Teach Us to Pray

"When you pray, don't be like hypocrites. They love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners so that people will see them. I assure you, that's the only reward they'll get. But when you pray, go to your room, shut the door, and pray to your Father who is present in that secret place. Your Father who sees what you do in secret will reward you." Matthew 6:5–6

My journey began with a commitment to Jesus Christ. As a young adult I accepted Christ as the Savior of my soul and the Lord of my life. I asked him to forgive my sins. I confessed that I did believe. I asked the Lord to help me live in a way that pleased him.

About three days after I made that commitment, I heard a still, small voice inside that asked, "If you really believe in me, then why don't you pray?" Prayer was the first step for me after I made that commitment to Christ. I began to pray before I got out of bed each morning. I prayed before I ate breakfast. I prayed as I drove the car. It seemed that an hour would rarely pass without a prayer.

A frequent prayer was, "Oh, Lord, forgive me. I can't believe I just said what I said with you in the room. Help me, Lord, to control my tongue." Another frequent prayer concerned relationships at home and with friends. I was on a journey now with the Lord, and I was suddenly aware that the Lord was always by my side. This awareness constantly highlighted my sin and brought a prayer to my lips, seeking forgiveness and the strength to change.

I wasn't praying so I would be saved. I was praying because I was already saved, and I was seeking an even deeper relationship with my Savior. Prayer has helped me through times when I thought I would burst with happiness, and times when I wondered if I could go on.

* * *

I remember clearly the day my father died. He lay on his death bed in the hospital. Dad knew, Mom knew, the family knew, and the doctors knew that my father would never leave the hospital. The day finally came when Dad was unable to move, smile, or talk. However, he could see, and I could tell by the expression in his eyes that he was aware of me and understood what I was saying.

My mother stepped out of the room for a quick trip to the cafeteria. I knelt by my father's bed and held his hand. Dad and I stared into each other's eyes, and I told him my memories of so many things we had done together. I talked about camping trips, fishing trips, projects we had worked on together when I was growing up, and the way he forgave me when I totaled the family car (twice). I talked about the church building committee we both served on and about how beautiful the worship room would be when the stained glass windows were installed. I told Dad that I loved him. I recited aloud Scriptures that I had memorized, including John 3:16, Romans 8:28, Psalm 23, and John 14.

Holding Dad's hand, looking into his eyes, I prayed out loud:

Dear Jesus, thank you for my daddy. Thank you for making him such a good father. Thank you for his love, forgiveness, and wisdom. Thank you for his baptism and for forgiving his sins. Thank you for making a home for him in heaven. Lord, as Dad lies here with one foot on earth and one foot in heaven, give him such peace inside that you are in control. Guide him on his journey from earth to heaven. Thank you, Jesus, for never leaving my daddy alone. Amen.

With tears in my eyes, I reminded my father not to be afraid. I told him that we would be okay. I told him that surely his mother and father were standing at the gates of heaven, waiting anxiously for him. I even suggested that his childhood pet, a little Boston terrier, surely must be standing by their side. I said, "I love you, Dad." My mother returned to the room, kissed him, held his hand, and said, "I love you."

Dad knew we were both there. It wasn't long before his breathing began to slow down. Ten, then seven, then five breaths a minute. Then three breaths, and then he was still.

How different the day of my father's death would have been if I did not believe in prayer. Do you have a prayer life that gives you strength in tough times? A pastor once put it this way: "God offers us an ocean, and we choose a puddle instead."

God invites you and me to go deep. God offers to give us the depth of his presence in our lives, the depth of a life filled with joy, and the depth of power and strength in the midst of adversity. Jesus knew those depths. He lived in an ocean of constant communion with God.

Most of us choose not to go deep but to live in the shallow end of life. We choose the puddle instead of the ocean.

Now it's confession time: Some pastors say they pray two hours every day. I cannot imagine doing that. I want to tell them, "Get busy! Stop goofing off!" I confess that I don't have any slacks that are worn out at the knees from prayer.

My prayer life consists of about fifteen minutes each day. As I drive to work in the morning, I pray that God will help me use my time wisely. When I am responding to a telephone call or standing by a hospital bed, I pray that God will give me the right words to say. Before I go to sleep at night, I review in my mind the prayer cards from last Sunday's offering plate, along with the personal and private concerns I have heard, and I lift those concerns up to God. In all, it's perhaps fifteen minutes a day.

But there are times, however, when I step out of the puddle and into the ocean. Sometimes in the evening, around nine o'clock after my last appointment has ended, I walk into the darkened sanctuary. The only illumination in the room is from the cross on the altar, reflecting the golden lights from the parking lot, and the faint glow of the stained glass windows. I kneel by the altar or sit in the front row. I often find my eyes are filled with tears. Some of the tears are for my own sin and shortcomings. Some of the tears come when I read the prayer cards from Sunday morning, where members have poured out their hearts. In the midst of my tears I sense that God is crying too—that God hears these prayers for broken marriages, broken hopes, broken bodies, and broken dreams. There in the night I'm in the ocean, surrounded by the presence of God.

