Dawn and I made the short journey from our house into central London yesterday for a meeting at THQ in Elephant and Castle with the guys who look after the prayer network for the Salvation Army here in the UK.
My friend Karen told me a great story. They had been at a prayer gathering at Banbury corps the previous week she told me that one person had prayed this prayer.
"Thank you Lord for bringing me here today because it's better than bingo!"
I love it.
That's my kind of praying.
Honest, simple and expressive.
God must love it so much.
It reminded me of the power of simple, without limit, prayer.
I go to lots of prayer meetings in the course of my ministry and I've got to be honest there are times when I lose the will to live in them! We see the technical prayer people who use terminology and phrases that leave me totally bemused. And sometimes lost! I see the prayer people who have the gift of extended prayer, you know it starts so well, and then goes on so long that you take your eyes off Jesus and fix them on your watch. I've seen the repeaters who repeat the same phrase over and over again and you start to think, "I'm sure God got it the first time!" I've seen the dramatists who like to leave long silences in between their sentences and very rarely say amen, so no-one actually knows if they've finished or not, and then just when you think they have finished, and you go to say something, they start up again! And so on and so on.
Don't get me wrong.
It's all prayer and therefore it's all valid and important.
But.
I'm not the most patient in prayer meetings. I just want straight simple talk and dialogue with God.
So when a little child says something like, "Thank you God for my cat" or like this person prays, "Thank you God for bringing me here today because it's better than bingo", it feels so refreshing.
I believe this kind the genuineness will bring the church back to life.
Simple prayer.
The expression of exactly what's inside of us.
God never gives me a technical answer to my prayers.Thinking about it I always understand what he says! even if I'm not sure if I like his answer!
God gives us a number of clues in scripture about his desire for straight talking communication.
"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to standing in the synagogues and on the street corners be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full." Matthew 6:5
Genuine soul extracted prayer is maybe not as popular in 21st century Christianity as it should be.
You know?
Those very real outpourings of how you actually feel or of what you need to ask or say, or express?
Prayer has never been and never will be a religious chore, or a dish best served cold.
It is life.
True life.
The essence of a relationship that can't just be reserved for prayer meetings or private sessions.
And.
I write this because I ask the question, is there anyone else out there who is tired of laboured drab prayer? The relentless tirade of clichéd prayer?
Lately I've personally come out the other side of a difficult period in my ministry and my Christian life in general.
And.
Looking back at it.
I think I didn't bare my soul enough.
My prayers had resorted to dry, unrelational prayers that came more from head than my heart.
After Karen told me this little story, I was really challenged to keep my prayer real. Not how others do it, not how the so called expert prayer people do it.
But.
To just be me.
I don't play bingo, so I've no idea if the meeting at Banbury was better or not!
But the prayer from the heart of that person who prayed?
It reminded me that simple prayer, unblemished by technicality, prayer correctness, or effectual depth, is the key to kingdom bringing prayer. The gateway to a real relationship with a God who loves us deeply. And the slipway to ushering in the seeds of revival to this broken world.
So I feel challenged and leave the challenge with you guys today.
When we pray?
Be real.
Keep it heartfelt.
Keep it you.
Keep it real.
Blessings.
