Chapter 11- Prayer
Pray without ceasing.
Paul, the apostle
It would be difficult to overestimate the importance of communication in any type of relationship, and it is the same concerning a relationship with Truth. As we have discussed in previous chapters Truth is the just weight, it is the cornerstone and capstone, it is the overarching theme of the pursuit of an ‘essential’ life.
A simple explanation of prayer is that prayer is the setting where we communicate with Truth. Like all relationships it requires effort and sacrifice.
Jesus’ commitment to prayer emphasizes how essential it is to pray. On multiple occasions we read of Jesus praying all night after he had labored all day.
Communicating with Truth is a recognition that the answer to my problem or other people’s problems resides with Truth. To communicate with Truth means that we are open to interacting with Truth. It means we listen to what it has to say, it means that we wait for it to speak, and it means that we are under its judgement. Prayer is the framework where that process can be accomplished. Allowing ourself to be judged by Truth liberates us from judging ourselves and being subject to the judgment of others. Others will judge us but their judgement cannot dissuade us from what is True.
At times our interactions with Truth are expressions of thankfulness for what we have found, or requests for help with a personal issue, or help for someone who we know that is experiencing difficulty. Other times the interaction is just being silent and allowing the Spirit of Truth to wash over us. Sometimes it is all of the above. Whatever the case, communication with Truth is ‘essential’.
A Sample Prayer
Jesus gave an example prayer to his disciples in, what is commonly referred to, as the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus said, After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen (Mt.6:9-13).
The first part of the prayer: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name; establishes who we are talking to, our Father in heaven. It also recognizes that the Father is a being that is worthy of honor, respect and fear. Hallowed means to be greatly revered or honored. The first part acknowledges both an authority and a setting. The Kingdom of God, is a place where God reigns without resistance, and it is also a place where we can abide.
The second petition is, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. This is a recognition of a will that is superior to our own will. The request is a desire that the will of God would rule in our own life without resistance on our part. On an individual level the request is that God would rule over this piece of earth, which is our body; and on a broader scope, the request is that God’s will would reign over all men.
The third petition is a request for future strength, give us this day our daily bread. We must feed our soul if we are to keep Truth alive in our life. A daily portion is a reasonable request. This could be seen as a reference to the manna which descended from heaven when the children of Israel were in the wilderness. It was a daily portion. If the children of Israel kept the manna for more than the day it would breed worms and rot. We need the daily recognition of our dependence on Truth. The bread from yesterday is gone, therefore I must gather bread today.
The fourth request deals with forgiveness, forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. The request explains the process. Forgiveness from God is extended to those who forgive others. The forgiveness of others means to forgive those who are in our debt. It is not a general statement, it is specifically focused on those who’ve interacted with us and were on the losing side of that interaction. Forgiving those people requires a sacrifice on the part of the debt holder. We also have a debt that we cannot pay, and if we seek the forgiveness of that debt we must demonstrate, by our actions, that we too are willing to forgive.
The fifth petition is a request for protection, lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Temptation would encompass anything that would cause a deviation from the Truth. Temptations are snares that entice our human nature. It would be an oversimplification to say that anything that we enjoy is a temptation; however, there are temptations that open a door to a path that leads us away from Truth.
Returning to the first request that God’s will would be done on earth as it is in heaven, a temptation could be defined as anything that encourages us to resist Truth.
The example of the body has been referenced in previous chapters because it aptly explains that individual members perform individual functions, but there value is in fulfilling their place within the body. The submission of our own will does not necessarily mean the loss of individuality, it means that we individually serve for a collective purpose. Temptations, when we give into them, war against submission. Evil, in this context, is when we are actively working against the will of God. The request is, lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, in other words, help me to be on guard against all that would promote pride over humility, so that I never allow my nature to war against submission to Truth.
The final part of the prayer is another recognition with whom we are communicating: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. This is a recognition of the place held by God, the place of Truth, which is a place of authority, power, and honor.
