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Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all that he has done.
Philippians 4:6
Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.
Psalm 55:22
On the very day I call you for help, my enemies will retreat. This I know: God is on my side.
Psalm 56:9
Praise the Lord; praise God our savior! For each day he carries us in his arms.
Psalm 68:19
"When you pray, don't be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I assure you, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father secretly. Then your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you.
"When you pray, don't babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered only by repeating their words again and again. Don't be like them, because your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him! Pray like this:
Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
"If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive you.
Matthew 6:5-14
What is Prayer?
Rev. Bill Donahue
How would you answer this simple question? What is prayer?
Prayer presumes that there is the real possibility that God hears us and responds. Without that belief, prayer is not necessary.
So, for anyone and everyone who utters a prayer, they have made the single most important statement of faith- I believe that God is.
In AA there is a foundation of faith that assumes a “Higher Power.” Why? Because the alcoholic must seek a power greater than self and greater than alcohol.
And what name is given to the One to whom we pray? God. A name, for the Christian, that is above all names. A name, for the orthodox Jew, that is so holy it cannot be spoken or written in its entirety.
For many of us it is not a matter of whether we believe in prayer or not. We are far more likely to ask, “How do I pray?”
Its important to note that Jesus’ disciples asked the same question. They asked it because they were astounded with the simplicity and passion of Jesus’ prayers. They had never heard a Rabbi pray like Jesus prayed. His prayers were passionate and personal.
"Prayer is passionate and
powerful."
 So, Jesus did something quite remarkable. He gave them the prayer that we pray each and every Sunday in worship. Many call it the “Lord’s Prayer.” I think it should be called “The Disciples’ Prayer.”
Jesus divides it into two sections: He talks about the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. The Pharisee was the professional; the Tax Collector was the one with passion. The Pharisee prayed to himself; the Tax Collector beyond himself.
I am convinced that the heart of the one who prays is more important than the head. But unfortunately, as an act of religious expression most pastors and lay people write out their prayers for worship. The prayer must sound “right.” But I want to challenge you to move away from the prescription and seek out the passion.
When asked to pray, I believe there is not better response than, “I don’t know what to say.” It means that the person does not have a prescription- they are not prepared. This allows for discovery and discernment. Just open your heart and pray.
You know one of the best moments in worship at our church? When we randomly offer up the names of those we love. The cacophony of sound is beautiful; the momentary chaos is comforting.
So, it is fitting to conclude that prayer does not have to be orderly and prescribed. Prayer is passionate and powerful.
I like what Tommy Tenney calls the “dialect of desperation” (pg. 22, Prayers of God Chasers).
Tenny Writes, “I know it wasn’t my polished prayers as a professional preacher or pastor that brought me to an encounter with God years ago. My perfected phases of King James prose didn’t bring me heart to heart with the heavenly Father- He met me in the midst of my inarticulate and passionate pleas of desperation and tears of frustration” (pg. 23, PGC).
When Jesus cries out from the cross, could it be that it is not the burden of the sin that demands his pleas, but his unbearable separation from the “Father.”
Tenny uses the phrase, “The desperation of separation.” I like that phrase. Because at the core of desperation is the real experience of separation from God- “the death of a dream, the loss of a loved one, or the separation from hope itself.”
That’s why many people who visit our church are going to make a decision about whether they return based on the genuine expression of prayer they experience in worship. Tenny goes so far as to say the prayer is worship.
The bible describes the desperate prayer of a woman who was barren:
“And Hannah was in bitterness of soul, and prayer to the Lord and wept in anguish. Then she made a vow and said, ‘O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor will come upon his head’” (1Sam. 1:10-11).
Prayers of desperation rarely come from moments of joy and satisfaction. Crisis, turmoil and pain produce the agony that leads one to raw religious expression. This is something that is hard for a church that is afraid of raw religion- afraid of the expressions that are not predictable and careful. Imagine the change and challenge a shaken and broken person in prayer would bring to our sense of true worship.
Imagine how uncomfortable we would be! And that’s the point. We need to recognize that worship is not about our expressions of comfort. The integrity of spiritual maturity is revealed in willingness to “Shout to the Lord!”
The song “Shout to the Lord” is often misunderstood. Why? Because we have the tendency to “clean up” the meaning of “shout.” Shouting is not a polite thing. We say, “Don’t shout! It’s not polite” or “Please, don’t shout!” When we shout it is unruly and loud. When we shout to the Lord we need to consider the prayers that are not polite and orderly. We need to consider the prayers that are passionate, powerful, and desperate.
C.S. Lewis said, “God whispers to us in our pleasure, speaks to us in our consciences, but shouts to us in our pains; it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
John Maxwell makes five simple recommendations that may help us to become a people of prayer at Utica United Methodist Church:
1.Be spontaneous
2.Be specific
3.ASK the right way (Ask with pure motives; Seek with effort; Knock persistently)
4.Pray with all your heart (aloud, write down the distractions, keep a journal)
5.Pray continually
Consider Blind Bartimaeus as he cries out to Jesus, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
He couldn’t see Jesus- he only saw an opportunity to cry out to Jesus. He sought the direction and good will of the Son of God- he was chasing God as he cried out, “Have mercy on me!”
Would you do the same? Would you begin to open up your heart to the prayer of desperation? That payer may be the very prayer that frees you and frees God to change your life.
“Lord Jesus, my soul aches at the mere mention of your name. My heart leaps for every rumor of your coming, and each possibility that you will manifest your presence. I’m not satisfied with mere spiritual dainties. I’m ravenously hungry for You in your fullness. I’m desperate to feast on the bread of Your presence and quench my thirst with the wine of Your Spirit” (pg. 30).
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