When Prayer Becomes An Uprising Instead of Remaining a Discipline.

“To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world.” – Karl Barth

When did prayer become a spiritual discipline? A discipline. I don’t call talking with my wife “a discipline.” I don’t refer to spending time with family and friends as “a discipline.” And yet, when it comes to speaking with God, which is what prayer is, it’s a discipline. And if I’m being honest, it’s a “discipline” I struggle with at times. But why? I wonder if it’s because, at times, I don’t truly recognize the glory and power of Jesus. I often miss the true wonder of walking with Jesus. He invited us to abide in him and then abides in us (1 John 4.15-16). So maybe that’s part of it.

But then, when I do recognize and live in the reality of who God truly is (although living in a complete understanding of the glory and majesty of God isn’t possible), I don’t always believe that my prayers do all that much or I don’t think that I’m praying the right way. Have I made prayer too complicated which then leads me to get discouraged about praying? Tyler Staton writes, “If we really took Jesus’ invitation seriously, if we really believed in the sort of prayer that Jesus talked about, the modern church would have a hard time getting its people to do anything but pray” (“Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools”).

Do I believe that prayer changes things? Do you? Does how we pray convey that we are fully convinced that we are causing “an uprising against the disorder of the world”? I do believe in prayer, with all of my heart. That’s why I continue to do it. But do I believe in the power that has been given to me to pray in the authority of Jesus, which would then move me to passionately pray? Jesus told his disciples, “13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it” (John 14.13-14, ESV). But what does it mean to pray in Jesus’ name? Larry Hurtado explains it this way. “To pray in Jesus’ name… means that we enter into Jesus’ status in God’s favour, and invoke Jesus’ standing with God” (“At the Origins of Christian Worship”). This, of course, doesn’t mean that we become Jesus. Rather, it means that because we are “in Christ,” we come before the Father with the same authority of Jesus to pray according to the will of Jesus to see the miraculous work of Jesus. We don’t pray our own will but his (Matthew 6.10).

So think about it: we pray the will of Jesus to see the miraculous work of Jesus in the authority that comes with praying in Jesus’ name. We have the divine power of God available to us to see strongholds destroyed (2 Corinthians 10.4). We have access to God to come to him at any time of the day or night to find help in our times of need (Hebrews 4.16). And we are invited to pray to him. To commune with him. To chat with him and know that he will accomplish his great work. And we get to be part of that. Tyler Staton again writes, “He’s just looking for intercessors to implement the already-secured victory” (“Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools”). In other words, we can’t lose. Even as I type out these words, I find myself being filled with more excitement to pray.

Father,Thank you for prayer. Thank you for the invitation you offer to us as your people to commune with you. Thank you that you invite us to pray. Thank you for those whom you have placed in my life who are teaching me so much about the beauty and power of prayer. And please help me recognize you as I pray, that I might pray with passion and conviction in the power of Jesus to see your miraculous work happen. Thank you for your patience with me as you continue to teach me and sanctify me. Thank you for your presence. And thank you that my typing out these words is a sweet aroma before you – prayer.