Ask, Seek, Knock
Jesus also taught: Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there if you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to those that ask him? Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets (Mt.7:7-12). This teaching of Jesus explains the work required in the place of prayer and how the result of that effort should effect our interactions with others.
Ask, seek, and knock are instructions for prayer. We first acknowledge that we do not know and we pose the question to a being that would know. Asking the question is a part of seeking, and seeking leads us to the place where we want to enter in. There is a door, a door that is closed, hence the need to knock. Jesus said that if we ask it will be answered, if we seek we will find, and if we knock it will be opened up to us. The question then becomes, what is it that you are asking? What are you seeking? What is it that you want to be a part of or to enter into? The answer to these questions determines whether or not the place of prayer will be a help to you. Prayer is the place where we seek, ask, and knock.
One result of this process is that you would treat others as if they were pursuing the same goal. Jesus said that all attempts to control human behavior could be expressed by this, treat others as you would like to be treated. Consider your brother, neighbor, or fellow man as if they also were in the search for Truth, and do nothing that would hinder them in their search.
The Setting
Jesus also addressed the setting for prayer, And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou has shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret, and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be ye not therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him (Mt.6:5-8). The setting is determined by the motive rather than by a location.
The motive for prayer is to be alone with God. Truth desires to work with our individual soul. If we are diligent in seeking Truth in secret then that will manifest itself in our character. If we pray to be seen by others then we have received our reward. Jesus said that we need to go into the closest and shut the door. To be alone with God requires discipline and effort. We have to separate ourselves and seek a private place, and then in the private place we have to shut the door against all that would distract us from our purpose. There will always be something urgent that will interrupt our purpose to be alone with God. The discipline needed is that we seek the private place and then we force ourself to stay there until we have accomplished that purpose.
Gethsemane
Jesus, in preparation for his death, went with his disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives. Jesus then separated himself from them and went to pray alone. Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter, and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not as I will but as thou wilt. And he cometh unto his disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words (Mt.26:36-44). This prayer marks a very significant time in Jesus’ life. Jesus was facing the certainty of death and he saw before him an experience unlike anything he had faced before in his life. Jesus understood that he would face that experience alone, first being abandoned by his disciples, followed by a rigged trial, then torture and death. Seeing what was ahead, Jesus went to the place of prayer seeking strength and comfort.
Jesus first acknowledged his own will by asking if there was another way, but Jesus followed that question with a statement of submission, nevertheless not my will but thine be done. Jesus returned to his disciples and found them sleeping, and that is where the point was driven home that he would face this experience alone.
Jesus then returned to the place of prayer and acknowledged there was no way around this experience except to go through it. Jesus had to drink the cup of gall. Gall means everything contrary to virtue. Jesus took that cup, and that was the very definition of his experience on Calvary. Jesus understood in order to fulfill all righteousness he must drink that cup and yet remain unaffected by it.
This experience brought an isolation to Jesus that he had never experienced before. Jesus was to be separated from the world, separated from his disciples, and by taking the cup he was separating himself from his Father. This had been the plan from the beginning, as the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world; however, this moment marked the fulfillment of the plan. The power that Jesus received in the place of prayer is what allowed him to be able to fulfill his Father’s will. Without Gethsemane there would have been no victory on Calvary.
Conclusion
Prayer is how we communicate with Truth. Paul, in his epistle to the church at Thesolonica wrote, Pray without ceasing (I Thes. 5:17). Paul’s counsel emphasizes the importance of commuicating with the Spirit of Truth. Communication in a relationship is like oxygen to life, without it the relationship dies.
Prayer allows for us to focus on what is True, and it helps us to prioritize our life. In one sense prayer gives structure and value in our daily living. We are all easily distracted and easily overwhelmed by all that life demands from us. Prayer is the environment that allows us to refocus, and more than that, it provides interaction with Truth.
Prayer is private, it is personal, and it is ‘essential’.