Right
from time immemorial, believers of all ages have benefitted immensely from the ministry
of prayer. In fact, prayer has become synonymous with Christianity. It is even
said that “a prayerless Christian is a powerless Christian.” Believers have
received tremendous help in the place of prayer. Burdens have been lifted in
the place of prayer. Yokes have been destroyed. Enemies have been defeated.
Many lives have been changed. People have received encouragement.
In
countless scriptures, spanning from Old to the New Testament, the Bible encourages
the believer to pray. We are even told to pray without ceasing. Men that walk
with God like Abraham prayed. So was the Lord Jesus Christ. As a matter of
fact, no one prayed like Jesus. Yet if there was one that should not prayed, He
qualified for that honour. But He still prayed. He spent more time in prayer
that in any other task. He spent His free time praying. He spent all night
praying. He woke up early to pray.
But
the question to consider is this: what kind of prayer did these men of old pray?
And that is the subject matter of this write up. Yes, the Bible encourages us
to pray, but what kind of prayer is the Bible talking about.
Believing
Africans in the south of the Sahara number millions. Our churches are
countless. Most Friday nights are fully engaged in many churches for prayer.
Prayer conferences, prayer seminar, prayer retreat and prayer meetings are
regular occurrences in our churches. As far as prayer is concerned, we do so
much with so little to show for it. Yes, there are testimonies here and there.
But how few compared to how much we put in!
If
Jesus prayed that much, we need to examine what kind of prayer he made before
God. Could He be asking for bread and butter like we do today? Could Jesus be
asking for the heads of his enemies? Could He be asking for God’s protection
against the arrows of the wicked?
The
sad thing to note is that most of our prayers are transactional. By
transaction-al, I mean business like, deal, profiteering. And most
transactional activities are motivated by fear, selfishness, and greed. Yet,
Jesus said:
So do
not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What
shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly
Father knows that you need them. Matt 6:31-32, NIV
If Jesus said we should not
worry about things like food and drink which are the most basic of human needs,
He also meant to say that we should not worry about all the other things. If
God could meet the most basic of our needs, we should trust him to meet the
more advanced ones. If He is willing to do the ones that will cost Him daily
interventions in our lives, certainly He can take care of the bigger ones that
only happen once in a while.
We have come to believe that
until we ask God for big things, He may not do them for us. And we have
scriptures to support that. “You have not
because you ask not.” (James 4:2). But what kind of prayers do the unbelievers
around us pray to get to where they are today? What kind of prayers do they
pray to have what they have? What amount of prayers did they make to become
what they are today?
How come that with all our
prayers we are yet to match the intellectual capability of the ungodly? How
come that with all our prayers, it was the pagan Steve Jobs that invented the
iPhone and the iPads? How come that with all our prayers the richest man in
Nigeria is Aliko Dangote, a muslim? How come that with all the Christian
influence and number in the United States, the president is not a believing and
practicing Christian? What kind of prayer did Obama pray that made him the
President of USA today?
Who sold us the lie that until
we cry our hearts out in the place of prayer God will not do for us anything
good? Many of us come back from prayer meetings voiceless. The preachers (myself
inclusive) have made us to believe that until we outcry our neighbours God will
not hear us. It’s as if God is hard of hearing or maybe His hearing aids need
adjustment.
What
is Prayer?
I believe in prayer. Prayer is
of God, and prayer is communication with God. But communication, not
commercialization. We have learnt to trade in the place of prayers. Yet, Jesus
whipped people out of the temple for the same reason—transactional.
Prayer
is devotional. Prayer is worship. Prayer is the true and real temple (Psalm
27:4). It is a place where your heart reaches out to its maker. It is a place
of communion; heart to heart. It is a place where you bring your sacrifice,
your life, as a sweet smelling savour on the altar (Romans 12:1).
Prayer
is refreshing. It is reviving. It is a place of restoration (Isaiah
40:28-31). It is a place of waiting, when you are finished and famished. It is
a place of rest. It is a place where you drink from the water of His presence;
where you swim in the ocean of His love; where you refresh yourself in the
fountain of His lovingness.
Prayer
is contemplation. It is a place where the light shines into the darkness of our
heart and soul. It is a place of enlightenment; where everything comes to the
open. It is the place where the secrets of men’s heart are exposed. (Mark
11:25).
Prayer
is also receiving—receiving fresh touch from His presence. It is a place of reconnection;
where you’re reconnected back to your root (Genesis 2:7; Job 32:8). It is a
place where you receive a fresh breath. It is a place of impartation. It is a
place where you come under His influence again.
But,
…
What about my needs?
Well, He promised to meet them.
(Psalm 34:10; Matthew 6:31-33; Philippians 4:19).
What about my enemies? He
promised to take care of them. (Isaiah 49:25-26; 54:17)
What about my future? He said
He’s working it out. (Jeremiah 29:11; Hebrews 13:4)
How about my fears? He said you
should hand them over to Him. (Isaiah 41:10; 1 Peter 5:7)
God
has no Limit but (Transactional) Prayer does
Prayer will not meet your greed
(Luke 12:13-15). God will not kill your enemies because you pray. Times have
changed. These may be the days of Elijah, but we now serve the God of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies. For
the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them (Luke
9:56, KJV). God will not satisfy your lust because you pray. God is love, and
love gives but lust always wants to take.
Many have lost the faith as a
result of disappointment in prayer. What is meant to be a blessing has become a
stumbling block. It is high time we rethink prayer so that we can get the
tremendous blessings in it. As long as our prayers are transactional, we will
always meet with disappointment. We are asking God to do what He never promised
to do.
