What did you say? Did you say. . . prayer?

Prayer?  Oh, yeah.  Prayer.  Change the channel.  Turn the station.  Flip right through that post.  I’ve heard it before.  Another blog post about prayer.  Let me guess. . . you want to tell us about the importance of prayer and how it we need to be doing prayer more often, right?  It’s what we are supposed to do, isn’t it?  Prayer is what we are expected to do, right?  Are you going to harp on us that we should be sending up our list to heaven each night?  Are you going to beat us up and over the head because it is something we don’t do regularly?  Are you putting the blame on others who don’t pray, don’t spend time in prayer, or don’t even think to pray?

No, no, and no.

There is enough of that other places.

Today I want to bring something to your attention that took me forty years to really grasp.  If my voice could catch your ear at only the slightest angle, maybe, just maybe, you might hear a different take on this subject, one that isn’t judgmental, critical, or one looking down on you.  No, none of that is going to happen here today.  I know how hard it is to pray sometimes.  I get it.  Sometimes it is the last thing on our agenda.  Instead of beating someone up, I want to reach horizontally. . . from one worn and broken human to another, tapping you on the shoulder excitedly to tell you what I’ve found.  I’ve found something sweet.

I often go up on top the hills on our farmland in Pennsylvania to pray. Today was no disappointment as the clouds looking up were like majestic soldiers guarding the gateway to heaven itself. I have spent many days out here talking to the Lord.

On this National Day of Prayer, I could rerun the accounts of people like David, who’s heart cry in Psalm 51 met the ears of the Lord and was restored spiritually after his fall into adultery and murder.  We could dive into that chapter, picking it apart and digesting it, figuring out how a hungry heart for the Lord should be open to Him.  

We could look into Samson’s final prayer, one I just read this morning, when he realized the frailness of his own strength apart from God’s and put one final breath into the prayer to deliver his people.

We could flip our Bibles to Joshua when God heard the voice of a man and stopped the sun in its tracks across the sky until the Amorites were delivered into his hand.

We could look at how sincere Hanna’s prayer was in 1 Samuel, when she asked God for a child.

All those precious passages of scripture were moments in history when men and women needed the Lord, needed Him in big ways, and God stepped into their situation and granted their request.

But is there more?

To be brutally honest, the current struggles my life have brought me to my knees in desperation many nights lately.  Things that Faerie and I have been bringing to God’s throne have been serious and very much deserve our time and effort talking to God about them.  We aren't alone. We all have these pressing issues, these situations that deem themselves hot on the list to bring to God’s attention.  Make no mistake about it, He hears our plea, cradles us in mercy and grace, and lovingly holds us in these moments.  Not a word falls to the ground unheard, not a tear unnoticed.  Your prayers and mine are the sweet fragrance of incense that Revelation talks about rising up and into the nose of our Lord, bringing Him pleasure, sweet fellowship and communication.

But yet there is more.

Unintentionally, this past week, I learned something beautiful.  

Yes, we need to send our grocery list to heaven telling God what we would like from him.  The book of James does say (James 4:2-3), “You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” 

Yes, we need to tell God what stresses us, what injustice has been wronged against us, what we need, and what we want.  

Yes, God instructs us to pray for our leaders.  1 Timothy 2:1-5 is clear on this: First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Yes, we need to talk to the Lord to find out what His will is for our life and daily walk.  Jesus gave that example to us many times, when after talking to the Father He went out and did the will and work of the Lord.

But what I learned this week is very simple, too simple for me to truly have understood until now.

There is a prayer that God enjoys, one we rarely give Him.  It’s not one that sounds like a grocery list, a honey-do list, a maintenance schedule, or a plan of attack.  Instead, in this prayer, there may not be any requests or petitions at all.  Let’s think about it in simple terms.  What if every time you talked to your closest friend all you did was ask him or her for things?  What if every time you bumped into your bestie, all you had to say was what you needed?  It would get old fast, and your friend wouldn't do it very long without bringing it up to your attention. Your relationship wouldn’t get very far. People get tired of that kind of thing.  One-way communication is only a half blessing.

In contrast, what if prayer time with the Lord wasn’t a task or ritual at all?  What if it actually was a mutual moment of shared quality time?  What if you actually spent time with God that built and blessed your relationship with Him, growing you both together, deepening your understanding of each other, not just a list of “I needs.”

This, in a nutshell, is what bloomed for me this week.  Of course, I still brought heavy and weighted things to the Lord.  I’m not afraid to let Him know what was on my heart and what I needed from Him.  But. . . and I rejoice in my epiphany. . . the time that God and I have shared lately has been a mutual blessing.  It has been relationship building.  It has been me lying in the arms of the Lord as His banner over me is love.  It has been those starry-eyed moments when two young lovers can’t get enough of each other.  It has been quality time at it’s best.

What did it do for me?

It has given me the strength to handle what comes next.

In my alone time with the Lord, I might not have heard some audible voice that said “I will give you all that you desire.”  But what has occurred, is that I have walked with a newfound source of confidence and strength that my bestie has my back, and if you mess with me, you’ve gotta come to terms with my God as well.  I’ve grown into a closer fellowship with Him.  I’ve gleaned from the close feeling that I’m not alone.  I’ve been solid.  We have shared our love for one another.

Yes, God can do all that just by being with Him.  

So my challenge to you on this National Day of Prayer, is to go beyond the normal.  We all need to lift our country up to God.  Definitely take the time to lift up our family, spouses, and friends.  Bring the names of those who are in need of a healing to God’s throne.  Don’t forget to mention once more the names of those who need saved.  And yes, even our enemies need prayed for before we are finished.

But more than all these things, don’t forget that there is a God who loves you so crazy much that He was willing to die for you so that He could in turn spend quality time with you later on.  He desperately wants that one-on-one relationship with you.  What a blessing to give that to Him today.  What a blessing to share that with Him right now.

Spend some quality time with the Lord on this National Day of Prayer.  It’s not just a day to go through the motions. . . it’s much, much more.  Build your relationship.  Laugh with Him.  Cry with Him.  Be silent with Him.  Speak sweet words of love with Him.

In return, He will do all that and more back with you.  We only need to give Him the chance.

Prayer is a better thing by far more than we ever realize.

Let’s truly make it a National Day of Prayer 2021.

By Chuck Carr