Prayer

Prayer. It is something that seems common among all the major "world religions." I find that fascinating - but if John Stott is right, it makes a lot of sense. When asked, in an interview, if he was worried about the future of the church, he responded by saying - all human beings are engaged in a quest for at least three things: transcendence, significance, and community. This isn't just a desire, every human being has the need to connect with the transcendent, to feel significant and to experience community. If the church is faithful to its calling it will meet all of these needs and will continue to reach a secular society. (I simply summarized Stott's response. He says it so much better. You can check out the article here.)

I believe that this need to connect with something beyond ourselves is innate - something common to every human being. As Augustine once said, "O Lord, you created us for yourself and our hearts are restless until we find rest in you." We were created with a need and desire to connect relationally with the Transcendent One. That is my very simple understanding of the ubiquity of prayer. However, the human practice of prayer doesn't necessarily mean that we are connecting relationally to the Triune God. Not every human practice achieves its intended goal. In this case there are many factors that might hinder us from a genuine encounter with the Living God.

The Scriptures have much to say about prayer. Paul instructs us to "pray continually" (1 Thessalonians 5:17) and to "be anxious about nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." (Philippians 4:6) There are so many other passages about prayer that we could list - but I'll get to the point because I'm beginning to ramble. I've been thinking about prayer lately and have a couple of questions: 1.) What are those factors that might hinder us from a genuine encounter with the Mystery? 2.) Based on your experience, do Christians pray enough and/or are our prayers genuine, passionate, meaningful and real? (I'm thinking of my own context in the United States.) I'm just wondering if we're actually facilitating this connection with the Transcendent Mystery. If we're not touching these human needs - people will look elsewhere. What are your thoughts? Until next time - Blessings in Christ ~ RLS