Prayer Posture

In John 14, Jesus is teaching about what He wants to do in and through His disciples. He states:
12 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.
13 And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

We have been called into a wonderful partnership with God the Father through our Lord Jesus.  He has ascended into heaven, He is seated at God's right hand, and He is making intercession for us. He wants us to draw near to Him and experience power through prayer.  He has called us to pray in His name - He has provided us access to the throne of God, and we can gain a sense of His power when we utter His name.  The name is not magical or formulaic, but a reminder of the One who works mightily in our lives.

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In 1st John 5, we see a model for effective prayer:
14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

Prayer is a critical element of our relationship with God.  A new Barna Group survey explores the ways in which people pray.  The opening section of the summary of the survey relates that 79% of American adults have prayed at least once in the last three months.

When you break it down, the study found that "almost all American adults (94%) who have prayed at least once in the last three months most often choose to pray by themselves."

The summary continues:

Not only are most prayers a solo practice, but the vast majority are also most often silent (82% compared to 13% audible and solo prayers). Affirming this shift is the fact that only a very small percentage most often pray audibly with another person or group (2%), or collectively with a church (2%).

With respect to the content of prayers, 62% of those surveyed who pray with regularity related that their prayers most often contain "gratitude and thanksgiving."  61% said they most often pray for the needs of "family and community."  Other topics include: personal guidance, at 49%, and health and wellness at 47.

Moving on down, you see that 43% most often pray regarding confession and forgiveness.  Just over a third related that they bless their meals.  Just under a quarter pray for concerns about the nation or government, with only one-in-five praying for "concerns about global problems and injustices."

Now, while 9 out of 10 respondents say they pray to "God," it doesn't mean they are all praying to the same one.  Only 50% said they pray to Jesus.

Barna's editor-in-chief, Roxanne Stone, sums it up:

"...People pray mostly alone—it is a solitary activity defined primarily by the immediate needs and concerns of the individual. Corporate prayer and corporate needs are less compelling drivers in people’s prayer lives.”

She also points out: "For spiritual leaders, there is good news here as well as areas for renewed emphasis...” She states:

“The good news: People have active and personal prayer lives. They are engaging with God outside their houses of worship and around the most intimate and vulnerable areas of their lives. But what would it look like to begin to broaden the scope of those prayer lives? To consider the power of corporate prayer—when more than one are gathered in God’s name? How can we turn our collective prayers toward broader world issues and injustices? How do our prayers help others in times of crisis?”

So, it seems a lot of people of praying, but you do have to consider to whom they are praying. You do have to question why those who do not have a relationship with God through Jesus, the only way to the Father, are praying.  Perhaps it does make them feel better.  Maybe it gives a sense of hope.  But, the key to answered prayer is to know the One who can truly bring those solutions about.  It's not a vague deity or "higher power" or "divine power."  Effective prayer is a product of a relationship with the God of the universe.  I think of the prophets of the false god, Baal, who squared off against the prophet Elijah on Mount Carmel - they cried out to this non-existent entity and their answers were found to be non-existent as well.  The One True God showed up and answered the prayers of His faithful servant.

We can also think briefly about how we are praying.  Overwhelmingly, people spend time praying alone - and silently.  There does seem to be a de-emphasis on corporate prayer, and very few spend any time praying out loud with other people.  Without critiquing a person's style of prayer, I do think that we can be mindful to reserve that time, and to do it without distraction, to stay on track.  You perhaps have had moments in prayer when the mind wanders and the focus wanes; I know I have. Maybe nighttime prayers segue into sleepiness.  To stay directed, I find myself writing prayer topics or requests down in a journal.

We have been given this incredible opportunity to pray individually and collectively, to commune with the God of the universe.  It's important that we don't take that lightly and that we allow the Lord to direct us as we pray.  We pray not only for ourselves but for others, and I'm reminded that we certainly need to be in prayer for our leaders and for our culture.