Today we began our College writing class with a prayer. Our instructor started praying and I couldn't concentrate. I don't want you to think that I didn't think God heard her prayer and was pleased by it, but it just got me thinking. Christians really don't know how to pray. We've grown up and heard our parents pray, or heard our pastors, and they in turn taught us how to pray. However should it be the children, and the baby christians that teach us how to pray? Shouldn't it be the people that are scared to pray b/c they can't pray like us, they don't know how to mix in the Christendom lingo into their prayer? Shouldn't they be teaching us? When children or new christians pray it is so real, and so alive. They have yet to be tainted by the cliques of modern prayer. They speak to their God the way they would talk to you and me. They speak to him in conversation. There is no uniform to it, its freeform conversation to a real God. It seems to me that sometime we pray out of repetition, or we classify some of our prayer as good prayers cause we used the right words or we prayed for the things exactly how we wanted to. We as christians tend to show what we got, and at some point think that we can pick out how much of a christian someone is by their prayer. Prayer is described as the act of communicating with God. God is described in many ways, but some that are prevalent are Father and Friend. If you think of some of the prayers you have said do you say them with the fancy christian words that you've come to know. For me yes, thats the way I pray I love to pick up a new word that I can use in prayer. Why though would I use these words if I would never use them when talking to my earthly Dad or friends. If I could wish one thing, it's that I never learned how to pray. I wish could pray like a two year old. Come to think of it when we pray God doesn't recognize our words that come out of the mouth he created. He sees the heart, his dwelling place b/c thats where our true words lie. I wish I could pray like a two year old with a pure heart unadulterated by the conformity of Christendom prayer where I can say "Jesus I Love You" and mean it in the purest way.
5 comments:
me too
Where does the whole thought of moving from milk to meat come into this thought? Is Jesus dwelling in our hearts the right thought for this as well as you say at the end of your post? What do you think? Interesting thoughts and I like your thought pattern.
To clarify especially for Nick Krause. My comment refers to the thinking we have that God dwells in our heart. Is that accurate according to scripture? I agree with everything Jerod says here, and I'm just wanting to continue to the discussion. Is asking Jesus into your heart what scripture teaches? These questions come from one comment of Jerod's and not in disagreement with any of the views posted here.
Ephesians 3:17
"So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith."
I think a part of faith is continually asking christ to dwell within us and overflow out of us.
hopefully phil will check this comment page again.
I understan Nick this verse but going to my thoughts on this whoel dwelling thing, does this mean we ask Jesus to come into our hearts? I don't know if that is the case. I'm questioning that becase it says by faith you are saved, not praying a prayer and asking Jesus into your heart. Really this has nothing to do with Jerod's post and maybe you just need to come talk to me.
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