Rethinking Prayer

       Prayer is not a magical formula to get what you want from God. When I moved to Tennessee i was told by some well meaning Christians that as a doctor all I had to do to stop hemmorhage (uncontrollable bleeding) was pray Ezek. 16:6 (in KJV of course) http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ezek%2016:6&version=KJV. Wouldn't it be nice if there was a secret formula to move the all-mighty God of the universe to be obligated to do our bidding? If there was these might be the keys:
1. confess sins - Ps.66:18
      If I had cherished sin in my heart,
    the Lord would not have listened
2. follow Biblical patterns such as the Prayer of Jabez who got what he asked for
3. Have confidence- James 1:6-8
 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷ That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. ⁸ Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.
4. Have faith - James 5:15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well
                        Matt. 21:22  If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
5. Abide in Christ - John 15:7
               If you abide in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
6. Pray passionately - Hebrews 5:7
            During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard ...
 7. Be persistent - Luke 18:1-8  Parable of the persistent widow
8. Don't ask selfishly - James 4:2,3
            You do not have because you do not ask God. ³ When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures
 9. Pray with someone - James 5:14-16
               ¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. ^{... 16} Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed
10. Deal with relational friction -  1 Pet. 3:7
              Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.
11. Get in a fellowship - Eph. 6:18
              And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

 Now I still believe this to be true in that when there is no sin blocking our communication, we pray according to Biblical guidlines passionately in faith, and abide in the vine - we will be so in tune with God that our prayers will become His prayers. In other words we will be asking for what He wants rather than what we want and thus we will always get what "we" want. But in the rest of this blog bear with me as I try to give a different slant on prayer.
        This is the traditional approach to prayer; we have problems which drive us to prayer to get results or answers.

                  Problems  ------> Prayer -------> Answers

So according to the above 11 points we are focusing on the 2nd arrow because answers are the bottom line as seen below;


                                               confidence, obedience, abiding, passion,biblical examples, faith, etc.
              Problems -------> Prayer ----------------------------------------------> Answers

Let me take you back to Hebrews 5:7 " During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission." Do you see that! Jesus our greatest example in Gethsemene prayed with sweat drops of blood that if there were any other way other than the cross let it be done. Now do you think Jesus followed the 11 conditions for getting prayers answered that I listed above? Of course! Did he get the answer He wanted? No, but He got something better; He was heard. Have you ever wrapped your mind around the fact that when you pray the God of Isaiah 6, Daniel 7, Ezekiel 1, Exodus 19,33, and Revelation 4 actually hears you just like when you are in a conversation with an earthly friend, spouse, etc. I think our prayer diagram should look more like the below diagram with prayer being the bottom line. Prayer should be the culmination not answers.


Problems ----------> Prayer-----------> Answers

See that - prayer redefined. God gives/allows problems in our lives to drive us to our knees so we can experience that relationship with him that we were created for, to experience that oneness with him that Jesus prayed for (John 17:23), and possibly more important than that, acknowledging our utter dependence, allegiance, and submission to Him which gives Him the glory He deserves. That is truly why we exist - for the praise of His glory - and prayer makes that happen. This is not just some random thought but is seen all through scripture. Therefore this is what finally happens to our diagram:

                                                   obedience, passion, biblical examples, faith, confidence, abiding, etc.
Problems ----------> Prayer <--------------------------------------------------- Answers

See the difference? The answers are what strengthens our relationship with God and the magnification of His glory.(The < is pointing the other direction) The confession of sin/obedience that used to be on our checklist of things to do in order to get  what we want now is done to give us a more intimate relationship with God. The passionate prayers deepen our emotional connection with our heavenly Father rather than part of a formula to get answers. The confidence in getting answers now becomes a confidence in The Faithful and True One.And so on,you get the point - I hope.
              I encourage you to rethink prayer. Prayer is the bottom line.