PRAYING BY FORMULA?
Keep on praying and never lose heart. Luke 18:1, N.E.B.
Why do I have to keep praying the same thing over and over? Doesn't God hear me the first time? If I don't pray enough times, does that disqualify me from getting an answer? How many times is "enough"?
Have you ever had such thoughts, when prayer seems like an exercise in frustration? Do you feel guilty because, secretly, you feel manipulated by God? It seems as though He doesn't answer your prayer because He wants to keep you praying. What a way to develop a friendship!
Let me tell you right now that God doesn't need to utilize such methods to invent relationship. It would be like a mother who wanted to teach her young child that she could satisfy his hunger at dinnertime by allowing him to see her prepare a lovely meal. And as he cried to her to feed him, she kept it from him because she so enjoyed hearing him call to her!
Neither is there some divine formula whereby God's blessings are dispensed, such as Blessings = Prayer x Intensity -- Doubt. Though you may have heard the expression "the science of prayer," it does not refer to mathematics. It means, as Paul so aptly puts it, "Persevere in prayer, with mind awake and thankful heart" (Col. 4:2, N.E.B.).
Mind awake to what? To Whom you are praying! And let me suggest that prayer will take on a totally different meaning in our lives as we focus on the person of God rather than on His "treasure chest." Our text, "Keep on praying and never lose heart," is simply a reminder to keep focusing on our wonderful Father because He'll never let us down! In the parable of the importunate widow and the intransigent judge, Jesus was not teaching that we have to beg God day after day in order for Him to bless us! He was teaching just the opposite: God is not like that!
Our good God assures us to be comforted as we wait for an answer to our prayers. He assures us that He hears us and that He "is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or conceive, by the power which is at work among us" (Eph. 3:20, N.E.B.). Yes, He is "at work"--and is willing and able to do more for us than we think He'll do. We need never lose heart!
Keep on praying and never lose heart. Luke 18:1, N.E.B.
Why do I have to keep praying the same thing over and over? Doesn't God hear me the first time? If I don't pray enough times, does that disqualify me from getting an answer? How many times is "enough"?
Have you ever had such thoughts, when prayer seems like an exercise in frustration? Do you feel guilty because, secretly, you feel manipulated by God? It seems as though He doesn't answer your prayer because He wants to keep you praying. What a way to develop a friendship!
Let me tell you right now that God doesn't need to utilize such methods to invent relationship. It would be like a mother who wanted to teach her young child that she could satisfy his hunger at dinnertime by allowing him to see her prepare a lovely meal. And as he cried to her to feed him, she kept it from him because she so enjoyed hearing him call to her!
Neither is there some divine formula whereby God's blessings are dispensed, such as Blessings = Prayer x Intensity -- Doubt. Though you may have heard the expression "the science of prayer," it does not refer to mathematics. It means, as Paul so aptly puts it, "Persevere in prayer, with mind awake and thankful heart" (Col. 4:2, N.E.B.).
Mind awake to what? To Whom you are praying! And let me suggest that prayer will take on a totally different meaning in our lives as we focus on the person of God rather than on His "treasure chest." Our text, "Keep on praying and never lose heart," is simply a reminder to keep focusing on our wonderful Father because He'll never let us down! In the parable of the importunate widow and the intransigent judge, Jesus was not teaching that we have to beg God day after day in order for Him to bless us! He was teaching just the opposite: God is not like that!
Our good God assures us to be comforted as we wait for an answer to our prayers. He assures us that He hears us and that He "is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or conceive, by the power which is at work among us" (Eph. 3:20, N.E.B.). Yes, He is "at work"--and is willing and able to do more for us than we think He'll do. We need never lose heart!
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