But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. Matthew 6:6 (ESV)
Prayer can sometimes seem like a cowardly action. It seems passive; it relies on faith and, often, patience. We connect courage to action– courageous people DO something; cowards sit on the sidelines or hide in their closets. Yet Jesus told His disciples to go into their rooms or closets, close the door, and pray in secret. Jesus himself often went out into the desert to pray alone. Jesus’s ministry was filled with passive moments. He spoke, or he walked along from town to town. He stopped to heal people by touching them or speaking to them. He rarely raised his voice or let his temper show. He allowed himself to be arrested, tried, sentenced, beaten, and crucified, without making a vigorous defense or protesting his horrific and unjust treatment. On the cross, his one impassioned outburst was a prayer to His Father–“My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34)
We don’t think of Jesus as a coward. Yet, we often sneer at Christians who spend more time praying and less time “doing.” Being active is not a bad thing. Jesus commanded His disciples with many active words– “GO,” “teach,” “feed My sheep.” And there are busy people who are courageous in their own way. They go into dangerous places to preach the Gospel. They risk their health and safety to reach the lost with the Good News that Jesus Saves! They stand firm for the truth, and they defend it with vigor and passion. But Jesus also commanded His disciples to “Follow Me.” That means that we need to look at and model our lives after the ways that Jesus responded to various situations, and how He lived. The question we often ask is “what would Jesus do?” But the real question we should ask is “what did Jesus DO?”
Jesus prayed. He prayed for people; He prayed with people; and He prayed alone for hours and even days. And Jesus prayed courageous prayers. He didn’t pray “safe” prayers. Even His anguished prayer in the garden ended with courageous and humble resignation– “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” (Luke 22:42) Jesus also engaged lovingly and personally with the kinds of people that others ignored or wrote off or dismissed as broken, damaged, or irredeemable.
Just this week, a young Christian apologist and conservative speaker, Charlie Kirk, was assassinated. He was well-known and admired (or detested) for speaking up about family values, and Christian principles on American college campuses. He often faced hostile critics and smug detractors– atheists, anarchists, and those who called him a racist, a homophobe/transphobe, a bigot, and a “hater.” I never met Mr. Kirk. I watched some of the videos his group posted of him patiently and passionately arguing for marriage, faith, morality, hard work, ethical behavior, and national issues like immigration reform, tariffs, and foreign policy matters. I respected much of what he said, and some of how he said it. One of the things I most respected was his commitment to listening and asking questions, instead of merely attacking. But the most amazing thing about Mr. Kirk was his passionate and outspoken commitment to Jesus Christ. His faith was the center of everything he said, and in the way he interacted with supporters and detractors alike. He did not shy away from difficult questions, and he rarely resorted to easy answers, but he always pointed others to the example and the words of Jesus.
In the wake of his death, many people are asking, “What now?” Mr. Kirk was articulate, passionate, and willing to put himself in danger in order to defend the truth and his personal views. He trusted God to use him, and he was willing to pay a horrible price– being hated, threatened, and ultimately shot to death–to do what he saw as God’s work. He left behind a family (wife and two children), several close friends, and a host of people who followed him on social media and looked to him as a Godly example. Fellow Christians, while we may grieve his loss here, rejoice that he is Home with his Savior for eternity. But many people are wondering what will happen if no one steps forward to take his place and carry on his mission. While I believe that many young people will be inspired to speak out and engage in discussions, I don’t think most of us are meant to step into a spotlight. I think we NEED more people who will commit to going into their closets and pray. While Mr. Kirk put himself in the public arena, there have been hundreds and thousands of people praying for him. They continue to pray for his family, his outreach organization, “Turning Point”, and they even pray for those who instigated and committed this violence.
Prayer is NOT cowardly. Prayer warriors are needed to intercede, to call on Heaven’s Armies to continue in the age-old battle. We should be willing to have the difficult conversations when they arise. Some of us will be called to initiate such conversations openly and with fierce determination. And we should all be ready to “give a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15) even when it is with “trembling and fear.” And we should always remember to be humble and show kindness, even to those who despise us. But some of us need to be lifting up those who are being attacked. Some of us need to pray more boldly, more often, and more confidently in light of the violence that has exploded in our world. We need to pray, not just for the Charlie Kirks of the world, but for the salvation of all the would-be assassins. We need to pray for the hearts and minds of those who want to argue and “cancel” all those who stand for God’s Word. And for all those who do not know the truth, who are confused, befuddled, or deceived.
We need those who can be courageous– whether in the public square or in a private room.
