Week 7 - To Pray
Being a Christian means To pray
WHAT WE DISCUSSED ON SUNDAY IN REDEMPTION YOUTH
Sunday we continued answering, “What does it mean to be a Christian?” by discussing the importance of prayer in a Christian’s life. To help us understand the importance of prayer, we considered what prayer is, why we should pray, and what prayer looks like. The following is a summary of our discussion.
What is prayer?
Question 38 of the New City Catechism answers this question, saying, “Prayer is pouring out our hearts to God in praise, petition, confession of sin, and thanksgiving.” While “pouring out our hearts to God” is certainly an important part of prayer, this simple definition misses a significant facet of prayer, namely: opening ourselves to God. Thus, a fuller definition is that prayer is both pouring ourselves out to God and opening ourselves to God.
The reason for this definition is that prayer always begins with opening ourselves to God, whether we know it or not. Those who think prayer is simply “pouring out our hearts to God,” forget (or perhaps take for granted) that prayer must always begin with an openness to God. For to truly pour out one’s heart to God, one must believe God is at the very least listening to their prayer. And this belief that God is listening is itself openness to God. For in opening ourselves to God we acknowledge through belief that God is present, active, listening, and moving in our midst, such that the words we speak will be heard and even acted upon by God, all of which requires openness to God.
However, when we allow ourselves to intentionally open ourselves to God, we are able to more fully participate in his presence, his acting, and his speaking. And in this participative opening—or rather from this opening—we are able to pour ourselves out to God with praise, petition, confession of sin, and thanksgiving, knowing that God is present and hears the cries of our heart.
Why should we pray?
As we open ourselves to God and pour ourselves out to him, we receive greater intimacy with and awe of God, which leads us to living more in step with his will for the world and our lives.
What does prayer look like?
Prayer takes many forms. The following is not an exhaustive list, rather it is a starting point from which we can pray.
- Prayer can be a conversation with God like a conversation you have with a friend (Psalm 23).
- Prayer can be listening to God (Psalm 62:1).
- Prayer can be reciting a passage of Scripture as if it is our own words (Acts 4:25-26, here the words of Psalm 2:1-2 are prayed).
- Prayer can be done alone in silence (Luke 5:15-16).
- Prayer can be done with others (Acts 1:14).
- Prayer can be sung (every Psalm, considering that the Psalms are the hymns of the Church).
- Prayer can be asking God for something (Psalm 126).
- Prayer can be thanking God for something (Psalm 32).
- Prayer can be confessing sin to God (Psalm 51).
- Prayer can be praising God for who he is (Psalm 29).
HOW TO CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION AT HOME
At the end of our discussion, we spent a few moments in guided prayer and meditation based on the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6—similar to the time of reflection and prayer we do at the end of most sermons. I encouraged the students to meditate like we did at group on their own at home. To do the prayer they need to be able to have a few minutes of alone time in their room, or somewhere isolated in their home, where they can light a candle and remain still (for at least five to ten minutes).
Encourage your kid(s) to find one day this week to pray in silence alone. Even better, while your kid(s) are doing this, take some time yourself to remove yourself from the busyness of life in order to open yourself before God and pour your heart out to him alone in silence. And once they have done this ask them what it was like and encourage them to do it again, regardless of whether they liked it or not—knowing that prayer is a learned activity, not dissimilar to learning a language (i.e., it takes time and practice!).
Beyond this, provide opportunities for your kid(s) to pray aloud. This can be done before a meal, before bed, before a road trip, or really any time throughout the day. If you pray regularly before your meals, invite your kid(s) to lead the prayer. Remember that you are their model for Christian discipleship. No other person will have a greater impact on their spiritual formation than you, their parent(s). In this way, they learn to pray from you.
One important note: prayer often takes forced discipline to begin and to learn, but prayer should never become a thing one must to do to earn God’s favor or to be a better Christian. No amount of prayer will ever make God or our Christian friends love us more. In fact, if we ever find ourselves praying simply to check a box in a long list of Christian-to-do’s, it would be better to not pray at all. Prayer is meant to provide us with greater intimacy and awe of God, so that we might live in step with him. And in this way, prayer is itself the goal, not a means to an end.