Ideas of prayer are quite diverse among us. Some are routine writ produced by others and to be said as a chant or in unison. Whatever the religion and culture, the assumption is that prayer can make things better. However, this is not always the case. When we pray, there are some situations or circumstances that are beyond our control. We can pray in a manner that it is impossible even for God to answer the request.
I have spent many years as a minister and as a counselor. Unfortunately, I have witnessed prayers that have been offered that make no sense. Some prayers amount to nothing more than babble. It behooves us to monitor the words that come from our own mouths whether they have any spiritual significance or not. Let me give you some examples of useless prayers that I have witnessed.
Prayers to change history. Iāve actually heard somebody pray in a church service asking God for the children who attended camp to have accepted Christ as his Savior while they were there. Crazy, isnāt it?
Prayers to magically change things. Some people cross their fingers. Other people who claim to be Christians ask God to change the numbers on a lottery ticket so that it would be a winner. The numbers are there already. Godās not going to change them. Crazy, isnāt it?
Prayers to have things done that we could do for ourselves. Perhaps an individual has plans to catch up with family for a visit, but they become lost. It would be useless to pray for God give them wisdom for the correct directions when they have a map in their glove compartment. Crazy, isnāt it?
Prayers to cause something to happen. I know of someone who wanted God to guide him so he prayed God would cause a freezerās light on a porch to flicker. As long as the freezer is operating with electricity flowing into it, that light will stay on. To ask otherwise is crazy, isnāt?
Prayers to order angels about. The purpose of angels in Godās heaven is to suit his purpose, not ours. Yet I saw a televangelist on a program demanding that angels come from all parts of the world to a certain place and do a certain thing. Crazy, is?
Prayers to force other people to do something. In this consideration we have the matter of free will and Godās power. God will not force anyone to do anything. Praying such a prayer is unbiblical. A proper prayer would be to ask God to present circumstances and people in the life of the one being prayed about so that they will adjust their thinking and come around in favor of God. Otherwise, this would be crazy, wouldnāt it?
Prayers to alter nature. In the Old Testament a believer ordered the sun to stand still, another believer requested that there be moisture on a fleece and later moisture on the ground. Such a prayer these days is testing God. God works a miracle for his own reason, not ours. Otherwise, it would be crazy, wouldnāt it?
Prayer to the correct person. Saints, angels, and idols cannot answer prayers. That is in Godās domain and his power subject to his will. Substituting anything else is a form of idolatry. Be conscious of the person to whom you are praying otherwise it would be crazy, isnāt it?
The lesson of this blog is we must be very careful how we pray. No matter how sincere we are, prayer must be biblically and spiritually sound. We must be submissive to Godās will. We must be willing to accept how God answers prayer. There is a great privilege to talk to the Almighty Creator, but we must not abuse that honor. The reason we conclude prayers by citing Jesusā name is because the only way we can gain access into the Almightyās throne room is to his son. Pray faithfully, pray earnestly, pray routinely, pray trusting, but pray in the right way.
Christian Writer 