"Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, 'Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples'" (Luke 11:1, ESV).
The "Do-Si-Do" is a common call in square dancing, not that I've learned this from experience. You begin by standing still, then move around your partner, then wind up standing still where you started. The basic discipline of prayer is like this: it begins with a response to God, followed by a speech made to God, then ends where it begins by listening to the Lord.
First of all, prayer is essentially a response to the presence of God. When God became flesh and dwelt among His 12 disciples, Jesus' teachings and actions were conversation starters for Him and the Apostles. Christ would teach and his followers wanted to know what He meant. Christ would act and his followers would want to know why He did a certain thing, or how they could do it, too. In this case, Christ was praying, and the disciples responded by asking for a tutorial in prayer.
Prayer begins with God's initiative and is fueled by godly curiosity. God speaks, primarily through His word, the Holy Bible. We listen or read the word of God and respond with words of our own, usually questions, because we are curious as to the meaning of the text. When dancing through life, let God lead. He takes the initiative in every chapter in the book of your life. Often, however, His teaching is hard to understand or His providence hides a smiling face. That's when you need to go to Him, face to face, in prayer. Respond to His word, to His leading, with your best speech.
Secondly, prayer is a speech as modeled by Christ in Matthew 6 and Luke 11. We Protestants refer to it as "The Lord's Prayer." Our Catholic friends call it the "Pater Noster." Both of us misuse it often, with Protestants being too loose and Catholics too legalistic. While it can be and should be used verbatim in personal prayer and corporate worship, Jesus meant it as a teaching, a model, an outline to be fleshed out by His flesh and blood disciples in the discipline of prayer. We use His speech to write our own speech, our own prayer, to God.
Here are some principles for prayer, according to the Lord: Begin as a child talking to his or her Father and a subject addressing his or her King. Of course, to do so requires being a born-again child of God who has submitted to the Lordship of Christ.
Though God knows and hears everything, unbelievers cannot actually pray to a God they do not believe in nor a Lord they are in rebellion against. So, prayer begins by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone.
You and those you pray for have material and spiritual needs. Tell them specifically to God. Ask with a clean heart, especially clean from the sin of revenge or hatred. Ask not only for things, but for guidance, for God to put guardrails along your path to steer you away from bad choices and bring you to His more perfect will. We call upon the Lord to answer our prayers in such a way that our lives, and the lives of others, bring more glory to God.
Finally, prayer is always answered, if you train your ear to hear the Holy Spirit. Look closely at the conclusion of the passage in Luke 11:13, "How much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him."
The answer to the Spirit-filled Christian's prayer is the Holy Spirit living inside of him or her. The Holy Spirit is giving you the answer, whether you should stay or go, keep or give, this way or that way, yes or no. That's right, He is telling you the answer after you pray, you just have to Do-Si-Do. Listen to the word of God, pray with all your might, then listen to the Spirit of God.
Chuck DeVane is the pastor of Lake Hamilton Baptist Church. He is a graduate of Valdosta State University, Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He has served churches in Arkansas and Georgia, and preached the gospel across the USA and other countries. You can reach him at [email protected].
Religion on 04/14/2018