When prayer focuses on what we need, then we are bound to neglect the One we need. Prayer becomes a shopping list, not a gaze at God. How can you change such an approach? This article answers that question.

Source: Australian Presbyterian, 2003. 2 pages.

Speak Up Prayer is Not a Spiritual Shopping List, it’s a Conversation

One of the first public speeches I delivered was in high school. For days I gathered information. I prepared an outline and practised dramatic techniques to enhance my pre­sentation. I rehearsed until I was certain of a good grade. When the big day arrived, I gave my talk precisely as I had prepared it.

Much to my dismay, however, the teacher was not as pleased as I. Her com­ment was stinging. “Fine content, but you never looked at us. I wasn’t sure whether you were more interested in us or in your notes.” That day I learned an important lesson. We show our regard for others by looking at them when we talk.

Psalm 123:2 suggests the same is true when we talk to God. A servant’s look is not an occasional glance at God but an intense gaze at Him:

As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till He shows us His mercy.

These servants fix their eyes on the Master’s hand. Their attention is so intense they refuse to turn away “till He shows us His mercy”.

This portrait stands in sharp contrast to many of our prayers. Instead of centering on God, most Christians only glance occasionally in His direction. Generally our prayers begin with an address toward God: “Our Father,” “Lord Jesus,” “Heavenly Father.” We intersperse His name throughout a prayer: “Lord ... Lord ... Lord”. And typically our prayers close with “in Jesus’ name, Amen.”

This is often, however, nearly all the attention God receives. In a prayer lasting 10 minutes, we will usually spend less than sixty seconds focusing primarily on God.

This neglect of God reveals a basic mis­understanding about prayer. We often treat prayer like a spiritual shopping list. We walk into God’s general store, give a perfunctory nod in His direction, and then proceed to the real reason we came — the grocery list. How easy it is to forget that we are dealing with a divine person, not a heavenly mail-order catalogue. When we focus too much on what we need, we are bound to neglect the One whom we need.

These observations should make us stop and examine our prayers. What do we think about as we pray? We can easily become so absorbed with our material and spiritual needs that they crowd out all thoughts of God. We must guard against reducing prayer solely to concern for our needs. Sporadic and half-hearted attention to God will never yield life-enriching prayer. We must cultivate the look of a servant, an intense gaze at God.

There are many ways we can develop an intense gaze toward God. One helpful method for focusing on God is to address Him meaningfully.

Usually we address God by only a few titles: “Father,” “God,” “Lord,” “Jesus”. While these names are full of wonderful meaning, often we use them so frequently that we do not stop to think about their mean­ing. The habit of addressing God in these familiar ways can cause our minds to drift away from intense concern with Him.

One of the first steps toward renewing our attention to God is to address Him with variety. Variation creates new interest in God. For instance, thinking about Him as the “Exalted King”, “Mighty Fortress” or “Giver of Life” immediately stirs our hearts. These titles help us focus more clearly on who God is and what He does for us.

The Bible provides countless ways of addressing God: righteous Judge (2 Tim. 4:8), Head of the Church (cf Eph. 1:22), Firstborn of creation (cf Col. 1:15), Firstborn among many brothers (Rom. 8:29), King of Kings (Rev. 19:16), Morning Star (Rev. 22:16), chief corner­stone (Eph. 2:20), Lamb of God (John 1:29). Each of these is full of powerful sig­nificance that draws us toward Him.

If so many possibilities for addressing God are available to us, how should we choose from among them? Psalm 68:5 illustrates a useful principle:

A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling.

This passage expresses the truth that different people need God in different ways. God reveals himself as a protecting husband to the widow and as a father to the orphan.

His character is so rich and multifac­eted that He deals with us according to our individual needs. The gospel pre­sents Jesus as one who meets the variety of needs created by sin and rebellion against God. In His grace, God reveals Himself as the answer to our individual circumstances.

In the Psalms, God is frequently addressed in ways that correspond directly to the needs of the one praying. When the Psalmist desires forgiveness, he addresses God appropriately:

Restore us again, O God our Saviour, and put away your displeasure toward us.Psalm 85:4

In a context dealing with the reversal of calamity, the psalmist says,

Lord, you have been our dwelling place — throughout all generationsPsalm 90:1

Today, we too may call on God in ways that are appropriate to our concerns. In times of sorrow, we may refer to Him as our Comforter. When discouraged, we may address Him as our Hope and Courage. Joyful prayers may speak of God as our Strength and Song. Whatever the case, addressing God in ways that are particularly relevant to the rest of our prayer enlivens our attention to Him. In this way, we avoid focusing simply on our needs and move closer to centering our prayers on God Himself, the One who can deal with our needs.

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