Homo Religiosus
“Pray, then in this way:” Matthew 6:8
Pray – “Prayer is the deepest activity of the human spirit. It satisfies the universal human yearning for direct contact with the Divine. It is found in all religions in various forms, and corresponds to a religion’s understanding of God. If God is the end . . . then man is what his prayers are.”[1]
Isn’t it interesting that this quotation comes from an article about the Christian view of Hindu prayer? I would have thought the author would have focused on the utter folly of praying to Hindu gods. In fact, I’m not sure that praying to false gods is actually prayer at all. It has the outward appearance of prayer but it is idolatry. How can it still be called prayer? Is contact with the divine called prayer if the “divine” is nothing more than an idol? Would Isaiah or Jeremiah or Ezekiel consider uttering words before sticks and stones to be prayer? I doubt it. If prayer is the deepest longing to have contact with the divine, then we better be sure we are actually in communication with true divinity.
Of course, we don’t have to burn incense before brass statues in order to mistake idolatry for prayer. We can also pray to the wrong god when our understanding of God makes Him into something He isn’t. If we don’t know who God is, do we really pray when we utter words to Him or are we just blurting out expressions to some mental concept of a false god? It seems to me that the Scriptures require us to know who He is before we can really communicate with Him. That raises some questions about naïve faith. If we don’t expend effort to know God, can we really say that we pray to Him? Wouldn’t that be like saying that I talk with my wife but I never spend anytime with her? I might talk at my wife, but I certainly wouldn’t be talking with her. It makes you wonder how much of what we call prayer is really just talking at God rather than having a conversation with God. I suppose we could measure the depth of our real conversation with God by examining how much effort we put into knowing Him. We might discover that our supposed relationship is the equivalent of text messaging God while we are busy with something else. Maybe fifteen minutes of devotional time in the morning isn’t quite enough to enter into a real conversation called prayer.
Do you think that our struggles with prayer are actually a reflection of our lack of understanding of God’s character and actions? Do you suppose that reading His words and examining His interactions with men would improve our ability to communicate with Him? Would your conversations with your spouse or your children improve if you put more effort into being present in their lives, sharing in their point of view, listening to what they have to say? If you wanted to improve your prayer experience and God told you to listen more intently to those who surround you, would you realize that human interaction is the practice field for conversation with God?
Topical Index: prayer, conversation, Matthew 6:8, listen
[1] Sunand Sumithra, “A Christian View of Prayer and Spirituality in Hindu Thought,”
In light of the President’s lead in a national moment of silence this morning, Today’s Word is timely. Isa 58:4 reads, “Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with a wicked fist. Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice to be heard on high.” If I pray and I am not changed then what’s the point? Who am I praying to; whose steps am I walking in? Perhaps our nation’s character is reflective of the one we pray to; the god of culture, convenience, self-will, and justified greed. O God forgive me of my sin and the sin of my people.
To get a “running start..”- Matthew 6.8
“When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men.Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. (the “full” reward?- to be “seen” by men..)
“But you, when you pray, (Someone is assuming we will pray) -go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
This may seem rather elementary, but we cannot “see” G-d, He is invisible. Simple-yes, but never forget either- “He is Immanu’el- G-d with us- right here- right now- The Eternal I AM- is near.
“And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. (YHWH is not into “mantras” but rather heart-felt communication..)
“So do not be like them; (yes, we are to be different and “separate”) for your Father (our Father? -isn’t that a word of relationship?) -knows (Oh Hallelujah!- He knows!) what you need before you ask Him. So why ask- you ask? -if He already knows? (and He does.. but- He wants to spend time with us- heartfelt communication- it is a beautiful thing- try it.. you’ll like it!! We were made for prayer- Heart-to-heart, intimate communion with our Creator.
Who can pray? The Priest? The Pope? The Preacher? lol!- no, no and no!!- Anyone, anywhere, anytime- any place- the plumber, the painter, the pirate and the poet may pray. Prayer,- the best (or worst..) kept secret in all of “Christendom.” LORD- teach us to pray- Amein! (Oh!…and He will,- “rest assured”)
I contend, until we have encountered the reality of God’s blessed presence in prayer, our perception of prayer will be based upon what we think outside of the experience. On the other hand, when we are connected to God in prayer, the word which God has spoken becomes a living reality because communion with God brings illumination to what he has said (Jeremiah 33:3). Thus, we not only believe by faith, but faith coupled with experience! We have heard his voice and have taste of his presence! (Ps. 34:8) Prayer then becomes the blessedness of God’s divine activity in and through us; it is our willful turning to God – the disrobing of self and the submission of our will to engage with him in conversation and being transformed by the encounter (Jeremiah 29:12-14). As we willfully participate in conversation with our gracious Father, we learn how to dance with him! To move in syncopated rhythm with the eternal God whose presence leads us through this Christian journey every step of the way! Prayer then becomes a blessed privilege which we gladly endeavor to do because we have received God’s reward: the conscious awareness of his presence, quickening our spirit to the reality of his love for us, to us, in us and through us (Heb. 11:6).