John H Armstrong

Did Jesus Forbid Repetitive Prayers?

Jesus taught us to pray. He even gave us a model to guide us in Matthew 6:9-13. The church has historically believed that this prayer can and should be followed, thus it occurs in the earliest Christian teaching on how to pray and what to specifically pray about. It seems very apparent that very early in the church's historical development this prayer was recited both publicly and privately. But many evangelical Christians stumble over this idea sometimes. The reason is often found in the words of Jesus in the same prayer context when he said, "And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words" (Matthew 6:7).

Is Jesus forbidding the repetition of his own words? Is he instructing us that all prayer must be spontaneous and extemporaneous, not prescribed and read? Is the repetition of words already spoken or written by someone else simply "vain repetition" (cf. the KJV translation)? Are Christians who pray with written and learned prayers babbling like pagans?

The first thing to note here is that this text is really stressing the point that people who pray like "babbling pagans" are really believing that "they will be heard because of their many words." The point is obvious. The "pagan" idea is not repeating words but praying many words in hope that this will gain God's favor by such action. This gets to the heart, to the motive Jesus is addressing here. The Greek word, battalogeo, means "to repeat idly" or "meaningless and mechanically repeated phrases." This was done in pagan prayer in the time of Jesus and the apostles. Our Lord is thus rejecting prayers said without proper reverence for God as our Father. Jesus is more concerned with the inner disposition of the heart (cf. Matthew 7:20-23; 15:9) than with outward appearances.

The second thing to note here is that Jesus is not condemning all formal prayers. By this I mean prayers that are already set in writing and then learned and/or read. Formal prayers were used by Jesus himself. How do I know this? He prayed in the synagogue. This was a part of the practice.

All of us use hymns and other set forms in our worship. Even the freest charismatic church follows some ritual, albeit one that allows for greater change within the structure. Many of the songs we sing, from both formal hymnals and informal praise music we learn or see on a projected screen, is prayer. Most of us are already praying in a set manner and do not realize it.

I recall hearing someone say when I was young: "If you have to use someone else's words than you aren't really praying." But the truth is that this is simply untrue. It is, in the end, another one of those numerous reactions that many of us have to traditions that are not our own.

Spontaneous prayer is valuable and benefits those who learn to talk to God in this manner. But it is not the only form of talking with God. Sometimes following the words of others helps. When I am dry, and need to be pushed out of myself, the words of others help me. When I cannot frame my thoughts properly I can use the Lord's Prayer and begin to connect with the petitions. I know I am right and safe to pray this prayer. There is no shadow of doubt. Formal prayers can and do shape my thoughts and desires and keep me in alive to God's revealed will. Informal prayers are more conversational and remind me that my Father loves me and wants to talk to me. A well developed and shaped prayer life will include both. Indeed, repeated written prayers will deliver me from missing something essential that I am prone to leave out if I follow the course of my own thoughts spontaneously.

A Prayer for the Illinois House of Representatives

Most of you know that my son is a pastor and serves a church plant in nearby Streamwood, Illinois. (I preached there on May 10 and 17. The photo above is of Matt introducing me to his flock to preach.) Matt, his wife Adriana, and their two beautiful girls, Gracie and Abbie, drove to Springfield on Thursday afternoon in order to be in the Illinois House of Representatives for Friday's morning session. Gracie and Abbie served as "pages" for the day while Matthew gave the invocation to the House. Little did any of us know when Matt accepted this invitation that the government of this state would be in such a mess over ethics, budgets and power and that the end of their present session loomed with ominous overtones as they try to settle a number of perils the state now faces. In my forty years in this state I have never seen the legislature in such a conflicted state. Much like California, we face bankruptcy and huge spending issues. Unlike California the voters in Illinois have not put a lid on new taxes and spending. Put simply---things are a political mess in Illinois. Our papers and broadcasts are full of this news daily. Both parties are at fault and both continue to blame the other. This is what made Matt's visit, and his prayer, so significant. I prayerfully hope that some of the men and women in the chamber on Friday actually heard what Matt prayed and that God will truly be sought by leaders in this state. Here is Matt's prayer from Friday:

An Invocation Before the Illinois House: Friday, May 29, 2009

God, our help in ages past, you are our hope for years to come. You know the tremendous challenges before the women and men in this House today. In these times of corruption, deceit and economic crisis, we remember that not a sparrow falls to the ground but that you notice it. You are intimately concerned with all the details of our lives, our families, communities, state, nation and world. You made us, and you set us in relationship with one another. You love us and want the best for us and so we acknowledge you here this morning. We ask that you would reveal yourself in new and fresh ways to each person in this room. May it be that today you will use these women and men to accomplish your purposes for the State of Illinois. May they make laws that are just and fair, which promote honesty and hard work—laws that provide care for the poor and provide opportunity for all.

