Hello,
Welcome to the Simple Not Shallow Podcast. This is the Coffee Side Chat series, coming to you from the hallowed halls of Mykitchen University. Where the kitchen table is the perfect place to sit, talk, laugh, and learn together.
In this episode, we are going to consider the questions: what is prayer, and why is it so important? Many have talked about prayer, going into depth on the hows and whys of it all. Two resources that I love are Dallas Willard’s book, Hearing God, and Andrew Murray’s The School of Prayer. The first is fairly recent, and the second fairly not, but both are excellent resources on this subject. And I did check; both are available on Amazon if you want to check them out.
So… what can a man, even one standing in these hallowed halls while chatting over a cup of coffee, contribute to the insights of such heavy hitters as these and other thoughtful scholars? I don’t know, but what better place to kick around an idea than at a kitchen counter over coffee?
Well, let’s look at this through our lens of what it means to be a Christian, and then let me know if anything was added or not. Our understanding of Christianity is this: it is a following of Jesus that involves a relationship that leads to studentship, that leads to a life lived from all that is learned. Not one or the other of these three, but all of them together.
What could this add to a discussion of prayer? First, it makes it possible to see that prayer is ultimately about building our relationship with God. It is how we communicate directly with God. And as you know, communication is of vital importance in growing a relationship, right?
I know, ‘Well, thank you, Captain Obvious.” Maybe so. But tell me this: how many times have you used prayer simply as a means to talk at God while asking him for things? Rather than as a way to just spend time with him, to simply seek to get to know him better.
Am I suggesting that we can’t ask God for things? Not at all. But if that is all you are doing, then you are not seeking a relationship, but rather, you are, and please pardon the crudeness, seeking a sugar daddy. There is no love there.
The second thing that our definition of Christianity brings to light is that prayer is for our sharing ourselves with God. “Sharing ourselves with God???” You ask. “But doesn’t God already know us completely? What on earth could be so important about our sharing something he already knows?” Relationships only grow as we share ourselves with another person. And this sharing builds the relationship in us as much as it does the other. For our trust is built in those with whom we share ourselves. It is not built in those from whom we only ask for things.
You may be saying, “Ok, ok, ok, now wait. If prayer is about communication, shouldn’t God be talking back? I haven’t ever heard him speak to me. Shouldn’t he be sharing himself with me?” Yes, communication is a two-way street. So, how does he communicate and share with us? Principally, the Bible. Reading the Bible is not just a religious act to learn a religious way of life. It is allowing God to speak to us, to share himself with us, through the Holy Spirit. It is the primary way he does this. Yes, we learn a way of life by reading it; that is a part of the studentship. But we gain so much more than mere lessons when we approach it as his part of the conversation.
One final note. Prayer is a vast topic. This is but an introduction, a foundation that more learning will build on. There are more depths to prayer than can be discussed in this short episode. Do check out the books I mentioned earlier and other sources you trust. Learn all you can about this marvelous privilege we have been given for building a relationship with God.
Well, until next time. Take it easy, take it slow, and may coffee into your cup always flow.