Casting Spells
I sat in my seat, head bowed, hands open, but I couldn't focus on God. Prayer warriors were circling the room wearing Israeli prayer shawls and anointing people with oil. They kept yelling out, "Jehovah Jireh!" and "El Shaddai!" and, "Now is the time! Act in accordance with your name!" These were my friends, so I knew they meant well, and their sacrificial lives demonstrated a sincere faith. I knew they wanted God to heal their communities because they were loving people. But it still felt more like they were casting spells than building a relationship with God.
Matthew 6:5-15
When you pray, do not be like the pretenders. They love to stand praying in the synagogues and on the busy corners, so that everyone will notice them. I tell you the truth: their reward has been paid out in full. ⁶ But you, when you pray, slip into your back room, shut the door, and pray to your Father who is there in secret. And your Father, who sees what is hidden, will repay you. ⁷ And when you pray, do not pile up empty words the way the pagans do, for they imagine they will be heard because they say so much. ⁸ So do not be like them, since your Father already knows what you need before you ask him. ⁹ You, then, pray this way: Our Father in heaven, may your name be set apart as holy, ¹⁰ may your kingdom come and your will be done, on earth just as in heaven. ¹¹ Provide us today with the bread we depend on, ¹² and forgive us the debts we owe, just as we have forgiven those in debt to us. ¹³ And do not put us to the test, but rescue us from the evil one. ¹⁴ For if you forgive others the wrongs they have done, your Father in heaven will forgive you as well. ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive the wrongs you have done.
As I sat on a cold tile floor, in a circle with other students, I wavered between two desires: to pray to God or to pray in a way that might impress a girl I was interested in. So I tried to do both. Praying to impress people has an immediate reward. It's easy to mask our selfish interests with spiritual activity. Jesus plainly says you can build an audience through spiritual-sounding prayers. But that's all you'll get. For ten years after college, I served as a campus minister, raising support for my position and ministry expenses. When the fundraising fell short of expenses, I turned to prayer. I acted like God had no idea that I needed additional donations to keep going. So I kept reminding him, over and over again, of my need for provision. My repetitive prayers exposed a lack of trust that my heavenly Father would take care of me. But when we stop praying to impress others or force God to act, what's left? Secret, simple prayers that start with humble worship. Secrets are the currency of intimacy. When we have a hidden life with God, we get to know a God who has already blessed us. To know God is to honor his name. He is holy, and we are in need of forgiveness. He is the Creator, and we need daily bread. He is the Savior, and we need to be rescued from the evil one. He has a plan to restore all things, and we are tangled up in our own agendas. When we feel secure in his presence, we will want to yield to him so that his will may be done. Patrick Stewart, playing Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Federation starship USS Enterprise, told me that space is the final frontier, "where no one has gone before." Still, sometimes I think it would be easier to move to Mars than forgive my enemies. Yet Jesus descended from heaven to earth so that we could become citizens of God's kingdom. He died for our sins to forgive us, so we could be adopted into our heavenly Father's family. So we cannot be his disciples if we refuse to forgive. However, if we struggle to forgive, that's an encouraging indicator that a forgiving God is at work in our hearts. (Forgiving someone is not the same as trusting them again). The greatest obstacle to prayer is our egos. As long as I'm asking God to help my kingdom come, and my will be done, I don't understand who I'm talking to. We don't need to pray loudly, with holy oil, using special codewords, to make prayer work. True prayer starts with humbly accepting the invitation to address God as our Father. When we pray like that, in secret, either alone or together, we will get the relationship we've always needed the most.
What kind of God wants to hear us tell him what he already knows about us?
Are you more tempted to pray to impress others or to twist God's arm?
What makes it feel too risky to forgive someone who hurts you?
Go to a private place (even a restroom) and set a timer for five minutes. Pray each part of the prayer Jesus taught us, but in your own words.