God, I thank you for each representative here today. They have worked hard and sacrificed much to be here and to represent the people of our state. Please honor them as they honor you. Bless them as they bless the people of Illinois. Be with them and give them great wisdom at a time of great testing. Grant them, we pray, foresight to understand how decisions made today will impact people’s lives for years to come. I believe that you have a plan and a purpose for Illinois that is greater than anything we can imagine. So I ask that this plan would be realized and that you would use these representatives to do so. Be with them today. May they feel your presence encouraging, guiding, supporting, and sustaining them in their important work of crafting laws. May they always act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with you. For your glory. Amen.

Prayer is Irksome

 We must be honest about it, prayer is difficult for all of us. No one is immune to this great difficulty. Only immature Christians think otherwise. C. S. Lewis wrote:

Well, let’s now at any rate come clean. Prayer is irksome. An excuse to omit it is never unwelcome. When it is over, this casts a feeling of relief and holiday over the rest of the day. We are reluctant to begin. We are delighted to begin. While we are at prayer, but not whole we are reading a novel or solving a crossword puzzle, any trifle is enough to distract us. And we know that we are not alone in this.

For too many of us prayer is something to check off our “to-do list.”  It is a daily duty but not something we truly enjoy doing. But the necessity of prayer is seared into our hearts by words like those of the apostle Paul: “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17).

As we go along in the faith we hear stories of great saints who prayed for hours and hours and become discouraged. We simply do not know how to pray as we ought (cf. Romans 8:26). This is, in the words of Romans 8, precisely what Scripture teaches us.

The problem is not that we are so bad at methods but that we are just normal. This is the result of sin. Sin results in a darkened mind, a weakened will and disordered desires. As these maladies play out over the course of our lives we lose sight of God. Bridging the chasm is not easy (Isaiah 55:8-9).

Remember: in prayer we are attempting to build a relationship with the One who is wholly other. The ancient Greeks concluded that God and man could never become friends. But Christ has revealed otherwise. And Hebrews 4:14–16 is the answer.

The Creator continually calls us “to that mysterious encounter known as prayer” (Catechism of the Catholic Church). God doesn’t want us to be slaves, but sons. Prayer has been rightly defined as “a covenant relationship between God and man in Christ” (Catechism of the Catholic Church). We are invited to know the God of covenant in his Son Jesus Christ. Prayer is not about us but about him. When we admit its difficulty and seek to know him better we can then begin to find methods that will help us. Before this we are doomed to fail.

Luther's Morning Prayer

My Heavenly Father, I thank you, through Jesus Christ, your beloved Son, that You kept me safe from all evil and danger last night. Save me, I pray, today as well from every evil and sin, so that all I do and the way that I live will please you. I put myself in your care, body and soul and all that I have. Let Your holy angels be with me, so that the evil enemy will not gain power over me. Amen.

A Prayer-Care-Share Lifestyle

One of the ministries I support, both in my prayer and in my giving to the kingdom of God, is the National Pastors Prayer Network. The National Pastors Prayer Network is led by a very good friend, Phil Miglioratti. Phil has was born and reared in Chicago. He has a background in the church that birthed the Awana Clubs ministry and knows evangelicalism through a lifetime of service inside the church. He now lives in the Chicago suburbs, as I do. He was a pastor in the distant past, has served several churches in both regular staff ministry and interim ministry, and leads churches in prayer for renewal and mission. He is a fine teacher, a clear writer and a self-less man who truly loves Christ and his church. Almost everyone who meets Phil likes him because he has no airs about him and communicates warmth and love very easily. We try to meet about four or five times a year in order to stay connected in fellowship and prayer. We've done lunch, coffee and baseball. Like so many such friends I always wish that I had more time with Phil when we leave a meeting but what time I have with him is always a treasure. We talk freely and confidentially and always encourage one another to trust God and grow in his grace. I think I am better for knowing Phil.

