Two Mistakes in Prayer
I believe that different personalities often fall into one or other trap when it comes to prayer.
Some see prayer only as something done in quiet, behind closed doors, focused on God with no distractions. Now that is a very important way to pray – Jesus taught his disciples to do that, as we saw last week, and Jesus Himself did that: getting away from people and activities to pray in silent.
But if that’s the only way you pray, then your life becomes boxed into times with God, and times without Him. In fact some people even don’t like the idea of having a ‘quiet time’ or ‘devotional time’ with God at all, because it compartmentalizes life into God time and non-God time.
I think that’s a mistake. It’s a mistake to only pray in the quiet time with God, but I think it’s also a mistake to never pray in the quiet moments with God.
A Balance in Prayer
The Christian life, I believe, should include both daily times in the quiet with God, focusing on Him and only Him, and a lifestyle of praying without ceasing as Paul has commended, and as the lady in our story yesterday so aptly demonstrated.
Shereen and I watched Fiddler on the Roof the other day. What a great movie. The main character Tevye is always praying! As he walks around doing his work, he has these wonderful conversations with God about the things in his life.
The famous song from that movie is If I Were a Rich Man. And at one point in the songs Tevye says that if he was rich he would “read from the Holy books with the learned men seven hours every day! And that would be the sweetest thing of all!” he sings! And then he sighs deeply, as if realising that such a wonderful thought is never gonna come true.
I think Tevye would be better off doing his everyday work, praying and talking to God as he lives as fruitful and contributing life in his community!
I think he would find that studying the holy books for seven hours a day would probably end up, strangely, disconnecting him from God and from the people He loves.
Busy People Pray
Many of you listening are like Tevye. You are working people. You are busy people. You have a lot on your plate, a lot to get through, a lot to do.
Times of prayer and focus on God are essential for us, but oh friends! The idea behind becoming prayerful people is not to be people who pray on our knees all day long, but to be people who live prayerfully. To do whatever it is you do prayerfully. Communing with God all throughout the day, not just in your prayer room but everywhere.
Let’s be prayerful people – withdrawing to quiet places to pray, like Jesus did; and praying through our business, like the cleaner in yesterday’s story, and like Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof.