I was recently listening to a sermon on the different kinds of prayer. The pastor did a great job explaining the travailing prayer and prayers of supplication and, and, and, and about 17 other “types” of prayer.
But the one thing he never really got to was why prayer works.
I have a friend that says My prayers go to God on a 2gb fibre line and hers go by fax or dialup… and it always perplexed me, as I have never experienced it like that.
I have watched people being prayed for in church for something for 30 or 40 minutes, but then I have also stood next to a pastor who prayed over my daughters broken arm, while she was in white faced agony, clutching her arm to her body, his prayer was simple and to the point, “Father, please heal this arm” – she stopped whimpering, reached up both her arms to be picked up and it was done.
I was on outreach in Zimbabwe and one of the students prayed over a deaf pre-teen boy. Short and to the point “I can do nothing for him, God, but you can heal him now and show your power!” The boy’s eyes snapped open and he started looking around as for the first time in his life, sounds reached his ears.
What gives?
Well… If I look at some prominent figures in the bible, there is a bit of clue.
Have you watched a professional sports team perform? Its like a ballet (watch professional badminton – its super fast, there are no time for discussions! With a word or a grunt, the partner knows what is the next move!)
Watch cricket or rugby or any team sport… The captain gives a short instruction or an arm wave and the whole team moves and gets ready for action.
Oddly… It is not the authority in the voice of the captain that causes this.
It is the fact that beforehand, they have spent hours and hours and days and weeks together. They KNOW each other. And they know what the captain wants.
The same with prayer.
“Hi God, it’s me… from pretoria east. I know we don’t really talk, but it would be nice, if you could, per chance, help out a bit?”
Don’t get me wrong… God is still listening. And answers, but now He is first trying to explain why His plan is different for this situation… and if you are not used to hearing His voice, you may think He is quiet!
If my buddy Redge sends me a message and asks “Is your sight tape in?” I know it’s time for action, and I am already out of my chair, heading to grab my bow.
So the simple answer is: If you spend time with God, where you really get to know each other, whether on your walks, or driving in traffic, or sitting in a hide admiring and enjoying His creation. If you spend the long hours together, thats when action seems to happen instantaneously through prayer. Not to mention that you will already have a pretty good understanding of what God’s will is.
“Ok, God. Its time, lets do this” is not arrogance. It is a relationship and mutual trust. No special words, training or techniques. Just time spent in each other’s company.
