The word pray in the Greek is proseú
Do you see? Prayer isn't just asking for God's involvement, it is intentional communication that allows for us to gain a divine perspective in all areas of life! Instead of a self centered prayer life where we ask God to come help us in our preconceived notions of what we want in life, we now communicate with Him so that we conform our expectations to His!
"Thomas said to Him, 'Lord, we do not know where you are going, how do we know the way?' Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth , and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.'
Philip said to Him, 'Lord, who us the Father, and it is enough for us.' Jesus said to him, 'Have I been so long with you and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves.
'Truly, truly, 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 the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it." (John 14: 5-14)
This is such a jammed packed passage! It reveals to us the nature of prayer and how it connects us to the will of God. Prayer allows His plan to be carried out through our agreement with Him. The Disciples start off very confused, they still think that the Father is 'out there' somewhere, and that if only they were somehow able to grasp Him they would understand. Jesus contradicts this notion by saying that the Father has displayed Himself to the world through the son! Once we let go of our false dualism's, prayer finds its rightful place.
Jesus says that even the words He speaks aren't on His own initiative, but from the Father. He then says that when we know Him, we Know the Father! Just like Jesus, who 'only does what He sees His father doing', when we know Him we do the same things He does. Not only that but He says we will do even greater things!
Here is where we get confused. Jesus says that whatever we ask 'in His name' He will do it. We are so dense when it comes to this idea that we think saying 'In Jesus name' at the end of the prayer gives it power or validity. Remember the Greek word for prayer? It means to interact with the Lord and exchange our wishes for His. 'In His name' is not a magic formula that makes our prayers viable. In Hebrew culture names carried deep meaning. They not only carried defining characteristics, but also attributed authority. When a king sends someone to act 'in his name', he is giving him the authority to act on his behalf, or to literally be him to others. !
Jesus is saying that we are to ask the Father in accordance with who He is. Therefore when we pray in His name, we are literally asking and partnering with the heart and will of God. "For we are co-workers in God's service; you are God's field, God's building (1 Cor. 3:9)." Christians are those who are growing into the image of the Son, acting, thinking, and even feeling like Him. We are carrying out the will of God; as He is so are we in this world (1 John 4:17)!
Prayer is not a practice to get God involved in our lives, it is a practice to get us involved in His life!
We conform to His image, we agree with God's will and watch it manifest in our lives. "For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God (2 Cor. 1:20)." God makes a promise, because of Jesus we agree (Amen means 'so be it'), and God gets glory when His will is carried out through our co-laboring with Him.
"Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them."(Matthew 18:19-20)."
Remember, 'In my name', means with an understanding of who and how He is. Since we are in agreement with His will, He is 'there'.
Talking about prayer in this way is more than semantics. It is the difference between being powerful and powerless.
Jesus Calms the Storm (A story of faithless interaction)
"And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, 'Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?' And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, 'Hush, be still.' And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. And he said to them, 'Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith (Mark 4:37-40)."
The disciples probably thought to themselves. 'We had faith, we knew exactly who to turn to for help.' yet Jesus said they had no faith. Jesus was sleeping in the midst of the storm, He had peace in Him, so He was able to release peace to the world around Him. Likewise when we know who we are and what we carry, we can influence the world around us. Perhaps if the disciples realized the authority Jesus had already given them, they could have calmed the sea rather than asking Jesus to do it. They did not 'believe' what was already given to them.
When we realize who we are in Him, and what His will is, our prayer life can change from one of beseeching God to do something, to agreeing with what He already has said He wants to do. This agreement then allows His will to manifest in our lives.
It is just fine to ask God to come into our situations, prayer is a practice of trust and reliance. The more we invite Him into our lives through intentional prayer, the more we will see our lives conform to His will. But we will also have our minds renewed so that we can purposefully declare to our circumstances the will of God and see them bend their knee to His glory.
If we are asking out of our own selfish motives, chances are God isn't going to answer those prayers, but when we ask 'in accordance to who He is', wonderful things happen.
Practicals
1. Ask God what He wants to do rather than just asking Him to do what we want Him to do in that situation.
2. Listen: When you spend time with God, make sure to take time to listen to His 'still small voice'. When you have a sense for what He wants to do in a given situation, mentally and even verbally agree with that. Write it down, tell a friend, and see what happens!
3. Give Thanks: Faith allows us to praise God for what He is going to do before we even see it happen. Give thanks to God for His faithfulness, His promises, and His goodness. A heart of gratitude will give you the proper perspective on your life circumstances and will empower you to relate with God in the healthiest way.
4. Testify: Tell others when you see the joy of co-laboring with God transform you and the world around you. Boast in Him, and give thanks continuously.
Very Important
Try not to be too introspective, wondering if what you want is God's desire or your desire. The glory of the new covenant is that He is in you and is giving you the 'desire and ability to carry out His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13).' If you have confidence that you are walking with Him in Spirit and in Truth, then you can have confidence that He is shaping your desires to parallel His own. You no longer have to say all the time that 'His ways are higher than my ways', but instead you can say with confidence that, 'I have the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16).'
This is a practice of trust, and it takes risk. We can get it wrong. Thankfully the all encompassing forgiveness of Jesus allows us to freely embrace the challenge of relating with God boldly, even to the extent of getting it wrong and making mistakes. Stay humble, stay free, and keep being bold!
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