What is prayer?

In Luke 18, Jesus told a story about two men who went to the temple to pray.

One said a beautiful prayer, bragging about how good he was, how much he gave, and how he was better he was than everyone else. Although his prayer sounded impressive, the words were anything but beautiful to God.

Jesus said the prayer of a tax cheat, who was pleading for God’s mercy at the same time was far more acceptable.

The implication is that our words are far less significant to God than what is in our hearts.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 speaks of prayer by requiring something which at first sounds impossible when it simply says, “Pray continually.” (NIV)

How can someone pray 24 hours a day?

If we are thinking about folding our hands and offering a traditional prayer, we cannot. However, if prayer is ultimately about learning to constantly rely upon God, this new concept of prayer makes perfect sense.

I am not minimizing the words used in prayer, but, I am saying that prayer is far more than a speech to God.

Patricia Hampl suggested prayer only seems like an act of language, but fundamentally, it is the act of placing ourselves in God’s care and acknowledging how much we need him.

I was deeply touched the first time I read a section from the Sermon on the Mount as it is paraphrased in the Message Bible.

In it, Jesus said, “And when you come before God, don’t turn that into a theatrical production … All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat? Here’s what I want you to do: find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace. The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They’re full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God.

“Don’t fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply…” (Matthew 6:5-9, MSG)

In a nutshell, Jesus was saying that prayer is primarily about our relationship with God, not about us putting together a great “prayer performance” in the hope that God will be impressed.

Prayer is about us connecting with our father, not about the words we use.

Tim Richards grew up in Fairdealing and previously served as associate pastor of Pilgrim’s Rest Church there. He currently serves as a pastor on the staff of Concord Church in South County St. Louis.