mystifying

In our morning services at the church I serve we are following a series exploring different aspects of prayer. Soon we will be looking at why we find it difficult to pray, and what is going on when our prayers don’t seem to be answered. That’s not what this bloggage is about, so don’t be disappointed.

I think at the heart of our understanding of prayer is a misunderstanding about what prayer is: if our approach to prayer is transactional rather than relational we’re praying because of what we can get out of it rather than what we bring to it. Part of our problem is that as soon as we try to explain how prayer works our words limit us to looking at systems, processes, cause and effect and other ways we have to understand the world in which we live and breathe – a world that is (mostly) predictable and explicable. But because prayer is relational using that sort of language diminishes our understanding of it. When we bring ourselves to prayer we enter into the mystifying mystery of a relationship with God that changes us because God’s Spirit is invited into our life.

A car mechanic could describe all of the processes and actions that make a car run smoothly, and even describe what happens when we press the accelerator or brake and turn the steering wheel. But that doesn’t explain or define the feeling of driving, the purpose of driving or even the experience of driving. You have to get in a car and drive it to experience that for yourself. And your experience of driving may be different to other people’s. I can explain ways to pray, I can describe answers to prayer, but it’s something we each experience for ourself. Prayer becomes so much more when we accept it’s more than a mechanical process and is relational.

Or, to change the analogy, a scientist can explain, describe, and define what’s going on when the sun is setting and we see amazing colours on the horizon. But that is not what we experience when we are captivated by the beauty of that sunset and our emotional response to it. Prayer is more than the sum total of its parts – it’s almost aesthetic, appreciating and experiencing the awe and wonder of a relationship with God.

Any analogy we offer about prayer is inadequate because we are talking about a relationship with God. When Jesus taught about prayer he didn’t explain the mechanics, or the process. He offered a pattern (we call it the Lord’s Prayer) and an understanding that God’s response is more positive than we can imagine by contrasting it with a reluctant neighbour and a sensible parent. (Luke 11:1-13) And the conclusion of his teaching was that the outcome of praying isn’t that we get what we want but that God gives the Holy Spirit – we get more of God when we pray.

I have been having a bit of a sort out on my desk this morning and came across a small piece of paper that has blessed me immensely. It’s the name of someone in our church for whom I have been praying for the past few years. I had forgotten about the piece of paper. This coming Sunday that person is going to be baptised as a believer in our church. I don’t believe that this is because I have been praying: my prayers did not cause them to want to be baptised. They are being baptised because they’re responding to God’s Spirit’s prompting in their life. But my relationship with God has been deepened by my prayers for that person and me praying for that person God’s graciously linked me to them. So I am encouraged by seeing how their relationship with God is deepening too.

There’s so much more that could be / should be said about this, but I will leave it here for the moment so we can ponder prayer in the same way we may appreciate and experience something beautiful that takes our breath away – God will gladly give us the Spirit to help us.

Be blessed, be a blessing