Sometimes Christian teachers make prayer sound kind of ooky-spooky, with a lot of hard-to-understand, mystical lingo. Because of the complexity of what is often taught, it can be discouraging, even to those of us who have been intercessors for many years.
As we mature in prayer, we become more adept at following the Spirit’s leading — not through techniques, but through the intimacy we develop with Him as we interact with Him in conversation and thoughtful Bible reading.
It’s still good to learn from mighty prayer warriors who have gone before us. I’ve gained a lot of wisdom from veterans such as Wesley Duewel, Lynne Hammond, Rees Howells, and E. M. Bounds. Perhaps those of you who have read my materials have learned a few things, too. Learning from others is always good as long as we keep it in balance by remembering this:
Prayer and receiving answers to prayer doesn’t have to be complicated.
It all comes back to what Jesus said of His kingdom, “Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter into it” (Luke 18:17). What does a little child do? In a healthy home, he trusts his parents. In the same way, God our Father wants us to trust Him, to come to Him with an unwavering belief in His love for us and His desire to give us good things because of that love.
Hebrews 4:16 puts it this way: “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, so that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” That’s what children do in a healthy family. They come boldly with their requests.
Does coming to God as a small child mean we should remain childish in our understanding and behavior? Of course not. Toddlers throw tantrums when they don’t get their way. They can’t grasp abstract ideas. They don’t always know what is best for them. Parents must put strict boundaries and safeguards in place, so they don’t do harmful things to themselves, like running out in the street in front of a car or drinking drain cleaner. The apostle Paul said, “When I was a child, I thought like a child, but when I became a man, I put away childish things” (1 Corinthians 13:11). The Lord wants us to keep a childlike trust in Him, but He doesn’t want us to stay immature.
We are meant to grow up into adult sons and daughters who discipline our thoughts and words, who are considerate of others, and who don’t make rash decisions. Father is training us up to behave like the royalty we are, able to handle serious responsibilities well, and whose kinship with Jesus is evident to all — because we look, act, and sound like our elder Brother. One of these serious responsibilities is prayer.
We can pray maturely and still do it with simplicity. 2 Corinthians 11:3 says, “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity which is in Christ.” I love that phrase, “the simplicity which is in Christ.” What Jesus taught in the Gospels about prayer was simple and yet deeply profound — deep enough to challenge the most seasoned intercessor, while at the same time easy enough to be understood by a child. Simple enough to make the religious leaders of His day wish He would just be quiet! It messed with all their legalistic maneuvers to get God’s attention.
Legalistic maneuvers to get God’s attention. This is as much a pitfall in our day as it was 2,000 years ago. We have to continually remind ourselves not to go there. We already have Father’s attention. He has been listening intently for every cry of our hearts since we became His children when we first believed on Jesus. But our human thinking seems to long for systems we can manipulate for the desired answer — like gumball machines. Maybe you aren’t old enough to remember what those were, but I am. Put in the correct coin, yank the lever, and out pops the gum. Prayer doesn’t work like that. God refuses to be our gumball machine.
I think it’s time to get back to prayer as it was meant to be: sincerely coming to our Father in heaven, trusting Him to answer us with good gifts. Learn His ways so that you will love Him more — not so you can manipulate something out of Him. Leave the gumball machine mentality behind, instead, praying with childlike belief in your Father’s goodness. And do it from a pure, simple heart.
____________________________________
Out of the Fire 