Prayer: Not Just Because We Should

What happens when we pray? Answers to that simple question appear regularly in tracts, popular books, even academic dissertations. On the other end of the spectrum is the all-too-frequent opening at Christian gatherings: “Before we start, someone should probably say a little prayer.” These two extremes bookend an amazing reality—prayer is how human beings are invited into direct communication with God!

Whether we know it or not, we praise God simply by participating in prayer—but there is so much more. Through prayer, God invites us to confess sin, give thanks, and voice our deepest needs, fears, and desires. When we pray, we participate in God’s greatest gift—intimate fellowship with the One who created all we know and all we have yet to discover. But what is prayer really, and why is it such an urgent part of our lives as Christian leaders?

The primary purpose of prayer is to bring us into such a life of communion with the Father that, by the power of the Spirit, we are increasingly conformed to the image of the Son.
—Richard Foster

As Christians, our central calling is to grow more and more into the likeness of Jesus Christ. This is transformation—allowing God to remold us from the learned patterns of our world into people shaped by God’s heart. The Apostle Paul wrote, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2). Prayer, listening and responding to God, enables transformation. My wife, originally from New Jersey, starts to recapture her New Jersey accent whenever she has extended conversations with her family. When we converse with God in prayer, we can take on more of the “accent” of God—becoming more like Christ in our own thoughts, our words, and our actions.

To fail to pray, then, is not to merely break some religious rule—it is a failure to treat God as God.
—Tim Keller

Prayer is not optional for Christians—it is a biblical mandate. As Christ’s people, the duty of Christian formation is merged with the delight of encountering God individually and in community with other believers. Prayer accomplishes this.

When Christians break fellowship with other Christians, the devil smiles. When Christians stop studying the Bible, the devil laughs. When Christians stop praying, the devil shouts for joy.
—Corrie Ten Boom

Prayer is essential in binding Christians to one another. Honest prayer reminds us that we are not on our own. We don’t possess all the answers, the vision, the imagination, or the compassion we need to respond to the challenges we face. Communal prayer unites us in God’s Spirit and focuses our hearts on our mission to serve Christ with trust and humility. Haughtiness, power struggles, prejudice, pretense, and all other human inclinations that divide us have a hard time surviving among people who pray individually and together. But what should our prayers include?

We say that we believe God to be omniscient; yet a great deal of prayer seems to consist of giving him information.
—C.S. Lewis

The importance we give to prayer says a lot about our relationship with God. The content of our prayers says a lot about what we believe. So here are some suggestions to enrich a life of prayer:

• Take a minute – Whether you’re praying on your own or leading the prayers of a group, take time to focus your mind. Don’t feel like you need to rush in with words. Holy silence is an important component of prayer.
• You don’t have to invite God – We never have to unlock the door for God because God is already in our midst. Acknowledge God’s presence. The Holy Spirit is inspiring and encouraging your prayer.
• Praise precedes petition – Rarely do we rush up to a friend or loved one asking for things before we greet them and enjoy just being with them. The same is true for prayer. Take time to express your awe and wonder at a personal conversation with the living God.
• Ask God for guidance, not just a thumbs-up – If we’re not careful, we can easily ask God to bless our plans—yet our prayer should focus on God’s will, asking for the patience and the strength we need to accept it.
• Remember to say thank you! – The core of prayer is humble thankfulness—the joy of our relationship with God made possible because of Jesus Christ. Every prayer should include heartfelt joy and thankfulness—because…

The best of it is, God is with us.
—John Wesley

As musicians and worship leaders, we have the opportunity to nurture others in their lives of prayer. People who come to worship would be more than a little surprised if the liturgy trudged on with no prayers offered. People who participate in our ensembles should come with similar expectations:

• Prayer at the beginning of a rehearsal is a spiritual warm-up just like stretching and vocalizing. Prayer prepares all of us for our work in the hour ahead, making our experience as church musicians different from any other musical group.
• Prayer at the end of a rehearsal helps mold individuals into an ensemble. I always ask for prayer requests, encouraging people to share their joys and concerns with the group. In a larger choir, this can be done in sections. Then, after praying together, we can leave a holy time united in God’s grace and peace.
• Prayer as preparation for worship leadership helps calm and focus the worship leaders—clergy, liturgists, musicians, and others—by pulling them away from the distractions of the world so they can invite others to experience Emanuel—God with us—together.

Prayer: not just because we should, but because God has made it so we can—and we may!