Prayers, large and small
One of my family members recently declared that he believes there is no place in the Christian life for praying for a car park. Prayers about health/sickness also came in for a slamming. After studying Paul's prayers recorded in the Bible, he noted that they are about eternal things and believers' growth in grace. While I share his concerns about believers not praying about the things the Bible shows are most imporant, I do not agree that prayers about relatively small things are illegitimate.
As Amy wrote after praying for her newborn to sleep:
"does God care about sleeping babies? Of course He does. We ought to bring all things to Him. When we bring the dailyness of our lives before Him, we acknowledge His sovereignty over all things. The danger, of course, is forgetting that His Kingdom is big. When we bring the small details of our lives to Him, we ought to remember, too, that His kingdom extends beyond our four walls to the four corners of the earth. It is not only about the moment, but also about His Church that began with Adam and Eve and extends to future generations. "
What an eloquent way to express this truth! I often pray as I go about my work. In one thought I'll ask that God will help J___ adjust to having twins, and in the next that Dad will be saved. I pray that God will help me make my bed, and that he will enable me to be more self-controlled and kind. Small and large next to one another.
While there is a danger in only praying about small things, there is also a danger in reserving prayer for the greatest things. In doing so, people may fail to seek God about their worries in relation to their children, money, and other life issues. They may seek their own solutions, thinking these things are too small to bring to God.
I also believe the Lord's Prayer and other parts of the Bible show that there is nothing wrong with praying for small things as well as large ones, the physical as well as the eternal. In the Lord's Prayer, we pray in one breath that God will give us our daily bread and in the next that he will forgive our sins.
Our greatest danger is not praying about small things, but failing to pray enough. I often fall into this. I want to grow in understanding the most imporant things to pray for, yes. Toward this end, I have learnt a prayer from Phillipians. Yet my greatest need is to learn to pray more, and bring everything before the Lord. To commit at least 30 minutes each day to concentrating on prayer. Offering up prayers in the midst of everything else is good, but it is not enough. I was better at devoting large amounts of time to prayer early in my Christian life. This is not how it should be. We should grow stronger in concentrating in prayer the longer we walk with Jesus.
Occasionally I come across a quote that inspires me again in regard to prayer. I am reminded that God is ready and waiting to answer, if we will but asked. I am reminded that prayer is one of our most effective and vital activities. This quote from Samuel Charwick, Puritan, has been a special encouragement:
"Satan dreads nothing but prayer. Activities are multiplied that prayer may be ousted, and organizations are increased that prayer may have no chance. The one concern of the devil is to keep the saints from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.”
Do you have anything to share about how you pray, what you mainly pray about, or means you use to have concentrated times of prayer?
