«SO WHAT» FACTOR: Why do we Pray?

Have you ever ask yourself “Why do I pray?”  English word prayer etymology is derived from Latin root «precarius», related to precarious, meaning shaky, insecure, uncertain, unsafe.  Is our prayer limited only to such situations, when the world is crumbling around?

In words of last century’s theologian Thomas Merton “prayer is an expression of who we are...we are a gap, an emptiness that calls for fulfillment.” Philip Yancey in his book on Prayer asks “Does Prayer change us, or God, or both?”  Does your prayer work?  Does it work the way we think it should?  What difference does it really make? Apostle Paul says that prayer is the result of Holy Spirit searching our hearts and prompting us (Romans 8:26)

We come to our regular mid-week prayer meetings to teach each other to pray.  A child cannot learn language in isolation, as proved by the terrible cases of children locked for years.  If prayer is the language with the Divine, communicating with completely other, then the community and listening to others communicate is the best learning ground, learning by “osmosis.”  How fluent are you in the Prayer Language and Grammar, or are you “tongue-tied”?  Should we even learn to pray out-loud, or is there a mystery in silence?   Could it be that the conscious prayer is really “tuning in” to the conversation already going on deep in our hearts?

Great promises are offered in the Bible to people “if they PRAY.” But what about all those unanswered prayers, whose fault?  What if two people are praying contradictory prayers, who should God listen to with fulfilment?

This week we come together to pray for each other, to pray for friends, to bring others and pray for them.  Prayer is the greatest social act that the human being is capable of, because when we pray for someone else, we connect with them in the spiritual realm.  We can connect through prayer with whole nation, communities, ethnic groups, the earth, other living creatures, which we would never be able to do physically.

Do not censor your prayer, as God sees into our hearts more clearly than we do.  Just speak without limit, with no boundaries to God.  That is all He requires, for through speaking with us He is changing this world.