Prayer Doesn't Work

Read Psalm 23.

Yes, I am being intentionally provocative to get you to read this blog! (You're welcome!)

Yesterday, in my sermon, I observed that there is a change between verses 3 and 4 in Psalm 23. David goes from talking ABOUT God to talking TO God. In the latter half of the psalm, David is praying, but not in the way we usually pray. He doesn't ask God for anything. He simply celebrates and recalls who God is and what God has promised.

So I asked the question yesterday (of me and the congregation): when is the last time you prayed without asking God for anything?

For me, "today" was and is not the answer. It's hard to pray without asking for something. We've been trained and conditioned that way, to the point where if we get our way, we will boldly proclaim, "Prayer works!" What I don't are proclamations of the opposite. When we don't get what we want, why don't we say, "Prayer doesn't work"?

Here's the bold truth: prayer DOESN'T work. Prayer is not meant to "work." God works, and prayer is our communication with God. At its heart, prayer is never about getting what we want, when we want, wherever we want. Prayer is about relationship, communicating and communing with the God who made us and loves us far beyond anything we can imagine. Prayer is about talking with the One who is at work in the world, getting to know him and allowing him to shape us. Prayer is not about convincing God to do our will; prayer is about bending our will to match his.

We have bought (perhaps unconsciously) into an ancient heresy ("continuity") when we say "prayer works." In the ancient, pagan world, people believed that if you did the correct rituals, prayed the right prayer, or offered the right sacrifice (or perhaps all three), then the gods would have to do what you wanted them to do. They were "legally" bound by your actions. In many religions, this still the guiding principle today. In that sense, "prayer works" because by saying the prayer and doing the ritual and, maybe even, living a "righteous" life, we have impressed God and convinced him to do what we want. When did God become so small that he could be manipulated by our actions or our words or even our lifestyle?

The Bible's picture is of a God who is radically free, who is not bound by our rituals or our desires. God cannot be forced into any action, which is what we imply by saying "prayer works." Prayer doesn't work, friends. God works. And he invites us to get on board with what he is doing. That's the point of prayer: not getting what we want, but allowing God to shape us into who he wants.

I beg you: stop saying "prayer works." It's an ancient heresy and our God deserves people who believe better.

Side note: This may seem like I'm splitting hairs, but the language we use betrays what we believe. Is our focus on the act of prayer, or on the God to whom we pray? Is our trust in the act or in God? Words matters because words shape worlds and worldview!

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