This will sound like heresy to some, I suppose.

A person who is urging & equipping others to pray intelligently doesn't "believe in prayer." Don't all Christians "believe in prayer"? This is how President Bush defines his faith as an evangelical.

However, you really cannot pray if you believe in prayer.

To do so is to reduce God to your words.

Our words, emotion charged thoughts, etc. are not the ultimate object of our worship. Just because we say some really nice flowery prayer or pray very directly, this is really beside the point. Ultimately, it is not about hiding in a closet where nobody can hear you or standing in front of a crowd.

In fact, prayer is not about you at all, and it is not about me.

Real prayer is not about what you want or what feel like you should get in the end. Though you may have to talk that over with the Lord.

I do believe God wants us to pray.

So why pray?

A. Because God is real. He is not a fiction character in an old work of art.

B. Because God is powerful. He can do what He wants, He can show mercy to whomever He wants, He can be gracious to whomever He wants, ... and he wants you to behave accordingly.

C. Because God is listening even when you are not. Sometimes it helps us if we get the load of guilt off our backs and load of pride out of our hearts before we are really able to rest in His arms of care.

D. Because God is our Father in Heaven. Any good father on earth will want to be respected. Ask any honest man, and he will tell you that he would like some respect, from someone, some time, somehow. Fathers would like respect from their wives ... and their kids. Like any good father who has little kids, God will discipline those he loves ... particularly when they do wrong / speak lies / or have some other character flaw. So REALITY CHECK: God does love you, you had better honor Him & at least say thanks for all the things He has done for you:
1. What relationships do you have that are good?
2. What accomplishments have you done that once seemed impossible?
3. When did you receive help that you did not expect?
4. What material things do you have? (Water, clothes, food, these are always a good place to start.)
5. What memories do you have of pleasant times?
6. How have you changed for the better?
7. When did you survive a difficulty that seemed extremely oppressive at the time?
... Take as long as you need, express to the Lord God, thanks, praise, and much appreciation for what the Creator has done. In each of these areas, I have some thoughts that could be expanded into volumes: water (from fountains, from faucet, through filters, not poisoned, not polutted, in rivers, from the sky, in my body, in fruits, in milk, ... the whole water cycle that God designed & yet He alone is able to trace every molecule of it every second of every day!!

E. God wants a big family. Have you ever gone out or seen a kid who brought home a stray dog, cat, mouse, squirrel, lightening bug, or even a little weed and insisted that they be able to take it home as a pet? People are made to share life with others. Some kids actually pray for more siblings more than their parents are ready to receive them. HOW MUCH MORE THEN, should God not look for & long for more people on whom He might show forth His love? ... This is why we intercede for the lost. God loves it when we grow up enough to say, "Our Father & our God, would you please adopt _______. You've done so much for me, and they need to know that you love them & that they don't have to live in darkness ..." This is mature praying. The only way a soul can pray this way is if they know about the cross of Christ & truly understand what the purpose of God is. Only by the power & direction of the Holy Spirit are such prayers effective!!

If we simply believe in praying, our prayers become drivel. Not merely wish lists for ourself. But they become hospital lists for others. They turn the Lord into a tribal God who will protect, save, & defend our troops, but would just as soon hurl the people we don't know into the flames of hell.

This is not the real faith. Real faith becomes real love. Real faith is founded on the real hope of eternal life.

Ask for more to be saved. Ask for God's name to be better understood. Ask for the church to unite in Christ, rather than merely in committees. Ask for the evil to be put underfoot. Ask for protection from trials. Ask, and keep asking. And when it seems that the heavens are silent, ask again with the promises of scripture. And if you see no answer, gather more to ask with you, many more. And if you still see no answer, humble yourself further improverish yourself of the love of the world and rid yourself from petty sins. And if you still see no answer, pray for something bigger, for more of God's glory to be seen, more of His grace, more of His mercy, more of His holiness, more of His truth.

But by all means, don't stop praying, don't lose heart, don't forget what you have already learned, don't give up.

Go on, let down you guard, put away your pride, cry if you must. Shout in the wilderness. Play the fool in the court of man, if only you might see the God of heaven smile. And when He laughs, then the nations WILL listen. And you will be able to laugh with him.

Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
but a promise fulfilled is a tree of life.

No wonder the promised Messiah came through a baby named Laughter: "Yitzak, Yitzak, Yitzak. Heb."

Do I believe in prayer? No.

Do I believe in God? Certainly!! Therefore, I pray, because I believe He will reward everyone who _earnestly_ seeks Him.

Peace,
Mert