Prayer part 2: Dialogue not Monologue

The Lord promises the faithful “He will call on me, & I will answer him” Ps 91:15 And “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us” 1 Jn. 5:14

Throughout the Bible, we can see the Lord using the many analogies of the natural life to teach us the truths of spiritual life.  He compares our relationship with him to that of a husband and a wife, to a shepherd and his sheep, and of a child to his or her parent. He uses our natural understanding of agriculture to help us understand how the spiritual seed of His Words are planted in us and come to bear fruit. He also uses the common sense of building on a solid foundation as opposed to building upon the sand for the same purpose. These provide us with some very understandable analogies to help us better understand the many esoteric nuances of spiritual life.                                                                      

How we interact with God in prayer is also explained using some very natural analogies. One word often used to describe our interaction with God in prayer is “fellowship”.  Fellowship comes from the Greek word ‘Koinonia’ meaning “sharing”.  Where religious rituals often require only the words and requests of a believer that he directs towards God, true fellowship ‘Koinonia’ involves a “sharing” or “interaction” between the believer and God.  We learn this from the natural analogy of what natural fellowship suggests between people.  To fellowship is to interact with another person. One speaks, while the other listens. Then, to make it a conversation and not a one-sided recitation, the other person is expected to respond. This is the example of fellowship the Lord intends to occur between the believer and Himself.  He longs for the opportunity to respond to us in prayer, making our time of prayer “fellowship” with God.

      The writer of Hebrews says “if any man comes to God (prayer), he must first believe that He is” (that God is there) (He.11:6).  When you pray, do you truly in your heart believe that God is there listening to what you are saying?  Not just there in the “omnipresent”, the sense that He is everywhere, but in the sense that you have a personal audience with Him.  This is the first obstacle the natural mind cannot comprehend, an obstacle that we must overcome when we pray. We must believe the Lord is there and that He hears us. Prayer must not be just a ritual indifferently recited to the heavens; it must be an expression of faith built upon the knowledge that God is listening.

            The second obstacle the natural mind must overcome when we pray is the belief that once God hears, He is ready and willing to respond to our prayers. Many pray in sincerity with little confidence God is really going to respond to their prayer. You can examine your own confidence in the Lord’s response to your prayers by examining the time you give Him to respond. Do you believe He will grant your request? If so, are you waiting to hear what He says in response to your prayer?

There are two things we should be looking for from God relating to a response. The first thing most people look for when they pray is the practical answer to their prayer.  Whether we are asking for healing, provision, wisdom, or reconciliation with another, we recognize that prayer as being answered when these situations are resolved.  One way God responds to our prayers is by doing what we have asked for!

            The second thing is something that all who pray would do well to also consider. That would be “what does the Lord have to say about those things we are praying for?”. What is His response to the things we ask?  Writing to the Corinthians, Paul declares that he approached the Lord three time regarding a physical need he had (2 Co.12:7-10).  The Lord responded to those prayers saying “my grace is sufficient”.  What the Lord was saying was “don’t worry about your problem, just continue in the grace I have given you”. Even though the Lord was not bringing a solution to Paul’s problem, He was still answering his prayers. Sometimes the answer is no, but it is an answer!

            The Lord uses our troubles and trials in this life to cause us to pray. He wants us to learn to “cast our cares upon Him”.  This is training us in the way of faith.  However, there is an even more profound and essential thing that our times of coming to Him in prayer are designed to accomplish. True prayer causes us to interact with God.  Just as Adam and Eve walked in the cool of the garden experiencing fellowship with God, so the Lord is working in us to bring us back to that place of fellowship and communion with Him. 

The Lord longs for interaction with us. He desires that we would call on Him in prayer, and that by faith we would expect Him to do what even natural man has learned is standard for a time of fellowship.  That is that there would be “sharing” and “interaction” between the fellowshippers.  He has designed prayer to be that place of fellowship where we both speak and listen.  Jesus said “my sheep hear my voice” and in the still and quiet place of faith where we wait for an answer the Lord will take up His part in the conversation of prayer that we offer Him. Be sure to make your time of prayer a dialogue of faithful fellowship and not a monologue of religion recital.