us to the one who changes everything. And we need that – collectively and individually. We need more Jesus!
I love the idea that prayer is practicing the presence of God. In 1895, a monk by the name of Brother Lawrence wrote a little book by that title. He discovered the presence of God in the ordinary and mundane. Whether he was doing the dishes or making his bed, it doesn’t matter. God is always with us and available for us. Prayer provides unceasing access to God. That’s what it means to pray without ceasing, to practice the presence of God.
It has been said that there is no great movement of God that has ever occurred that does not begin with the fervent prayer of ordinary people.
Jonathan Edwards was a man who believed that. He was the catalyst for the first Great Awakening and was even impactful in the second Great Awakening. Even with Edwards’s deep abiding belief in God’s sovereignty, he called upon God’s people to act, because he believed God would listen to the promptings of His people.
Edwards wrote, “When God has something to accomplish for His church, it is with His will that there should precede it the extraordinary prayer of His people.”
I’m so grateful that the young adults of our church felt led to call us to prayer! It has given me a massive shot of encouragement and motivation! I’ll confess that the years have led to some skepticism on my part about the church’s response to invitations to pray. That was clear when I wondered aloud if we would even fill the time slots in the Prayer Room for 2 or 3 days. I’m so glad to be wrong. As of this morning, there are only 14 slots left!
I’m excited for Vision Sunday, excited to hang out with my Father in the Prayer Room next week, and I’m excited and expectant to see and experience all that God has planned for us this coming year!
Gracious God,
Teach us to pray.
Help us to believe in the power of prayer
and practice it like we mean it.
Empower us to be your partners here on earth.
Fill us with your Spirit
and use us according to your plan.
Change us and make us more like you.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen