By Steve McIlwain
Hubs here.
Who doesn’t love a good Hammer song? The rhymes, the pants, the moves; Hammer-time is always a good time. Oh you haven’t put on parachute pants and done the Hammer dance?? His persona was always high energy and fun, but there just might be a little bit more depth there. I’m talking about track 8 from Please Hammer Don’t Hurt Em: Pray. “We got to pray just to make it today.” I’m not sure that the song is discussed in theology class, but the overall theme is right on; prayer is good. But listening to a vintage MC Hammer song vs. actually carving out time to do it, well, that’s a different story.
Prayer is something I always struggle to maintain (particularly as a couple), yet is one of the best possible uses of my time. Why is it that prayer falls so far down the list? Well, life tends to be hectic and busy. Weekdays are filled with work, school activities, exercising, getting dinner on the table, and running errands. Weekends are loaded up with doing fun stuff, sporting events, hanging out with friends, running more errands, church, and doing chores around the house. It’s a struggle to juggle all the moving pieces without letting one drop, which makes quiet time little more than a would-be-nice thought.
Prayer is time to communicate with God. It’s a time to reflect, think, talk, and listen to God. It’s an opportunity to align your heart and mind and be thankful for all your blessings. It provides peace, guidance, and comfort. However, while a lot of us are on board with the thought that prayer is good, we’re not really on board with making time for it.
“I just don’t have time.” “My life is too busy.” “I can’t remember the last time I had a quiet moment.” Those are all genuine reasons to drop something. It is easy to get spread too thin, and it can be extremely difficult to say no to a new opportunity. However, if something needs to be dropped, make sure it’s not your prayer life. With the hustle and bustle craziness of life, a few moments of peace and tranquility shouldn’t be substituted for more of the madness.
For some people prayer is awkward. Yep, prayer can definitely be awkward … especially with other people. But just like anything in life, the more you do it, the more natural it becomes. Plus, when it comes down to it, it really doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks about your prayer. Prayer is all about openly and honestly seeking God. In fact, I think God smiles just a little brighter when one of His children prays an awkward, yet 100% sincere prayer.
Some people simply feel that prayer is pointless. I mean, will your prayer really mean the difference between life and death for someone with cancer? The truth is that, while sometimes it might, most of the time it likely won’t. However, perhaps the purpose of prayer isn’t solely to convince God that He needs to fulfill your request. Maybe the point of prayer is to change your own heart. Possibly your time spent in prayer is an expression that God is in control. Maybe your time spent with God will change your understanding of Him and His purpose for your life. Prayer can soften a heart, change a perspective, heal a disease, mend a shattered heart, sensitize a hardened soul, and repair brokenness. To limit the purpose of prayer to “God, do this exact thing that I am asking” actually minimizes the power, meaning, and purpose of prayer.
Prayer isn’t just about making our wishlist known to God because He’s not our genie in a bottle. It’s about enjoying His presence, listening to His voice, offering Him praise and thanksgiving for who He is, and also interceding on behalf of others to combat the hurt, pain, and evil that surrounds us. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says to “pray continually.” Philippians 4:6 & 7 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your mind in Christ Jesus.” Prayer is our direct line to the Almighty God – that’s a pretty powerful invitation and notion.
Praying to God individually is a great thing. It’s a powerful use of your time that should be maintained. However, prayer with your spouse is equally, if not more powerful. Matthew 18:20 says, “For where two or three come together in My name, there am I with them.” Praying together as a couple unites your spirits, combines your intercession, and draws you closer together. It is a platform for intimacy and unity. It’s a time to discuss prayer requests and then double your prayer power. If you’ve never prayed together as a couple or if your spousal prayer time has waned over the years, now might be a good time to crank it up. It doesn’t have to be a huge, overwhelming amount of time. It can even be 5-10 minutes. Simply exchange prayer requests, and then pray about those needs. Those few, precious moments might just provide a sense of unity, peace, openness, and depth in a way that you’ve never experienced.
The craziness of life can be, well, crazy. Be on guard for one of the enemy’s greatest tactics: eliminating your prayer life. Because MC Hammer was right: we got to pray just to make it today.
Copyright © 2013, Foundation Restoration. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No reproduction allowed without written permission from Foundation Restoration and/or the author.
Yep, Steve. You are absolutely right. We know that Satan is diligent. He will do whatever it takes to try and steal us away from God. That’s his sole purpose for existence in his mind, to replace God in our lives with himself….He wants to become God. That’s why it is so very important to keep our minds communicating with God on some level throughout the day, just as your discourse and scripture are poignantly saying.
If we could see (in the spirit world) what is coming upon this earth and God’s people as Christ’s return draws closer, we would be desperately crying out to our heavenly Father and speaking to Him in some fashion, whether a breath, a silent word, a shout, or a thought, to know that He is holding on to us and Satan cannot snatch us. If we know Yeshua as our Savior, we have confidence that we are God’s; this earth is not our home. We are His and heaven-homeward bound. Prayer is our communication link that gives us hope that you pointed back to in Phillipians 4, “transcending all understanding” and keeping our minds and hearts guarded from pervasive evil.