Friday, April 30, 2010

Prayer: More Than Words?

I do not know if you recall the 1991 hit "More than words."  As I was preparing a lesson on prayer a while back the song came to mind.  The song is written to someone that the lyricist loves.  But imagine if God were singing this to us.

Now I have a point to this.  Jesus said this:

But when you pray, go into your private room, shut your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. When you pray, don't babble like the idolaters, since they imagine they'll be heard for their many words. Don't be like them, because your Father knows the things you need before you ask Him.
Matthew 6:6-8 (HCSB)

What if prayer is not about the words we speak, but rather the action it produces? 

What if prayer was about perseverance, alertness, and intercession, more than words?

Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert in this with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.
Ephesians 6:18 (HCSB)

What if prayer was guarding against temptation more than words?

When He reached the place, He told them, "Pray that you may not enter into temptation."
Luke 22:40 (HCSB)

What if prayer was about the earth shaking, being filled with the Holy Spirit and speaking the word of God with great boldness, more than words?

When they had prayed, the place where they were assembled was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak God's message with boldness.
Acts 4:31 (HCSB)

What if God took your words away.  What if you could not make things new just by saying forgive me, help me, or I worship You?

In the same way the Spirit also joins to help in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with unspoken groanings.
Romans 8:26 (HCSB)

What if prayer is for thankfulness, wisdom, knowledge, and enlightenment to God's calling, God's riches, and God's power, more than words?

I never stop giving thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, would give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the perception of your mind may be enlightened so you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the glorious riches of His inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power to us who believe, according to the working of His vast strength.
Ephesians 1:16-19 (HCSB)

Then someone might respond, "I am sorry this type of questioning simply will not do.  It is to grandiose a thing to consider that prayer could possibly be these things.  I will just stick to my simple prayers and if God wills then He will answer me.  If not then I trust that He knows what He is doing.  After all it is just words.  Thankfully I know that God hears me." 

And then we wonder why He does not answer our prayer. 

Try it out pray with more than words.  More to come :-)

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