One time when walking on the street a man stopped me and offered me a free personality test. Usually, I’m not keen on such things, but he insisted.
He took me off the street into a nearby building and gave me some sheets of paper with very many questions on them about how I behave in different circumstances (such as giving in when people strongly insist that I do things!). After I’d finished, I handed the papers in and waited for the result.
The man called me into his office and began; ‘You’re not good at communicate and that’s bad because communication is life. But don’t worry, I have some books for sale on communicating and organise a seminar on communication.’
Handy that he had some books for sale and a seminar on exactly what I needed, but nevertheless I practised my skills in refusing insistent people and left!
Communication is life may well be an overstatement but nevertheless it is clear that it is an important aspect of our daily lives. This explains the popularity of mobile applications such as Whatsapp, which has over 5 billion downloads.
In the Bible, we also see that communication is an important topic. In Genesis 1 we see that God even creates by speaking. For example, in Gen. 1:3 –
Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
Following on from this in chapters 2 and 3, we see that He is not a distant God who creates things and then steps back. Rather we see Him communicating with the people He has created. Even after humans disobey Him and are exiled from the Garden of Eden, the communication continues.
In Genesis 4:26, it says that
‘….Then men began to call on the name of the Lord.’
So, people still seek contact with God and in chapter 6, God is stilling communicating with humans as we see Him speaking to Noah. Indeed, in one sense we could describe the Bible as the story of how God seeks to re-establish His lost relationship with human beings. Throughout the Old Testament, God is repairing the damaged relationship as He chooses a people, makes covenants with them and even comes to be present with them, first in a tent, then in the temple.
A key moment in this process of relationship restoration can be seen in Mark 15:38-39. Here, we read that immediately after Jesus’ death on the cross the curtain in the temple is torn from top to bottom. This is significant because this curtain separated the centre of the temple from everything and everyone else. This central temple area was known as the Holy of Holies and it was were God was present. The curtain represented the barrier between Him and human beings. Only once a year could the high priest enter there to offer a sacrifice for the atonement of the people’s sins.
However, after Jesus dies, this barrier between man and God is torn in two. Significantly, the tear is from top to bottom, showing that it was God who initiated the removed up of this separation between us and Him. Importantly, the next verse tells us the reaction of the centurion, a pagan not from God’s people, when he witnesses Jesus’ death. He says:
‘Truly this Man was the Son of God!’.
This confirms to us that now anyone can come to recognise Jesus for who He really is and thus enter into a relationship with God. In other words, the result of Jesus’ death was to restore the possibility of anybody to communicate with God. Previous to it, God communicated just with certain people in certain ways, but now whoever wants has the opportunity to enter into dialogue with Him! In modern day language, we call this prayer!
Although most people are aware of this possibility, not everybody uses it in the same way.
Simeon Stylites was born in what is now Turkey around 390 A.D. Like any young man he made plans for his life, although in his case his plans were a little different to most youngsters. At the age of 13 he decided to dedicate himself to Christianity, which he understood to mean spending his time in self-denial and prayer. For example, he is said to have spent at least a year and a half shut up in a small hut, much of this time spent standing in prayer. Eventually, he moved onto a new method which was to sit atop a column that he found amongst some ruins of an old building. It is said that he spent 37 years sitting atop such columns, spending his time in prayer.
Alternatively, a lady from Romania made the observation once, ‘In the hospitals in Romania everybody prays!’ This could be taken not just as a negative comment about the standard of health care in Romania but also as a remark that reflects the human tendency to turn to prayer when we have a serious problem. It’s interesting that whenever something bad happens, celebrities often put messages on the internet which include the icon of two hands clasped together in prayer.
For Christians, the person who is our example of how to live is Jesus Christ. Thus, if want to know how to pray, we need to learn from him. In the gospel of Mark 1:35-39, we see an example of when Jesus prayed.
The first thing we learn from here is that Jesus prayed! Even though he was a part of the trinity, he still needed to pray, and if He needed to pray to maintain His relationship with God the Father and Holy Spirit, how much more must we, imperfect human beings, need to pray to keep a good relationship with God.
Indeed, we know from our own human experience that by communicating with people we develop relationships and that we suffer when we don’t communicate with those we love.