Phil's recent prayer letter recounts some family blessings and then says, "Every day is unique for me, which suits my temperament just fine." That is so true with me that I had to share it. While my days are often quite different than Phil's, since our gifts are very different, I operate in much the same way in terms of "temperament." He says he enjoys facilitating work teams that have clear and specific goals to accomplish. He also spends days at home which he says are consumed with "uploading new posts to one of the many blogs [he] administrates" and then he also "travels to a variety of cities to coach leadership teams." Phil does all of these things as well as anyone I know personally. He writes a column for Pray Magazine, a publication of NavPress, and preaches and teaches on Sundays, and on retreats and in leader gatherings, in various churches. He says that his preaching allows him to challenge faithful church members to "get out of their seats and into the streets" with what he calls "a prayer-care-share lifestyle."

I love that last statement. I want to truly live a "prayer-care-share lifestyle" as a Christian. I want my life and ministry to help others do the same. I recommend Phil's Web site and blogs to you as one significant way to help you do that. I also encourage my friends who are pastors to invite Phil to minister to your church. If you want to teach your people how to pray, and you should be teaching this year-in and year-out, then Phil is your man. You will find that he comes as a humble servant with no big fees or major demands. This is precisely why I support Phil. He is deserving of a lot more than I can give to him but I believe the Lord is pleased when I invest in a man and a ministry like Phil's. I encourage some of you to get to know him and to even support his work with your gifts should the Lord lead you. Every prayer movement in the land could use Phil Miglioratti's input and teaching. He is the real deal.

A Matter of the Heart: Reflections on Rev. Paul (David) Yonggi Cho and the Role of Prayer

A friend, Emmanuel Viray, who reads my work and sometimes writes to me, sent the following reflection on a sermon preached at the recent Moody Founder's Week just a few days ago. I think it is so good that I want to share it more widely. He writes:

I was listening to Rev. Billy Kim at this recent Founder’s week and have found one of his statements troubling. Rev. Kim mentioned Paul (David) Yonggi Cho (photo at right)  whose church boasts 700,000 members and he only has 20,000 members. The speaker was exhorting Christians to have a great prayer life. He said he asked Rev. Cho how he got a church that big and Rev. Cho answered that he prayed many hours of the day. Basically the message is, if you pray more you will get more results.

 First I thank God for the things he has done in his life, bringing him to Christ and giving him his ministry. I want to commend Rev. Kim for his call for the American church to pray. Prayer is an act of reliance upon God and a lack of a prayer life can be a sign of self-reliance. The reality is we are always reliant upon God every second of the day for life, success, everything. Self-reliance is a denial of reality and an attitude that must be repented of. Rev. Kim is right to call the church to prayer. However, his presentation troubled me in two ways.

1. To commend Rev. Cho for his prayer life is troubling to me. Rev. Cho, by his response, seems to correlate his success to his praying a lot. Prayer should not be seen as a way to gain but a statement of the heart that says “I am dependent on God about everything, my life- my future, my relationships, everything is in his hands”. To use prayer as a means to manipulate God to make us successful in anything we do is tantamount to using God’s name in vain. Paul warned Timothy about some people using “godliness” as a means towards gain.

2. Prayer flows from a heart attitude. This means that setting up more prayer meetings or even setting up more personal time to pray does not really solve the problem of a lack of a prayer life. Without that proper heart attitude that says “I am dependent on God about everything, my life- my future, my relationships, the life of the world, everything is in his hands” a prayer life is just an outward trapping and should not be commended at all. It should be condemned as legalism and it is draining to the person. I think a better way is to cultivate an attitude of dependence towards God. The person who has completely grasped his and the world’s dependence on God will pray without ceasing. He will be connected to God whether he is spending time alone, with a group, or at work.

The Western church needs to be more like the third world church with its strong piety, its refusal to back down in the face of persecution, its zeal for proclaiming the gospel, and its strong stance on social issues (homosexuality, abortion). However, the third world church should not judge the western church as somehow wanting as Christians. They would be doing what the Donatists of old did, refusing to be in communion with those who succumbed to persecution but were later repentant. The church, East and West, must acknowledge sin and welcome into its midst all those who are repentant.

Well said my friend. While Cho is frequently attacked by various cult watching groups I have no dog in this fight personally. I am neither a fan nor a fierce critic. (I haven't studied him enough to even have a strong view either way.) I do know that what my friend Emmanuel writes above is quite correct, except for the debate about the actual size of Cho's congregation, which is variously reported and widely discussed by friends and foes.

