Prayer Habit

It is human to shy away from prayer as a prevailing matter in Christian life.  Because God has everything, he needs nothing from human beings.  His omniscience means that he needs no information from us.  His omnipotence means that he needs no service from us.  We could make a litany of this kind of statement.  In short, God needs nothing, but he does desire some things and demanding others.  That understanding is basic to the understanding of humility in the human race.  Much of the humility we practice means virtually nothing to him.  The gracious prince may practice humility (genuine in wholly human context) to the pauper, all the while knowing his value exceeds that of the pauper.  The pauper may practice humility (also genuine in context) to the prince because he must in concern for his own economic welfare, perhaps for tradition, perhaps because he feels beaten down.  All God does is based on truth, and is not related to our sense of worth, but God’s equality principles.  Equality calls me to that dignity.  Why be humble if there is equality?  We might well get by if we don’t brag (pride).  But we are not supposed to be proud in God’s perception but express that factor in the dignity of that which God has made in his image.

The understanding does not appear in any need on the part of God, except that the truth is he wants some things.  Each of us has needs, and each has wants.  The needs are not subject to rejection, if I want to live. Many of my wants are not dependent upon my life welfare, but are important in vaulting me ahead of the animal world.  I don’t want to live very long if only my needs are met.  I may as well go to prison where needs are met, but few wants are met.  God wants to share his life with the creation.  That creation is a product of God, and depends upon God for needs or wants creation will provide.  Our image of the mature (perfect) God must follow that form so to gain the created completion.  Prayer is a tool of that completion.  Prayer is spiritual thinking, reflecting the thinking of a loved child to the parent.  The best thoughts the Christian is likely to have will occur in prayer, in one of its forms as biblical meditation, oral or written prayer, in the silence of directed meditation, or in the directed desires of the heart.  Genuine prayer means fellowship with God.  If the child doesn’t care enough to leave his or her toys for time with the father, why should he give time to lost or meager fellowship?  Even my babblings, when truly directed to God in prayer are heard and registered by God.  We read in Scripture that he bottles our tears.  I believe that is a figure of speech, but wouldn’t be surprised if it were to appear in the heavenly registry.  Prayer properly engaged, may generate humility and pain when rightly understood. 

That humility drives me to Scripture to discover that to which I should be obedient, that which pleases the father.  It offers fulfillment to truth that I am a human being of value to God who will offer awards for faithfulness to those striving to live in the beauty of holiness, and in the pleasure of God.  He has all the angels he needs for any self-fulfillment he may want from another.  He gave human beings freedom so that their love, and his, can be reciprocated without the force of relationship to God built into our formation.  The Christian, in biblical understanding, loves God because he or she wants and chooses to love God.  The wants are lined up.  When persons do not care enough, God simply backs away.  He can manage being the rejected lover.  And, we cannot manage as well as we ought even to the final scene of life to death.   

Prayer is necessary not to gain blessing, although that is a strong part of it, but the main point is work – an alert watchman, not languishing, but taking the matter seriously in a form of fellowship that contributes to growth in spiritual maturity.  The person in prayer is to be entrusted in what is going on in the world and community, for those with whom they share devotional experience.  Prayer is to be affirmative and draw upon knowledge including values from Scripture.  Love, meaning, peace, understanding, answers will appear in prayer that may not be received in any other way.  Negative influences are inevitably lightened in the prayer course of life for Christians.  They may not be done away.  Concepts affirming prayer are repetitive in Scripture, verified in the practice of faith prayer as a constant (unceasing habit) in devotion.