Day 3: Prayer Stance

Thanks for the encouraging feedback everyone has provided so far. I wonder how many days I'm going to get into this before writer's block is going to be a struggle! (The answer: Probably not too many more!)

This one is something I've had on my mind for a while but haven't really formulated into words. I'm not sure if this is more of a culture thing or what, but I'm talking about the position of the body when praying. It seems that the some of the typical American church culture I've been familiar with has taught us that prayer occurs while sitting down with our eyes closed at specified points of time. Let me attack this view a bit.

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18, NIV)

This is a really challenging statement on more than a few levels. Giving thanks in all circumstances is pretty tough and so is remaining joyful but let's talk about the whole "pray continually" thing. The KJV calls it "pray without ceasing" which I think has a bit more punch.

There have been times in my life when I can honestly say I've been committed to this passage and there have also been times when I can say I was very far from the ideal here. Praying continually can be tough but it is God's will for us. If we can immerse ourselves in constant prayer, we will be more ready to make those quick decisions that need to be made and more able to withstand the difficulties that are thrown at us.

But this brings me to the idea: Praying is not merely something you do sitting down with your eyes closed. In fact, it has to be something more than just a simple one-way dialog with our Creator. If we are to reach the goal, to reach the point of praying without ceasing it has to be an entire mindset. In addition to our direct requests and words with the Almighty, our everyday thoughts, our goals, and perhaps even the images that flash across our mind must be prayers. I'm still exploring what this actually looks like myself, but it certainly revolutionizes the way I typically think about praying.

But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (Matthew 6:6, NIV)

Now this kind of prayer is obviously a little different. This is the kind of prayer that is more of the formal dialog with our Father. I think there are two keys here: first of all, it is done in secret. Second, there is no mention of how to do it. I think we sell ourselves short when we confine our prayer lives to some sort of formula. Personally, I've found that taking some quiet moments to spend on my knees or even face down before God have been powerful and serve to remind me of how reliant I really am for my daily life and sanity.

So here's a potential forty day challenge for you. Take forty days and make sure to each day spent some time (in secret) in prayer. Don't subscribe to the typical. Pray out loud, kneel, pray silently, experience some real quiet....

Prayer doesn't have to be hum-drum and I really believe that.

See you tomorrow.