Prayer: Conversation with God

St. John Chrysostom said, "Prayer is conversation with God." Clement of Alexandria and Gregory of Nyssa said much the same thing. Origen distinguished different kinds of prayer and thus wrote:

Supplication is "a petition offered with entreaty by one who needs something; prayer "is offered in a dignified manner with praise concerning matters of importance"; intercession "is a request to God . . . made by one who possesses more than usual confidence"; and thanksgiving "is an acknowledgment that blessings have been obtained from God." That's pretty good.

Greek and Roman prayers were "tit-for-tat" offerings to vague impersonal deities; i.e., I have sacrificed this for you so you should give this back to me. Christian prayer was, and is, radically different. We must understand this essential point if we would make any progress in Christian faith at all. Jeremy Taylor (1613-1667), an Anglican of immense piety wrote two great books, Holy Living and Holy Dying, which have had an impact on people for centuries. Taylor was also a parish minister who knew great difficulty and real grace. He begged his bishop to relocate him because he could not please the Catholics or the Presbyterians in his area of England. Being of a catholic sentiment and generous spirit he found his situation presented to him a grave problem. But he remained faithful to his calling and died in this parish of the fever. Taylor wrote:

There is no greater proof in the world of our spiritual danger than the reluctance which most people always have and all people sometimes have to pray; so weary of the length, so glad when they are done, so clever to excuse and neglect their opportunity. Yet prayer is nothing but desiring God to give us the greatest and best things we can have and that can make us happy. It is a work so easy, so honorable, and to so great a purpose, that (except in the incarnation of His Son) God has never given us a greater argument of His willingness to have us saved and our unwillingness to accept it, of His goodness and our gracelessness, of His infinite condescension and our folly, than by rewarding so easy a duty with such great blessings.

From a different part of the world, in the Church of the West Indies, comes this illustration of real prayer. I find it so helpful.
                      
Almighty God, our heavenly Father, the privilege is ours to share in the loving, healing, reconciling mission of your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord, in this age and wherever we are. Since without you we can do no good thing,
May your Spirit make us wise;
May your Spirit guide us;
May your Spirit renew us;
May your Spirit strengthen us;
So that we will be:
Strong in faith,
Discerning in proclamation,
Courageous in witness,
Persistent in good deeds.
This we ask through the name of the Father.

I fear that I know so very little about prayer. I could wish that I had applied myself to it sooner but I am pleading with God for the grace to learn more in my latter years. Make prayer your life's passion.

The Jesus Prayer

The apostle Paul instructed the Thessalonian Christians that they should they should: "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (1 Thess. 5:16-18). I ponder this text a great deal. I am sure I fail the first more than once a day, more likely a few times every day. I also fail the last more times than I care to admit. But the middle imperative is even more difficult, or so it seems to me. How do I "pray without ceasing?"

Most Christians I know try something like this to explain this injunction: "God knows we cannot pray all the time since we must do many things throughout a day that are not prayer so this has to mean something else than what it appears to mean." I cannot agree. Nor did the ancient fathers of the Christian Church. They believed that all three of these Pauline injunctions were to be literally obeyed every single day, all day long, and even in the night when we awake from our sleep.

One of the problems of this age is that we have settled for making things way too easy. We think the impossible is not meant for us so we find ways to avoid it. But these commands are not impossible, at least not with the Spirit's presence and constant help. The problem is in our will, our flesh, our weakness, not in the commands of God.

From the second or third century on Christians used what was called "The Jesus Prayer" in order to fulfill this seemingly impossible command to "Pray without ceasing." The Jesus prayer can be prayed at all times and under all circumstances by all people. To pray it faithfully is to pray unceasingly from the heart. It follows the clear teaching of Scripture and thus says: "O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner."

Have you ever prayed the Jesus Prayer? We have a "sinner's prayer" but we very often teach someone to say it "once" and the whole is done. Invite Jesus into your heart and you do not have to pray this prayer again, at least if you have faith. Or so I was told. But the Jesus Prayer is for all people at all times in all circumstances. It is a true way to "pray without ceasing." By it you can stoke the flame of love for God. By it you confess you are nothing more than a sinner who needs grace, every moment of every day. By it you confess that Jesus alone is Lord! Try praying it, maybe a few hundred times, and then see what happens. Pray it now. Pray it again in the next moment. Pray it as you are falling asleep tonight. Pray it when you wake up. Pray it when you face trials. Pray it when you are driving. Pray it at meals. Pray it when you cannot seem to find the means to rejoice or give thanks. You will be amazed if you develop this spiritual discipline of prayer with this ancient practice. It has changed my life.