Prayer Changes Things…

Driving past a local church the other day I noticed a banner outside inviting people to a “Prayer Café” held at the church, the banner headlined “Prayer Changes Things”. This bold statement got me to wondering; Does prayer change things? And if it does, in what way? My first thought was that if you were reading that poster as someone who did not believe in God or some benevolent deity or deities you were probably were drawn to the secular idea of prayer where one asks for things, such as the delivery of a loved one from a serious illness, or help finding that perfect job, or even a big win on a lottery. My understanding of prayer is not even close to that, and the comment on prayer in Matthew 6:7-8 speaks volumes, here Jesus says, “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”  The most poignant statement in these verses being that God, described here as a Father, knows what we need even before we ask him, raising the question; do we really need to ask him in the first place? One of my favourite verses of the Bible, Proverbs 3:5, would support that point of view with, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” We are instructed to trust in God, period! So, if it’s not to ask for help in a difficult situation or for personal gain what is the purpose of prayer? Hundreds of books have been written on this very subject over the centuries by people with vastly superior theological knowledge than mine. Add to this the almost innumerable self-help books, blogs, vlogs, and other articles that one can find, and one could render anything I write null and void. But I believe I am entitled to an opinion, however sketchy some might find the theology behind it, and I will share it here with you.

When presiding over a funeral - something I have done on numerous occasions over the past 20 years - and I am aware that there are people present who might not understand what prayer is and because of that lack of understanding might be uncomfortable taking part in any prayers that are included (and I am yet officiate at a funeral where my suggestion to include prayers has been declined, even at secular funerals), I always include a preface that whoever or whatever “God” may be in a person’s private view, prayer is essentially talking to that God. In doing so I am trying to get across the fact that God is a person with whom one can talk, and being able to talk to them makes them real, personal, and approachable. So, on the premise that God is real and that I can have a personal relationship with Him, what does that mean about my prayers? For that I will refer to Proverbs 3 again, but this time the verse that follows the one I mentioned earlier, verse 6, “In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Whilst neither of these verses say anything specifically about prayer, they do talk of our relationship and attitude towards God, and this should, IMHO, determine how we approach God in prayer; trusting in Him and not in our own understanding of relationships, situations, others, the world, EVERYTHING; acknowledging Him with everything we have; and by doing so our paths will be straight, not straight toward success, good health, or a fortune, but straight towards everything he has in store for us in this life, but more importantly the next! I return to Matthew 6 and Jesus’s treatise on prayer because it is here where we find the perfect prayer that he teaches us, and dear reader I would be surprised if you didn’t know it, and if you don’t them go read it, maybe learn it. It is in verses 6-13 and can also be found in Luke 11:1–4, it begins, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name…..”

I seem to have strayed from the questions that I posed at the beginning of this discourse; “Does prayer change things? And if it does, in what way?” For me, the perfect answer to this for a secular world, maybe even for some who identify as being Christian, is found in the movie, Evan Almighty, a rich harvest ground for people like me who love writing about things as faith, the church and prayer. The premise of the story is simple, God (Morgan Freeman) has appeared to Evan Baxter (Steve Carell), a newly elected Senator, and told him to build an Ark because a flood is coming (familiar story?). Just about everyone, including his wife Joan (Lauren Graham), thinks he has lost the plot, because of this Joan has left and taken their children. In this scene Joan and the kids have stopped at a restaurant with a TV broadcasting various newsreaders and presenters ridiculing her husband. At some point the kids go to the bathroom and God approached Joan disguised as a waiter and voices his support for Evan to which Joan responds and this brief dialogue ensues. If you don’t want to play the video, I include the dialogue below the video:

Joan: “But my husband says God told him to do it.

God: “Sounds like an opportunity.”

Joan: looks perplexed.

God: “Let me ask you something. If someone prays for patience, you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient?”

God: “If they pray for courage, does God give them courage, or does he give them opportunities to be courageous?”

God: “If someone prays for their family to be closer, you think God zaps them with warm, fuzzy feelings? Or does he give them opportunities to love each other?”

God then makes some funny comments then leaves Joan to her thoughts, and her fish and chips. I won’t say anymore because I don’t want to spoil if for those who haven’t seen the movie. 

Prayer does change things, but often not in the way we want or expect. It is often difficult to understand why the prayer for the afflicted seems to make no material difference, or when we find ourselves in a dark place why praying to God doesn’t instantly bathe us in light. It sounds like a cop-out to defend against those who don’t believe or openly ridicule or oppose the Christian faith, but the reality is that even the greatest theologians don’t really understand God and why some prayers get answered and some don’t, but what we do know is what has been revealed to us in the Bible. We can be reassured that “we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” As the apostle Paul writes in Romans 8:28. 

I will leave you with a short story about something that happened to me, it’s not amazing or breath-taking and it’s not really about prayer but it is about trusting in God.

Many years ago, I was driving to Reading from Chippenham for a meeting and decided to take the A4 as the weather was nice and it is a much more scenic route than the motorway. I was making very good time until I got stuck behind farm vehicles, slow drivers, and various other vehicles that saw me beginning to run late. The thing was the more I rushed, the worse my situation got. I started to curse under my breath, doing my best impression of Mutley from Wacky Races. 

I then started complaining to God, saying he knew how important this meeting was and why couldn’t he help me get where I needed to be. Things got even worse and I tried to take a short cut that I had used dozens of times, but got lost, I was apoplectic! I then realize what I was doing and that it was my own fault I was in this situation, I calmed down, apologized in prayer to God, acknowledged that he was sovereign in my life, and stopped trying to rush. There was nothing I could do anyway, I only had 20 minutes to get to the meeting and even at full speed and with no traffic it would take me over an hour to get there. I realized where I was, turned the car around, put some music on, and drove at a reasonable pace to my office expecting to be very late. I was oblivious to the time now as it didn’t matter so I didn’t keep my eye on the clock. I arrived at my office with 5 minutes to spare.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

and do not lean on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge Him, 

and he will make straight your paths.”