Prayers

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May is an important month: not only is my birthday in May, but May 5th is the National Day of Prayer. May 15th is the Global Day of Prayer. I don’t know if my birth was an answer to prayer, but it sure does seem to be a month dedicated to prayer.

We have prayer walks, prayer circles, prayer initiatives, shelves of prayer-related books in stores, articles by medical professionals on the efficacy of prayer, etc. etc. Sure makes prayer sound complicated, doesn’t it? Almost like you need to have a degree in prayer or have a certain ritual to be effective!

Relax! I’m here to tell you that prayer isn’t that complicated! Think about it: the first prayer that God hears is the prayer of a repentant sinner. This is the equivalent of a newborn baby crying. What baby has great learning and sophistication? Same with a new believer. He may be proficient at mouthing “prayers” he learned in religion class, but he may not know how to pray real prayers.

What is a “real” prayer? How do I know if I’ve said it right or in the right place or at the right time or the right number of times? Fear not! God has the answer in His Word.

James 5:16 says, “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” No mention of time or place or quantity. Just the right character. It’s the RIGHTEOUS man whose prayer is heard. Check Proverbs 15:8, 29 and 28:9 for example. True, God does mention times (Daniel 6:10–13; Psalm 15:17) and places (Matthew 6:6), but these are not magic formulas. It’s the heart that counts.

Let’s say you have a child that is disobedient. How prone would you be to listen to his request for a new toy or a cookie? You would fix the relationship first. So it is with God. He is happy to listen when your hearts are in tune.

What is prayer, anyway? The bottom line is, prayer is talking to God. True, it’s asking, thanking, interceding, complaining, begging, seeking, explaining. But it’s all talking, just like you would talk to anyone else. If you don’t feel right talking to God like you would a friend or spouse, maybe you’d better examine how you talk to them! God doesn’t ask for fancy words or ancient vocabulary; He asks for the true thoughts and expressions of a righteous heart. There is no magic to when and where and how and with or without whom you pray; the key to powerful and effective prayer is YOUR heart.

Jesus told us what we shouldn’t do when we pray (Matthew 6:5–8). In that passage, he also told us that God already knows what we need before we pray. So, why bother? Same reason it’s uncomfortable to spend time with someone without talking to him or her. God wants communication and rapport, as we all do.

I practice what I call “Pray As You Go.” This simply means that I talk to God throughout the day as I think of it. When I hear a siren outside, I pray for the situation. When I read a prayer request, I ask God’s blessing. When I answer the phone, I ask God to control the conversation. The point is, God is all present all the time, and is listening all the time. He heard Jonah in the belly of the great fish, He heard Nehemiah in the face of King Artaxerxes, and He heard Jesus on the cross. When and where will He hear you?

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