Am I Praying the Right Way? (What Prayer Is & What It Isn't) Episode #30

The Prayer Podcast with Jan L. Burt

Well hello to ya, welcome to this episode of The Prayer Podcast. I’m the shows host, Jan Burt, and I’m so glad you’re listening today. My prayer is that you are encouraged and that you find yourself praying big, bold, brave prayers regularly. And not just praying, but receiving answers to your prayers. Because while it’s true that we do not pray to a genie in a lamp, but to a God who sits enthroned above the heavens, it’s also true that our God loves to hear our prayers and He does indeed answer when we cry out to Him.

So, let’s jump right in. This is episode number 30.

When I really consider what prayer is all about, I think at its core, prayer has a lot to do with surrender.

When we surrender everything to the Lord in prayer, real transformation starts to happen. Like, for us, as we pray, as we surrender, and for others that we are praying for. And in situations and circumstances, things start to transform.

A prayer of surrender is really at what we did upon salvation, isn’t it? I give. Uncle. I surrender all. Making trade, Jesus’ life for mine, a total surrender to the Lord.

So it does make sense that our prayer lives would involve lots of surrendering…of expectations, of hurts fears and disappointments and pain and sometimes even of hopes and dreams, surrendering to the Lord’s best for us.

Mountains move when we surrender in prayer.

I live in America, and I know that not all of my listeners live here, and honestly things are not great here as of late, so I have very little “the American dream” way of thinking in my life anymore, and that’s not a bad thing, but I say that because in the Christian world I’ve been part of in like real life, not in the online space, there has been in the past a sense of taking our American lifestyle, our culture and such, and applying it to the way that we pray.

Yet when I read what Jesus said about prayer, especially when I read it with fresh eyes, if you will, and not just this is my daily reading plan, check it off and move on with the rest of my day, but really read it to understand what Jesus was saying about prayer, that American way of thinking has to be set aside.

It can be shocking to realize how much we have changed prayer into something else…how, say, we can be so polite in our praying, thinking that honors God, this sense that it is disrespectful to Him to not be ultra polite as we pray. But is that what we find in the New Testament teachings of Jesus on prayer? Maybe not so much. Maybe not at all.

As I read it, the New Testament encourages bold praying, not holding back because we don’t want to be impolite (which is what I meant when I mentioned applying our culture here in the States to our Christian life…we don’t mix impolite behavior with our church life…anybody else know what I’m talking about?) That’s more cultural, rooted in how we were raised than in the pages of our Bible.

So, a few passages in the Bible that stretch us in our praying that I think are worth looking at include the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew five, six and seven, Psalm 91, Psalm 63, Luke chapters 11 and 18, and one verse from the Old Testament that has really impacted my faith as it relates to my prayer life is Zechariah 9:12, which says this:

Come back to the place of safety, all your prisoners who still have hope! I promise this very day that I will repay you two blessings for each of your troubles.

Now of course this was a specific promise to the Israelites during a time of exile, but per the New Testament we know that all God’s promises are yes and amen through Christ Jesus our Lord (that’s found in 2 Corinthians 1:20). And that verse has challenged me: do I really believe that God, who is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8) is willing to give me two blessings for each one of my troubles? And do I pray about those troubles as if I believe that? And when I do pray like I believe that goes is who He says He is and does everything He says He’ll do, I end up praying big, bold prayers.

Prayer is asking and prayer is receiving. Let’s remember then when we go to our prayer closets. It’s not just the asking. It’s about receiving. And not just receiving answers, but receiving everything the Lord wants us to have.

Prayer is also enjoying being in God’s presence. It’s a time to worship and praise Him, to receive His comfort and His love, to be still and not be on the go go go. It’s a time for peace, a time we set apart to get apart with our God. And enjoy being at peace in His presence. Laying down our burdens, picking up the peace that Jesus promised.

And you know, we’ve been looking at the book of James here on The Prayer Podcast, and this is a break from that, just to really focus on what prayer is.

And prayer is vital. It’s a part of our life as followers of Jesus that anchors us to Him, and we don’t want to neglect it. We want to be doing things that matter for eternity. Prayer matters for eternity. It’s so much more than something we check off during our daily quiet time. The Lord really does want to hear from you. God to the Father in prayer, expect Him to hear and to answer, make a bit of room in your life to sit quietly before Him, ask for what you need in the name of Jesus, and trust the Holy Spirit to lead you forward with guidance and counsel and protection and wisdom and favor and blessing and clarity.

And this is my prayer for you today:

Father, I’m coming to You today on behalf of the one listening. May they step out in faith in their prayer time and ask for things that are weighing on them, and will You take the burden from them and give them Your peace instead? Move in answer to their prayers, and then help them to pray even more boldly. Show them Your love and compassion, watch over them, protect them, open doors for them, and shut doors that aren’t Your best for them. Meet them where they are, right at this moment, but don’t leave them there if they’re in a hard place in life. Move them forward, but do it with great care and love. Do You will in their lives. And shower them with Your grace. In Jesus Name - Amen. (I’ll see ya back next time. Bye bye, and keep on praying!)