“…. The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working].”
(James 5:16 – AMPC)
Parents plan and procreate offspring for the love of their cute, captivating, capricious and cuddlesome selves (and the many other joys so derived). These miniature versions endearingly reproduce and reflect their parents’ personalities, possibilities, proclivities and potentials, delightful perks that astound parents and in which they relish perpetually. Likewise, God desires to reproduce highly effective and reflective individuals who will rightly represent Him to a lost and dying world.
1 Peter 2:5 tells us we are God’s temples, physical dwellings who house His Spirit and are ever-evolving into a highly effective spiritual priesthood. God has always desired to dwell among/within sweet fellowship with His people1,2, and man’s response to this should be an avid and consistent pursuit of His presence and partnership3-5.
Prayer is the primary mode by which man responds to, pursues and communicates with God. In its most basic form, it is communion and fellowship with God, inherently producing power, and instilling purpose in the one who engages wholeheartedly. It is not intended as a religious activity, a ritual of somber piety, or a display of eloquent soliloquy. Any of these objectives will render its engagement and engager utterly ineffective, having missed its intended essence and thereby requiring a thorough reorientation in and to the ways of God.
The purpose of prayer is its catalyzing action as a turbo engine of change. If its habitual engagement does not change the engager, something is wrong. Prayer’s end is not the unrelenting utterance of pithy prayer points, its primary goal is the aligning/communion/fellowship/intercourse/interchange/heart exchange with God, thereby transforming man and causing him to be more reflective of Him. If all that occurs at any given time in prayer is the rapid and/or elaborate spewing of petitions and supplications without a genuine connection to the heart of God through worship, waiting on Him and fellowship with His Spirit, one is not praying; one is performing a religious act.
This concept is depicted clearly in the pattern prayer Jesus shared with his disciples when they requested that He teach them to pray6:
Our Father which is in Heaven —> approaching God based on relationship & fellowship, thereby establishing a premise for communication.
Hallowed be Thy name —> expressing adoration, admiration and worship, the catalyst for His palpable presence, power and interventions.
Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done …. —> You are my priority, so let everything that promotes Your Kingdom and Your will be done on earth as You’ve purposed it in heaven. I am your kingdom ambassador, here to authorize Your will on earth as you have already authorized it in heaven.
(Now …) ….. Give me my daily needs
Please forgive me as I forgive others
Lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from evil
For Thine is the Kingdom …. -> You are supreme over all and deserve all the glory; it IS all about You!
Careful study of this prayer pattern reveals that prayer is more about God than it is about the person praying; four of the seven prayer pillars focus on Him while only three focus on the person praying. Why, is God narcissistic? No. Simply put, “He is before all things, and in Him, all things consist.”7. In other words, He is the sole source and essence of all existence; any maintenance needs, problems, or malfunctioning parts should always be referred to Him, for He is the center of man’s universe, both literally and figuratively!
Every manufacturer directs its customers to its maintenance department for product service needs, defective or malfunctioning parts, or other product concerns. No manufacturer ever tells its consumers to figure things out for themselves or to take a defective or malfunctioning product to another manufacturer or unauthorized dealer. The manufacturer always refers the product to himself because of his familiarity, expertise and extensive knowledge of the product, and because he has readily available spare parts.
So also, God. He created us by His very breath for optimal functionality and impact, but in a manner that is to be utterly dependent on Him. The normal wear and tear of life requires regular refurbishing and maintenance; our lives need constant divine servicing and repairs for optimal and prolonged performance. God’s presence and power acquired through the constant sweet communion of prayer and fellowship are indispensable, nonnegotiable necessities of life.
This is the ultimate object of true prayer – sweet intercourse between God and man resulting in a nondepleting deposit of His presence and constant empowerment for daily living, dominion & destiny fulfillment.
Is your prayer life a passive, perfunctory practice of piety, or is it a passionate, productive performance of His power, dynamic and prolific in its results?
REFERENCES
1. Exodus 25:8
2. 2 Corinthians 13:14
3. Psalms 42:1
4. Psalms 63:1-2
5. Psalms 63:8
6. Matthew 6:9-13
7. Col 1:17