Learning How to Pray, Part 2

Some people see prayer as a divinely-sanctioned way to get what they want. Pray and receive. When they do not get what they want, there is a crisis of "faith:" there must not be a God.

To be sure, we are told to ask for what we need (Jesus) and to pray for what makes us anxious (Paul), but neither of those instructions define what prayer is or reveal its importance to us.

In the prayer that Jesus gave us, we see that prayer molds us to want what God wants as we become who God is. We ask for all to worship God as we worship him ourselves. We pray that his will is done, pointing our hearts to consider what his will is. We pray that his kingdom come, causing us to meditate on what that kingdom is like and considering our part to play in this coming. We pray for what we need for the day, training ourselves to be content and thankful on a daily basis. We ask God for forgiveness, not because of an anxiety-ridden fear of exclusion, but as a reminder of the character of God that we now share: we forgive as he forgave us, learning the price of love. When we pray for his guidance and protection, we are reminded of our own weakness and his strength and power to save. We are remembering who he is as Creator and who we are as the Created, and in the remembering a completely natural and appropriate humility is nourished.

We pray and so from the heart are being molded into the free people of God, beautiful in humility, shining in graciousness, free to laugh, love, create and serve without fear.