IN THEORY, La Canada Valley Sun, November 5, 2009
Topic:
Pastor Daniel Henderson, a Christian pastor in Atlanta, believes that many faithful still "don't know how to pray effectively," according to a recent article on CNN.com. He says that most Christians pray during a crisis or pray a grocery list, "making God a lifeline of last resort." What do you believe is the proper way to pray without making it seem as if you're using God as a "lifeline of last resort"? How do you teach your faithful on effective ways of prayer?
Click here to see the referenced article.
Our response:
Using prayer to tell God what we want, or employing empty repetition, or regarding it only as a last resort, may make us feel better, or even justified; but many have found a more practical approach based on understanding our never-failing spiritual association with God. In this form of prayer, we acknowledge God’s ever-presence and His influence for good in our lives, and we especially savor God’s Love for His creation. But let me explain this further.
The Lord’s Prayer, which Christ Jesus gave to his disciples (see Matthew 6), addresses every possible human need. Its first sentence, “Our Father which art in heaven,” declares God’s Father-Mother relationship with us, the natural parenting care of His love.
We don’t need to tell God about our problem, but can know that His love is always operative. Then we can expect to find practical answers. As Jesus said, “Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him,” At the same time, prayer is not necessarily answered in the way we expect; but when we put self aside, and realize that He is always in control, we make way for whatever outcome is appropriate.
Prayer doesn’t require ceremony or ritual; it excels as a quiet communion with the Father, feeling at one with Him and listening for the Christ-guidance. Jesus instructed us, “When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou has shut thy door, pray to thy Father, which is in secret, and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”
An instructive treatment of prayer appears in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, which is the key work of Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science, where the very first chapter has the title “Prayer.” It gently takes the reader to a more practical understanding. As it states, “If spiritual sense always guided men, there would grow out of ecstatic moments a higher experience and a better life.” This is a goal we all share and can realize.
