When we bounce back to the Word, to our baptism, and to witness, we hear and are reminded of who God is and what he has done for us, and we pass that on to others. We see the value he attaches to us in his willingness to sacrifice his Son. And all of these things are enough to give us a window into God’s heart to see his true colors and how deeply loved we are. And if we had just that and nothing more, it would be magnificently more than we’d ever need or deserve! But God outdoes himself. He isn’t content simply to reveal his own heart to us; he wants to know what’s on our hearts as well. If it’s too trite to say that Christianity isn’t a religion – it’s a relationship, then maybe we can at least agree that it’s a religion that is all about our relationship with God. He craves a connection with us that surpasses the status of mere acquaintance or association. So he invites us to pray. He delights in hearing our prayers. Let us then bounce back to prayer.
How do you feel about prayer? Does the general thought of prayer comfort you? Is it a treasured blessing? Likely you will agree that it is. But if I ask more specifically about your particular prayer life maybe your feelings change a bit. When I ask that question, be honest – does the thought of your prayer life make you tense up just a little, as if I just added one more item to your checklist that you already feel guilty for not accomplishing enough? Does the topic of prayer drum up more feelings of guilt than grace? I ask because when the topic of prayer comes up with Christians, it frequently seems to be followed by a sense of apology or regret over our prayer lives.
If so, then we have some work to do. Let’s start by asking ourselves a question: what would your prayer life have to look like in order for prayer not to be a source of guilt? Is it a matter of quantity? If you prayed more, would you feel less guilty? OK, then – how much would you have to pray for you to not feel guilty? Several times a day? Throughout the day? Several hours a day? If it isn’t a matter of quantity or frequency of prayer, then is it quality that has you feeling guilty? Do you feel like your prayers don’t have much substance to them, that they’re not “churchy” or “religious” enough (whatever that means!)?
You really need to think through the answer to this question, because if you don’t, prayer and guilt will always go hand-in-hand. But here’s the real reason: if you view prayer as a performance by which to please God, you’ll always feel guilty – and frankly, you should! Because if our relationship with God is based on pleasing him with our performance, then we will always fall woefully short. We will never measure up in any way, including our prayers.
So again – and stop me if it sounds like I’m a broken record here – bounce back to the Word and to your baptism. God does not base his relationship with you or his interest in you on your performance; he bases it on Jesus’ performance. And his was perfect. Yours never will be, so stop pretending your connection with God is based on something he needs from you. He already has what he needs in his perfect Son; he needs nothing from you – including your prayers.
But he does want them. Do you see the difference between needing and wanting? If he has what he needs in Christ’s perfection, then he doesn’t need your prayers. But he wants them. He wants to bend his ear to you. He wants to be your go-to. He wants to show you how good and gracious he is. He wants to demonstrate his superiority to anything else that might make a play for first place in your heart. He wants to satisfy you in ways the world never can.
Do you sense that Paul was very much aware of God’s desire and ability to do so? He knows full well what he’s tapping into when he taps into God’s power through prayer. “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power…” and “to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we could ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:16, 20). God is not living below the poverty line. He’s nowhere near middle class, even. The means God has at his disposal to answer prayer are beyond what we could ever comprehend. He is able to answer prayers in such monumental ways that our limited minds aren’t even able to think to ask! So the issue will never be one of our asking too much of God, but rather never asking enough of him.
Elon Musk was recently crowned the wealthiest man on the planet. Suppose he wanted to showcase how wealthy he was by stating that he was going to pick one lucky person and grant that one person whatever he asked, no matter how much it cost. When the moment of truth comes and that individual reveals his request, he asks for – drumroll, please… a Chick-Fil-A chicken sandwich. Now I don’t care how good a chicken sandwich is – when the richest man on the planet invites you to ask for anything you want and you ask him for a sandwich, not only is there something wrong with you, but the other – the bigger issue – is that you’ve just insulted his wealth and generosity. What a slap in the face to the world’s richest man to be robbed of the opportunity to display his wealth and generosity!
So then, tell me again why we ask so little of the God who owns the deed to everything on the planet, the planet itself, along with the entire universe? Why do we rob him of the opportunity to display that wealth and generosity? What do we really think of him if he invites us to come in his name and ask him for anything and we either ask infrequently, sporadically, or for so little? How we insult him with our infrequent, small-minded requests in our prayers! Forgive us, Lord, for thinking so little of you!
To help us put it into perspective, suppose I told you that when you get home today, Amazon is having a 24-hour window for you to order anything you want, as much as you want, for absolutely nothing. While I would like to think all of you would at least stick around for the whole service, it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if some of you immediately pulled out your phone and started ordering. There’s not a single one of us who would not spend the better part of the next 24 hours ordering everything under the sun – if not for you, then to meet the needs of other people.
Of course that’s too good to be true. But you know what isn’t? Taking those requests to God, “who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (v.20). Amazon has limitations – believe it or not there are still plenty of things you can’t buy on Amazon. Yet there is nothing God cannot provide, and his window of provision isn’t limited to 24 hours.
Neither is his window of provision limited to physical things. There are just some things that only God can provide. Try searching Amazon for consolation when a loved one dies. You won’t find it. Neither will you find any deals of the day on forgiveness for your past wrongs. You won’t find contentment with the click of a button. The peace to let go of when others have wronged you will never show up in the search bar. Yet God can grant all of this and so much more… if we ask him.
You know what I find amazing about reading any of Paul’s letters when he touches on prayer? Physical requests are the last thing on his mind, and yet if anyone could have used prayers for physical things, surely it was Paul! Hi concerns are not based on the physical stuff, but the spiritual. No “pray that I get out jail” or “pray that I don’t get beaten again” or “pray that I don’t suffer” or “pray that I have enough clothing and food” Even though these were all constant struggles for Paul, his letters don’t waste any words asking his listeners to pray for his physical health or well-being, but always on the gospel and spiritual things. He doesn’t ask God to remove his suffering, but rather thanks God for using it to spread the gospel!
And before us in his letter to the Ephesians he does the same. The whole prayer here is for the spiritual growth and vibrant faith of the Ephesians! He prays for them to be strengthened with power through the Holy Spirit so that Jesus might take up permanent residence in their hearts. He prays that the roots of Jesus’ love would be anchored in their hearts to grasp how all-encompassing his love for them really is – a love that goes beyond just head knowledge. He prays that that might happen so that they might be filled to the brim with God.
What if your prayer life reflected this approach for a week? a month? the rest of the year? For many of us, it’d be a big shift in the way we pray. Less of the physical – jobs, relationships, health, finances – and more of the spiritual – depth of faith, Christ-like love for others, peace that really does defy understanding – but can absolutely be experienced, patience in an impatient world, compassion and contentment, joy in my identity in Christ, self-control that can say no to physical temptations, overwhelming gratitude, a forgiving heart, Godly wisdom, etc. Yes, let us bounce back to prayer the way Paul did – with a kingdom focus – and experience first-hand how much easier we find it to be OK even when life isn’t.