There are four modern misconceptions about prayer that must be overcome
if we are to pray as Jesus did. We all know them, but we need to be reminded of
them again and again because familiarity breeds contempt and indifference. We
are no different from the student who related to the professor, "I don't
know why Shakespeare rates so high. All he did was string a lot of well-known
quotations together."
First, we might think of prayer as a technique when it is really a
grace. We want to put our best foot forward when we come into God's presence -
we do not want to be petty, silly, selfish and bad. Therefore, we wait until we
feel stronger, more good, more unselfish. Alternatively, when we pray we put on
our best selves and try to be something we are really not. Prayer is a time for
you to be you - for you to be yourself.
Second, one makes a mistake to think of prayer in the terms trying hard
to get the attention of God. In the more poetic phrasings of R. S. Thomas:
Prayers like gravel
flung up at the sky's window,
hoping to attract
the loved one's attention.[1]
The third misconception about prayer is conveyed by those who think of
praying as little more than "idle thoughts" or parsley-like plate
decorations. Prayers before public functions and sports events are often like
the parsley that appears on a sandwich plate. Every restauranteur appears to
find it necessary to have such a garnish to a nice sandwich. Nevertheless, few
people pay attention to it and even fewer utilize that parsley in any way.
Prayer is one of the most powerful things we can do in life. The Lord's
Prayer was so special in the early church that only the confirmed members could
pray it. They figured that spectators and inquirers were not ready for the
power and mystery of the prayer. It was called the "believer's
prayer." Even today in the liturgy of the Greek and Russian Orthodox
Church, the praying of the Lord's Prayer is a moment of awe and mystery as a
priest says at the introduction: "And make us worthy, O Lord, that we
joyously and without presumption may make bold to invoke thee, the heavenly
God, as Father and to say, 'Our Father, ...' "
Jesus does not want us to say the Lord's Prayer. Jesus wants us to
become the Lord's Prayer. REAL praying is God moving in us through the Spirit.
Real praying is the Spirit of God praying in and through us, making us into the
likeness of Christ. In the words of Francois Fenelon: "Lord, teach me to
pray. Pray thyself in me." Prayer is the breathing of the soul.
Fourth, one might think of prayer as something you do with your mind, a
kind of mental telepathy with God. That would be a mistake. Prayer is also
something you do with your entire being and body. This means more than that old
saying "When you pray, move your feet." It has to do with what organ
of the body, do you think? Your entire being. Our behavior stems directly from
our beliefs.
Words are not the only means or signs of prayer. If you want to show
someone how badly you feel for them, or how deeply you love them, do you tell
them in words or do you put your arms around them?
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