Learning to Pray

During the coming week we will be looking at the Spiritual Discipline of Prayer. In Feb. 2014, we'll take a month long look at Prayer. Of all the Disciplines, prayer is the one most of us are most familiar with. From the "Now I lay me down to sleep" of our childhood to the Lord's Prayer, we all have been exposed to the practice of praying.

Did you know that praying is something we learn? As such, it follows that we can get better at it ... we can progress in our prayer life. The disciples, in Luke 11:1, ask Jesus "Teach us to pray." His reply is the well-known Lord's Prayer. It was given as a model ... not a ritual that is intended be repeated over and over. We can learn to be more in tune with God. We can get better at knowing His will. We can ask and be assured we will receive.

While I believe God hears every prayer of every type, I love Anne Lamott's statement in Traveling Mercies: "There are really only two prayers. One is 'Help me, help me, help me.' The other is 'Thank you, thank you, thank you.' " I would add, 'Help my neighbor' and 'Wow!'

The other amazing thing that the Bible teaches about Prayer is that it can change what happens in our world. (How an infinite God is influenced by finite people is one of the great mysteries of faith ... and above my pay grade to fully explain). I know from what happened to people in scripture, what happened to Christians throughout history, what has happened to my friends and what happens to me, God does answer prayers and often changes His mind about events in our world. We can, through prayer, affect the outcome of situations and know that God alters circumstances.

I'm praying that this week, and next February, you and I learn how to pray more effectively. I trust we will then experience the joy and wonder of seeing our prayers answered.