I have an invitation for you. Move from the puddle to the ocean. Allow God to hold you, and mold you, and empower you.

How might your prayer life move from the puddle to the ocean?

Reading the Bible Daily

You must be doers of the word and not only hearers who mislead themselves. Those who hear but don't do the word are like those who look at their faces in a mirror. They look at themselves, walk away, and immediately forget what they were like. But there are those who study the perfect law, the law of freedom, and continue to do it. They don't listen and then forget, but they put it into practice in their lives. They will be blessed in whatever they do. James 1:22–25

In those early weeks of my journey with the Lord, I heard another still, small voice that asked, "If you really believe in me, then why aren't you reading my book?"

I found the black Bible with red-trimmed pages that I received in the third grade. I'm sad to report that the book was in really good shape. It had hardly been read at all.

I started with the Gospel of Matthew. When I reached the Sermon on the Mount in the fifth chapter, I clearly remember thinking, "Who rewrote this thing? It's not like I remember at all." The words had come alive. It was as if it had been rewritten just for me. I was finding answers to my prayers.

I bought another copy of the Bible in paperback so I could carry it less conspicuously in my backpack. I started highlighting the "good parts" with a pink felt-tip pen. Looking back at that Bible, I find that I highlighted scattered passages through the New Testament and the entire book of James. I was on a journey, personally discovering those ancient, holy, sacred words.

I wasn't reading the Bible so that I would be saved. I was reading the Bible because I was already saved, and I was seeking an even deeper relationship with my Savior.

* * *

In the Scripture at the beginning of this chapter, James is offering a challenge for us to take God's word seriously enough that it changes our behavior. James invites us to listen to God's word, to accept the truth of what it reveals, and to change our behavior accordingly.

It's not easy to listen to God's word. How many times do you hear the Bible read from the pulpit or read it yourself, but the words don't sink in? It's hard to listen. It's hard to let the words sink in.

Back a hundred years ago, when the telegraph was the fastest method of long-distance communication, a young man applied for a job as a Morse code operator. Answering an ad in the newspaper, he went to the office to apply for the job. When he arrived, he entered a large, busy room filled with noise and clatter, including the sound of a telegraph in the background. A sign on the receptionist's desk instructed job applicants to fill out a form and wait until they were summoned to enter the inner office.

The young man filled out his form and sat down in the waiting area with seven other applicants. After a few minutes, the young man stood up and walked into the inner office. Naturally the other applicants perked up, wondering what was going on. Soon the employer escorted the young man out of the office and said to the other applicants, "Thank you for applying, but the job has just been filled."

The other applicants began grumbling, and one spoke up, saying, "Wait a minute, I don't understand. We never got a chance to be interviewed. And to top it off, this guy comes in last and you hire him. That's not fair!"

The employer said, "I'm sorry you feel that way. You all had the same opportunity. During the last several minutes while you've been sitting here, didn't you hear the telegraph key clicking? It was sending the following words in Morse code: 'If you understand this message, then come right in. The job is yours.' None of you heard it or understood it. This young man did. The job is his!"

Far too often, we let the words of the Bible drift in one ear and float out the other. The first chapter of James makes it clear: Don't do that! James writes that not only do we need to listen, but we need to accept the truth of what the Scripture reveals to us.

Tom Slinkard tells the story of a man who was driving down a road. A woman drove toward him from the opposite direction. As they passed each other, the woman leaned out her car window and yelled, "Pig!" The man, incensed, leaned out his window and yelled back at her.

They each continued on their way. As the man rounded the next curve, he crashed into a huge pig that was standing in the middle of the road. Thankfully the man was unhurt, but his car was a total wreck.

The man heard her message but did not understand or accept it. When it comes to the Bible, we not only need to hear God's word, but to understand it and accept it as valid and important for our daily lives.

There are many Christians who underline and mark the pages of the Bible. There are fewer Christians who allow the Bible to make a positive mark on their lives.

In James's letter, he says that we become motivated to change by looking into the mirror of God's word. He writes: "Those who hear but don't do the word are like those who look at their faces in a mirror. They look at themselves, walk away, and immediately forget what they were like" (James 1: 23-24).

Normally, people look in a mirror for a reason. If they see that their hair is out of place, they fix it. If they see a piece of lettuce between their teeth, they remove it. If they see that they cut themselves shaving, they stop the bleeding.

When you look into the Bible and see something in your own life that may need to be fixed, don't turn away. Take it as an opportunity, a gift if you will, to ask God for the courage, guidance, and the strength to change.

How could the Bible become the source of your strength, your guide, and your measuring stick for truth?

