Conversing
I did not post an article for the last three days due to a funeral in the family. My Aunt Adeline passed over the weekend. I was in Tennessee to pay my respects to the family, visit with their friends, and share in their memories of one of my favorite aunts.
While there were many somber moments, there were a few blessings in the journey. I enjoyed meeting many of my younger cousins I had never met, catching up with older cousins, and thoroughly enjoying the southern hospitality of the community. I also enjoyed listening to my aunt’s pastor share prayers for the family each night at her showing and at her service.
I found a southern pastor who knows the definition of brevity in prayer.
Now, I don’t mean to dog on any southern pastors or long-winded prayer sayers… this is not my focus or point today. I know there are pastors everywhere who can pray up a storm for hours without really saying too much, and there are pastors who say more in ten seconds than I can say all day long. The point is not so much the length of the prayer as it is the focus and intent of the prayer.
We find a carefully worded warning in Ecclesiastes 5:2.
Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.
I know some folks believe there is value in long prayers just for the purpose of being a long prayer. There is a belief we are building up “credit” with God by spending long periods of time in prayer, so perhaps to overwhelm God with our dedication and holiness or make Him so weary with our words He is forced into action just to get us to shut up.
While I doubt God gets bored with us… nor does He ever grow weary, I’m not sure He expects us to layout meaningless petitions, prayer clichés, or recite prayer patterns over and over again. I believe He desires intelligent dialog with us. I believe He is God, and as such He deserves a clear-minded offering of our sincere praise, a decisive submission of our needs, and a direct, to the point approach in our conversation with Him.
Again, the point is not so much the length of the prayer as it is the focus and intent of the prayer. When we are specific and focused in our conversation with God, I truly believe He can be specific and focused in His response. I believe this based on my experience in my relationship with Him and in my prayer conversation with Him.
When I have a conversation with my children, I thoroughly enjoy talking with them and I always welcome their attention. It would feel a little fake if they said the same words over and over again or if I started to think they were reciting something flowery instead of having a conversation with me. Our relationship would not advance, nor would it be very close, if they stood up in the living room and started laying out prose as if addressing an audience. When my children speak with me, we have a conversation.
My aunt’s pastor understands the essence of prayer conversation. I am encouraged by him to continue in my dialog with God, praying in my conversation with Him, and enjoying my relationship with God. If I have a short prayer that is good conversation, then I have a short prayer; if I have a long prayer that is actually a long conversation, then I am enjoying a long conversation with God - not a recited presentation of petitions or prayer clichés.
I encourage you in your relationship with God. Speak with Him. When you pray, it should not be praying TO God, but praying WITH God so you begin to recognize it is a two-sided conversation. If you are not accustomed to this radical shift in your prayer life, give it some time. I used to be there, too. Contact me if you want some help with it or comment here or on Facebook if you have a testimony of how you transitioned from the TO to the WITH.
Glenn Sasscer
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July 29th, 2010 at 5:33 pm
[...] Conversing | What Glenn Writes glennsasscer.com/wordpress/2010/07/29/conversing/ – view page – cached I did not post an article for the last three days due to a funeral in the family. My Aunt Adeline passed over the weekend. I was in Tennessee to pay my respects to the family, visit with their friends, and share in their memories of one of my favorite aunts. Tweets about this link [...]
July 29th, 2010 at 9:54 pm
AMEN Glenn!!! You are so right Preacher Fain was wonderful to our family and he always knew exactly what to say in the moment. He always held a special place in granny & papaw's hearts. Thank you so much for this wonderful reflection. And thank you for making the trip to the funeral. Your family has always meant so much to us. May God continue to bless you in all that you do!
Love,
Kristie Sasscer-Ray
July 30th, 2010 at 12:34 pm
Thanks, Kristie. It was a pleasure to see everyone, although I wish it was under different circumstances. Thanks for your many blessings.
July 31st, 2010 at 9:23 pm
So, are you saying that you don't believe that a "learned" prayer like the "Our Father" or the "Hail Mary" is a good dialogue with God? Do you not believe in "repetitive" prayer or "meditative" prayer? I have a nightly dialogue with God that includes a conversation style prayer, but also "learned" or "repetitive" prayers. I think that there are many times when we need "repetitive or meditative" prayer, so as to center ourselves, to maybe use that time to block out all the thoughts circling in our heads. There are so many times in our lives that we have too much going on in our little brains, that we need to stop and prepare for that conversation with God. Sometimes we are so busy, that to just have a conversation with God can be a very difficult thing. By using repetitive and meditative prayers, we can center ourselves, clear our mind of any thoughts, except for focusing on the words God gave us to use to pray to him. When the apostles asked Jesus, "Lord, how do we pray?", Jesus gave us a very simple and loving prayer, so I think we should use it! I enjoy my "conversations" with God, but I know there is a great need for the rosary or other forms of meditative prayers. It's not just about repeating the prayer over and over again, it's about when you are saying that particular prayer, that you are focusing on every word you are praying. What do these words mean to me? What can I learn from these words in these prayers? What does God want me to do? How can I be the person God wants me to be? There have been times in my life where I didn't know where to begin, but I always knew I could begin with 'Our Father, who art in heaven…." and from there I could find the words needed to begin my conversation with God.
When I attended Uncle Carroll's funeral, Pastor Fain was truly wonderful. He has a gift and he chose the right profession. I'm sorry we couldn't attend Aunt Adeline's funeral. She was truly a wonderful person. Both will always be in my prayers.
August 1st, 2010 at 2:57 pm
Sharon – There is absolutely nothing wrong with repetitive prayer. The point of this article was not against a learned prayer, but encouraging a prayer conversation beyond the learned prayer. I am confident the Lord is blessed by us praying His words back to Him. This is a great foundation in our relationship with Him, yet we restrict our relationship with Him if this is where the prayer dialog stops. Sometimes the best prayer is simply, “Oh God, thank you.”
I can see how this article may have given you the impression it was against a learned prayer. Thank you for your points and a chance to clarify.
August 1st, 2010 at 5:29 pm
Really? Is the Hail Mary prayer dialog with God? Sorry… Mary is not my God…
August 1st, 2010 at 6:07 pm
Hi Dutch – I realize some believers look at the Hail Mary prayer as blasphemous or elevating Mary above God. We should be careful in our interpretation of how or what others pray.
When we look at the Hail Mary prayer, the first portion is taken directly from Scripture. Luke 1:28 records the angel’s words to Mary with, “And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.” (King James version).
The first part of the prayer is, “Hail Mary, full of grace. Our Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.”
The second part is where some might think the prayer elevates Mary as or above God, with, “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.”
(Continued in next comment…)
August 1st, 2010 at 6:09 pm
(Continued from above…) Mary is quick to clarify her position on the matter in Luke 1:46-48, “And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.”
With a good understanding of the Mary-Jesus relationship, I doubt many would pray this prayer thinking Mary was God and then had a God child in Jesus. Instead, we see Mary as the earthly vessel to birth Jesus, who was already in existence in a different form prior to the birth.
Again, as I have emphasized in other articles, what is our focus in the prayer? If our focus is to elevate Mary above God, then the prayer is blasphemous. If our focus is to pray Scripture back to God, then the prayer is centering ourselves to further focus on our truly magnificent relationship with Jesus.
August 1st, 2010 at 6:12 pm
Personally, my prayer focus is Jesus. He is the One with whom I am having the conversation.