Recently, I have found myself spending more time in prayer than I used to (and no, it is not because I suddenly have more time). Back before Easter, a few of my close friends and I felt convicted about the state of our prayer lives, and committed to trying to pray for one hour every day. It has been over a month now, and while there have been some struggles, we have, for the most part, been faithful in prayer. This has especially been a real journey for me, because while my friends say they love to sit and talk to God, prayer has never been my strong suit. If praying is a spiritual gift, I certainly did not get it! I had always been baffled (and frankly, I still am sometimes) by people who said they had entire conversations with the Lord. I had never heard him speak back to me, or at least didn’t know what to listen for, so my prayers were usually, short, sweet, and to the point. In my mind, if the Lord already knew all you were going to tell him, why bother telling him. I didn’t see much of a purpose to prayer. Now, unfortunately, this is not one of those stories where I started praying for an hour and all my inhibitions and questions disappeared, and I could suddenly hear God as clear as a bell. I didn’t suddenly become good at praying either. But I will tell you that having this set aside time to pray has helped me to begin to understand the purpose of prayer a little more, and, believe it or not, I am actually starting to enjoy my prayer time.
As I have continued to pray, my prayers have been less like bullet lists, and more like what I believe their intended purpose is to be: fireside chats. Confused? Let me explain.
In March 1933, directly following one of America’s worst banking crises, President Franklin D. Roosevelt broadcasted the first in a series of 30 radio speeches, called fireside chats for their laid-back feel. Roosevelt’s approach to radio communication was unique, as he designed his speeches to contain colloquial language, with words such as “I” and “you” that spoke directly to each American. Choosing examples and analogies that would resonate with his listeners, he presented solutions to to the problems at hand and encouraged the American people to be strong in remembrance of who they were.
Roosevelt’s fireside chats were designed to combat crises by:
- Shedding truth on lies and rumors that had been spread.
- Informing people of the next steps in the government’s plan.
- Providing comfort in uncertainty.
- Building trust in the government’s leaders.
- Reminding Americans of their identity.
Look at that list again. I believe that the five objectives Roosevelt had when speaking to the American Citizens are also five purposes that God has when speaking to us in prayer.
#1: Through prayer, God sheds truth on Satan’s lies.
John 8:44 says that the Devil is the Father of lies, and there is no truth in him. He is constantly trying to convince us of things that are not true to discourage our faith, steal our joy, and pull us away from God. If we are not grounded in truth, we will be easily swayed bu every lie he throws our way. By spending time in prayer with the Father, who is Truth itself (John 14:6), we will begin to recognize the Devil’s lies for what they are, and we can learn to combat them with scripture.
#2: Through prayer, God reveals to us the next steps in his plan.
Roosevelt knew that most Americans would not be able to fully comprehend the width and breath of his extensive “new deal” programs, and if they could they would be overwhelmed, so he feed the information to them little by little in his radio broadcasts. Giving them only the next few steps, he encouraged citizens to take action based on what they heard, by depositing money in banks, collecting scrap metal, or whatever else was needed at the time. In the same way, the Lord uses prayer as a means to reveal the next steps in his plan for our lives and prompts us to follow his leading. As Isaiah30:21 says, “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’ ”
#3: Through prayer, God’s presence provides us comfort.
There are some days when all we need is a little comfort. Give us a blanket, some warm, gooey, chocolate-chip cookies, and a hug, and we are all set. But even stronger than those temporal things is God’s constant presence, which can provide us comfort even when nothing else can. Because our God knows us intimately and has seen our struggles, he can empathize with us. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 calls him ” the Father of compassion and God of all comfort” and Psalm 23 reminds us not to fear evil, for “his rod and his staff, they comfort me”. Prayer magnifies our awareness of the truth that we are wrapped in God’s arms and shielded by his hands . To use the old saying, “nothing can get to us that has not passed through God first”.
#4: Through prayer, God grows our trust in him and his wisdom.
It is so hard to trust someone else’s leading when you are unsure of the future and feel like you have no control of your circumstances. By submitting problems and areas of our lives to the Lord in prayer, we are declaring that we trust that he has the wisdom and understanding to be Lord over those situations, rather than us. We believe that the ways he is working are good and right, even when we cannot see a purpose behind out pain.
#5: Through prayer, God reminds us of our Identity.
In every fireside chat, Roosevelt was intentional about reminding Americans of their identity. We are not like other nations, he seemed to say. We are a proud people who believe in freedom, justice, and righteousness, and are willing to fight to protect our freedoms. Roosevelt was aware that what the Americans believed about themselves and the state of the country could determine their actions. Therefore he urged the people to be a honorable representation of everything that Americans were supposed to stand for, because every individual citizen’s actions reflected either positively or negatively on America as a whole.
Knowing our identity as sons and daughters of the living king, heirs with Christ, and ambassadors who have been redeemed from sin and death to glorify God will define how we live. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance to spend time with the Father in prayer, because through his Holy spirit he brings scriptures to our minds to remind us who we are. One of my favorite verses comes from Isaiah 43:1, and it says, “But now, this is what the Lord says— he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.”
While this is certainly not an exhaustive list of the ways prayer spiritually builds us up, it is a good starting point. In deepening our relationship with the Lord, we also gain wisdom, insight, comfort, trust, and purpose. So next time you pray, try something. Try approaching it like a late night fireside chat with a trusted mentor or friend. You might be surprised by what you find.
Soli Deo Gloria 