Let Us Go to the House of the Lord

Just like a deer that craves streams of water, my whole being craves you, God. My whole being thirsts for God, for the living God. When will I come and see God's face? Psalm 42:1–2

Suddenly I was not going to worship to please my mother or in obedience to my father. I was going because I wanted to. I was on a journey with the Lord. In worship I was discovering the context of my new-found relationship with the Lord. Through the music I was finding expression for my praise, thanksgiving, and hope, and the sermons were inspiring. I clearly remember thinking, "Brother Ramsey is sure a better preacher than he used to be."

Looking back, I now know that I had become a better listener. The sermons were about me, my struggles, my sin, and my future.

I wasn't in worship seeking salvation. I was in worship because I was already saved, and I was seeking an even deeper relationship with my Savior.

* * *

On Sunday afternoons, if I happen to encounter a sales clerk, I frequently ask, "Do you have to work every Sunday morning, or do you occasionally get to attend worship?" That simple question almost always elicits a friendly conversation and gives me the opportunity to invite them to attend Sunday evening worship.

My mother was passionate about inviting people to worship. She was the office manager for a poultry supply company, which meant that all customers had to come to her office to place their orders. After worship on Sundays she would pick up a dozen or so leftover worship bulletins and take them to work with her. Then on Mondays she would simply ask each customer, "How was church yesterday?" If customers hesitated or gave some excuse, she would quickly hand them a worship bulletin with the words, "My husband and I really enjoy First Church. Why don't you sit with us next Sunday?" If the customer was an active church attender, her simple question introduced a friendly conversation and often began a new Christian friendship.

I have frequently followed my Mother's example on Mondays. I can report dozens of households who became active participants of my church as a result.

As you consider inviting others to worship, I encourage you to step up your own worship attendance. In worship we find our center and our focus for life. Kara Newell puts it this way: "My mother is a potter and I've spent many happy hours watching her prepare the wet clay, plop a soggy lump of it on the wheel, start the wheel, and slowly draw the clay up into whatever form she has chosen. But, I've also watched her stop and start the process over and over when she's been unable to center the clay properly. She knows that whatever comes from uncentered clay will not be usable."

That's true for us too, isn't it? Unless we become clay in the Potter's hands and allow ourselves to be centered in God, we will not be useful in the ways that we are called to minister. In worship, we learn how to center our lives on God. And being so wellcentered every Sunday, we are able to fully live the other six days.

My friends, in worship Jesus does indeed come. In worship we place ourselves where miraculous things can happen: our sins can be forgiven, our hearts can be purified, our minds can glimpse the mind of Christ, our hands can be empowered to serve the Lord, and our lives can move closer to the patterns that Christ exemplified.

In worship we hear the invitation to move one step closer to becoming a deeply devoted disciple of Jesus Christ.

Do you attend worship, ready to be "clay" in the Potter's hands?

You Shall Be My Witnesses

"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Acts 1:8

It was awkward at first, introducing faith into my relationships. Up to that point, my relationships had been built around other issues. Now I felt compelled to discover ways to introduce new conversations. It was easier than I thought it would be. My circle of friends at work had thoughts and concerns about their own faith, and they welcomed occasional conversations about religion. To my great surprise, within six months I was meeting with twenty of my friends every Friday evening to share, pray, and even sing songs of faith.

When you take the step of witnessing, I wonder what reaction you will experience. There's no way to know for sure. However, I do know that the Lord will hold your hand and safely guide you to discover words to share your faith in a compelling way.

* * *

A friend of mine wears a class ring on his right hand. When he bought that ring in college many years ago, he was given an opportunity to choose the shape displayed on the face of the ring. He chose a small cross.

Years later my friend was on a plane flight, and a woman sat next to him. After they had been in the air for a while, she happened to notice his ring. "Are you some kind of religious person?" she asked. "That cross on your ring must mean you're a Christian or something."

He told her that indeed he was a Christian. She smiled and said, "You know, I used to go to church myself when I was a little girl. But I haven't gone for years. I don't know why. I just haven't."

She went on to say, "Life's been pretty tough for me. I got pregnant when I was fifteen and married when I was sixteen, to a guy who was nine years older than me. We divorced a year later, and I got married again when I was nineteen. I've been married and divorced four times now, to men who beat me and took advantage of me. I don't think marriage is for me."

My friend said, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry to hear that. What a disappointment that must be for you."

And she continued, "Yeah, it really is. I mean, I think marriage ought to be for life, a sacred thing, you know? That's what the Bible says, doesn't it? But it hasn't been that way for me."

My friend just listened as she continued her story. Then she said something that gave him an opportunity to share his faith in Jesus Christ. She asked, "Do you think going to church could help me?"

And my friend said, "Of course. But even more than that, Jesus Christ can help you. Christ can help you start putting your life back together. You know, the Lord knows who you are, and the Lord is inside of you right now."