Recently, the Christian comedian John Crist put out a satirical video about when you should pray for a meal. Let’s say you grab coffee with a friend at Starbucks. Do you have to pray then? No, you’re good. No need for prayer. But what if one person grabs a muffin? Do you pray then? Probably not. It’s just a muffin. But what if each person grabs a breakfast sandwich? This sounds more like a meal, so you should probably pray for the food, right? Sure. But now the question is who should pray? If it’s just two people, is it the one who invited the other? What if you’re in a large family gathering, is the father supposed to pray? Or should the oldest person in the room pray?
Oftentimes, we have peculiar views about not only when we should pray, but what we should pray about in public. We can definitely overthink prayer, but prayer with genuineness is worth considering.
For example, when we become riddled with what others may think of us, public prayer can often become about us—showing off our own spiritual hubris. Or perhaps we want to avoid this kind of profanity and so we opt to let someone else pray in our stead and neglect the fact that we all as Christians are supposed to pray.
Certainly, when we come before God in prayer, we are called to do so with humility. The Westminster Shorter Catechism teaches that prayer itself is “an offering up of our desires unto God, for the things agreeable to his will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgement of his mercies” (WSC 98).
So, we do well to view our coming to God in prayer with a deep sense of sobriety—not heaping up lofty language or overly religious-sounding rhetoric, but with sincere respect for our God. When we pray, we are taught to remember this truth: God is holy, and we are not. Perhaps, realizing this distance, that is why we sometimes opt not to pray before or even for others when we feel led to do so. Perhaps that is why we are unsure of when it is appropriate to pray. Because we feel inadequate. Does God really want to hear from me?
Yes. A resounding yes!
In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7), Jesus taught his disciples how to pray in line with the heart of the Father. His assumption was not if they would pray, but when they would pray—both privately and publicly (Matt 6:5–13).
“Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name…’”
Do you see the paradox? We are to pray to the most holy God, the Creator of heaven and earth, for he is holy. But the very concept of prayer coming from sinners to a holy God is scandalous! And it indeed would be if not for the grace of Christ.
True prayer is done in Christ’s name. It’s a lifting up of our soul to a holy God with a firm faith that the very Son of God our Savior intercedes—or literally prays—on our behalf. Through Christ, we not only have redemption from our sin. Through Christ, we stand in relation to God as children here on earth before our Father who is in heaven.
This may be a straightforward concept, but doesn’t this change how we view prayer? When you come to God in prayer, is the first word on your tongue “Father?”
Coming to a holy God in Christ’s name is one of the most beautiful mysteries in the world to behold. So, would you take just a moment to pause as you are reading this, open your Bible to Matthew 6:9–13, and pray the prayer Christ taught his disciples? As you do so, let your soul be refreshed by the knowledge of Christ as you pray in agreement with his will.