How is your prayer life?

Prayer is simply communication with God. It is one of the most critical spiritual disciplines that Christians are to engage in to grow in their relationship with God. Yet prayer is often a daunting task for most Christians. Richard Foster’s book, Prayer, provides a comprehensive understanding of various types of prayer. Foster divides prayer into three major movements. First, prayers that move inward focus on seeking the transformation we need. Next, prayers that move upward focus on the intimacy we need. Finally, prayers that move outward focus on the ministry we need.

While growing up within the church, I formed an attitude and idea in my childhood that prayer is to be a formal expression of need to God. Although this mindset was broken many years ago, Foster’s book reinforced to me that God does not desire formal, polite or eloquent prayers, but honest, sincere prayers (Matthew 6:6-8). Foster writes, “Real prayer comes not from gritting our teeth but from falling in love” (3). Love should be our motivation to converse with God. Love is honest. I believe God is pleased when we connect to him in honesty, regardless of how crass our words may be.    

The principle of honesty led me to practice the prayer of the forsaken (or prayer of complaint) found in chapter two. Foster notes that this form of prayer “has been largely lost in our modern, sanitized religion, but the Bible abounds with it” (24). The sanitization of Christianity became evident to me when I read and prayed the imprecatory psalms. It was difficult for me express vengeance, complaint and my innermost struggles to God about others and myself. I was taught in childhood that our prayers should only be spoken with words of love and gratitude. Yet this form of prayer opened a new dimension of honesty and transparency before God.

Although it still challenges me, I am learning to express my conflicts and contradictions to Jesus. As C.S. Lewis counseled, “lay before him [God] what is in us, not what ought to be in us” (12). The prayer of the forsaken combined with simple prayer (chapter one) have been the most valuable and formative types of prayers that I have begun to implement in my life. Previously I felt uncomfortable expressing my negative feelings to God because I assumed it was “ungodly” or even sacrilegious. Now I am attempting to be more authentic in my conversations with my heavenly Father. Praying these prayers has begun an inward transformation of my heart and renewed my understanding of God’s character and nature.

Having spent a portion of my Christian walk within the charismatic movement, praise, adoration, and thanksgiving were tangible expressions in my public and private devotions. Foster articulates the two sides of the prayer of adoration as, “in thanksgiving we give glory to God for what he has done for us; in praise, we give glory to God for who he is in himself” (87). These two aspects of adoration are incorporated in my time of worship at church and when I privately listen to worship music.

Foster discusses the impact of praise music on our connection to God and how it can ease us into adoration (95). Music has a big influence in my relationship to God. Whether it is Sunday mornings worship services at church, driving in my car, playing my guitar or just relaxing at home, Christian music stirs within me a desire to focus on God’s goodness, greatness and glory. Worship music engages my enthusiast pathway to draw out my deepest needs, struggles, joys and hopes in prayer to God.

Praying the ordinary, as Foster describes, is a form of prayer that has been a practice in my life for the last decade. It is through the ordinary occurrences of life where I discover God. Foster writes, “If we cannot find God in the routines of home and shop, then we will not find him at all” (181). I find myself praying throughout the day in brief moments about the ordinary experiences of life. Generally, I am not one to spend long hours in prayer, though I wish to, but someone who whispers prayers throughout the day for specific needs as they arise. I am prompted to pray when I am chatting with someone, hearing about a tragedy in the world, fixing a meal, seeking guidance for a decision, or preparing to go to bed. It is through the routines of the ordinary things of life that I find my prayer life exercised.

Foster also notes that any action directed towards God is a form of prayer that is at times better than words we speak to God (184). He quotes Ignatius of Loyola, “Everything that one turns in the direction of God is prayer” (Ibid). I found this insight quite intriguing and encouraging. It reminds me of the scripture, “Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Col. 3:17 NIV). This form of prayer is more powerful than words because it orients the ordinary things of life towards God’s purposes, character and instructions. The famous idiom, “actions speak louder than words” reiterates the value of ordinary prayer. I find that ordinary prayer is most convenient when serving in ministry and reaching out to others. Whether it is a private prayer in my mind or a request to pray for someone else, prayer enables me to connect with others.

 My prayer life is an ongoing conversation with God throughout the day. My spiritual life is centered on the conscious presence of God. I am constantly aware of God’s presence in nearly everything I do. This lifestyle enables me to have many brief discussions with my Father at various times of the day.

Since prayer is our lifeline to God, it is a spiritual discipline that must be taken seriously.  So how is your prayer life like?

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