Henry Martyn was a missionary to India just over two hundred years ago. In order to go out on the mission field, he left his girlfriend behind, hoping that at a later stage, once he had assessed the scene, she could join him to be his wife. Shortly after arriving in India, he wrote her a letter to propose marriage. He had to wait fifteen months for a response, and it was negative!
One can only imagine the suffering of waiting those long months for an answer. It’s natural that we want to communicate with those who we love. Thus, as Christians who love God, it’s normal that we should desire to spend time with Him in prayer and if we don’t desire this, we should start thinking about why.
The second thing that we can take from this example of Jesus is that even though He was very busy, He still made time for prayer. We see in verse 34 of this first chapter of Mark that many people were coming to Jesus for healing. Indeed, towards the end of the chapter we see that so many people were looking for Him that He couldn’t enter towns anymore. And in the beginning of chapter two there are so many in the house listening to Jesus that the men can’t get their paralysed friend through and have to take him up on the roof and lower him through the ceiling!
In the midst of all this busyness nevertheless we read in verse 35 that Jesus got up early, when it was still dark, to go to pray. This shows that it was a priority for Him. A great Christian leader of the past is quoted as having said, ‘I am so busy that I need to pray for three hours before I start the day.’ We tend to think differently, something like ‘I am so busy that I only have time to pray for three minutes.’ However, we usually find time for the things that are important to us.
Recently, at a Ski camp with Moldovan students, I decided spontaneously on the second day to go skiing (having rested on the first day). This meant I was slightly delayed as I got my equipment together. I felt that this wouldn’t be a problem as Moldovan students are not renowned for their punctuality. However, as I came out of the chalet to go to the bus, I saw it already pulling away and leaving for the mountain. In other words, usually tardy students, were right on time when it was about getting the bus for skiing!
Hence, if prayer is something important to us, we will make time for it.
Thirdly, we see that through prayer Jesus clarified God’s will for Him. Jesus is Himself also God, but He nevertheless submitted to the Father’s will (Mark 14:36). When Simon and His companions find Jesus, they are probably expecting and hoping that He will return with them to get on with work in Capernaum, but Jesus has other ideas. He informs them that His plan is now to move on to ministry in other places. This plan seems to have formed after His time in prayer. Thus, prayer is one way in which we conform our wills to God’s and discover His plans for us.
More so, it also shows our dependence on Him as instead of getting on with what we think is best, we stop and seek His guidance. Indeed, in the busyness of life, just as Jesus took time out here before making His next step, it seems like a good principle that sometimes we need to withdraw to deserted places to be free to reflect and search for the way forward.
George Mueller is a great example of someone who depended on God in prayer. He was from Germany but became a minister in Great Britain. He opened one and later other homes for Orphans. It is said that he never directly asked for money but trusted in God’s provision. One evening he confessed to a visitor to the orphanage that although 2000 orphans were staying there, they had no food for the next day’s breakfast. He began to pray. The next day they found that the necessary food was there! How? Overnight a Christian in the city hadn’t been able to sleep and had felt that God was prompting him to get food and bring it to the orphanage, something that he did. Indeed, it is said that he provided enough to last for a whole month!
Assuming we understand the necessity of prayer, another question would be what should our prayers contain? There are different ideas about this, but a basic model would have four points.
The first would be adoration. To adore someone means to be focused on their qualities and to give them glory for them. How often do people for example give praise to a footballer for scoring a great goal that helps his team win the cup. Being there in the mountains of Romania it is hard to not to be in awe of the God who created it all.
Next there is confession. This is where we recognise our weaknesses as human beings and openly say in our own words what we have done wrong. A well-known Biblical example is Psalm 51, where David confesses his sin after having committed adultery.
Thirdly, comes thankfulness. This is similar to adoration, but it focuses on what God has done for us, rather than on who He is. In Ephesians 5:20 Paul tells us to give thanks for all things.
Finally, there is supplication or requesting things. In Matthew 7:7 Jesus says to ask and we will receive, although this needs to be understood in the light of what has been said above about seeking God’s will in prayer thus what we ask for might not be according to God’s plans so we might not receive it!
