What Prayer Isn't

“Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” (Philippians 4:6 NLT)

Many of us spend our prayer time stewing in worried thought. We anxiously examine our problems, rearrange them in different ways, and try to come up with our own solutions that we then suggest to God. We become more absorbed in our troubles than we are in God. This is not prayer.

Prayer is not a list of requests. It isn’t repeating a bunch of words while our minds or hearts are occupied elsewhere. It isn’t formulaic. It is not about getting what you want.  

"To pray, I think, does not mean to think about God in contrast to thinking about other things, or to spend time with God instead of spending time with other people. Rather, it means to think and live in the presence of God." ‪(Henri Nouwen, Clowning in Rome)

Prayer requires us to be vulnerable. We have to relinquish our ego and be completely honest with ourselves. Oftentimes we feel useless and helpless as we express our true feelings in prayer. We remain in God’s presence, surrendered, listening, absorbing. Prayer allows us to open up and be available to God. Eventually our minds and our hearts become aligned with God as we become infused by His Spirit. Then we shall experience the peace that transcends all human understanding.   

Lord, we shall hand over all our anxious thoughts to you. We shall tell you our needs and thank you for all that you have done and all that you are about to do. May our minds and hearts be absorbed in Your purpose as we live in your presence and experience your peace.