At the age of 14 months, just after I had learned to walk well, and had learned to say “Mama” and “Da-da”, I became very ill. Our doctor was baffled– I was tired and weak, I was losing weight, but I wasn’t carrying a fever. It wasn’t any of the “usual” culprits– we did find out I was allergic to penicillin, but other antibiotics had no effect. We tried a different doctor– he was also stumped, and all the while, I got weaker. My desperate parents prayed for healing as the weeks went on. I was too little to even describe any symptoms– I whimpered and slept; I ate very little, and became too weak to walk.
God was listening to my parents’ prayers, even though the situation seemed impossible and tragic, and God seemed silent and distant. My mother, in the years since this incident, has shared with me the “breakthrough” moment for her– that moment when her prayers changed from “heal my little girl”, to “thy will be done.” Not immediately, but shortly after that, the new doctor was inspired to look for another cause. After some blood tests, he determined that my body wasn’t absorbing and processing protein. As soon as I began a regimen of protein booster shots, my health began to improve. I was still sickly as a child; I had immunity issues, and I was small for my age, but I was out of grave danger. I had to relearn how to walk, and my return to solid foods (especially meat) was a gradual one. I have no actual memory of these events, but I learned a valuable lesson about prayer.
When we pray “Thy will be done,” we sometimes think it is “our” will vs. “God’s” will… that God’s will is always opposed to ours; that it will lead to us losing whatever it is we are holding on to. That may be the case, sometimes. We grapple with God’s will, struggling and wrestling, like Jacob, until we are forced to give in. Some of us limp our way to the altar of prayer. But God’s will is not set in relation to ours– His will is His own. It is higher than ours. It is perfect and complete. That doesn’t always make it pleasant, comfortable, or easy. In my family’s case, it meant months of trips to get shots– every day for the first few weeks; every week for months afterwards, and every month after that until the time I started Kindergarten (a year later than I might have if I had been healthier). For many, “Thy will be done,” means saying goodbye to a loved one. Sometimes it means losing a limb, or letting go of a cherished dream. But what we see; what we experience; these are mere moments in God’s plan for our eternity. Like the booster shots I had to have as a child, they bring a momentary sting, and the fear of them may loom large, but in God’s plan, they bring us the opportunity for life and health and ultimately, triumph.
Sometimes God’s will means walking through the fire, or walking through the valley of the shadow of death. Long before my birth and health scare, my mother had lost twins, and been a divorced mother of a young son. She had already faced death and heartbreak and hardship. After this incident, she would be hurt by my brother’s teenage rebellion, face depression, and go through health issues with my father before his death; but she would also gain another daughter and live to see grandchildren and great-grandchildren who brought her joy. In my own life, I have faced the shattered dream of wanting children of my own. I struggled for years with singleness, when I wanted to be married and have a family. But God’s will was for me to learn patience, compassion, and empathy for others who hurt in these areas. And he has blessed me with a family I would never have imagined–not only the husband, step-children, and grandkids, but all the students and children I met through my careers in education and public libraries.
It is natural and easy to pray for what our will, our feelings, or our intuition tells us is best– healing for the sick (immediate healing is even better), success for our ventures and those of our families and friends, safety in travels and daily routines, prosperity, and happiness. It is not wrong to want these things. But it is better by far to remember that God is sovereign and good. Giving him complete control over our situations is not weakness; it is not “giving up”. Instead, it is investing our future– putting it in the hands of the one who holds tomorrow, and all of eternity! It is trusting the one who is most trustworthy to make the most of our hours and days, our treasures and our dreams.
Even Jesus taught His disciples to pray “thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10b). But He didn’t just teach that phrase to His disciples– He prayed it Himself in the Garden of Gethsemane. “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). Jesus knew he would face humiliation, torture, and death. He knew that He would take on the punishment for all the sins of the world– punishment He did not deserve– and that He would be subject to the full wrath of God. In His humanness, He was anguished to the point of sweating drops of blood. Yet He chose to pray, “Thy will be done.”
I have never been in that kind of anguish– even when I was so very sick or depressed about seemingly broken dreams. But I still find it difficult to fully surrender to God’s sovereign will when the future is in doubt, and when the present looks overwhelming. But growth and victory come when I let God take the reins and guide me through the valleys and wilderness walkways of life. His will is mysterious and sometimes scary, but He is always faithful. And I know that from experience.
I love optical illusions and “trompe l’oeil” drawings and paintings– artwork that either forces the eye to see things as though they are three-dimensional, or fools the eye into seeing something completely different if you look at it from a different angle or perspective. A duck turns into a rabbit, or a hairy face turns into an ape, or a vase turns into two faces…it is not enough to take a quick glance– you are “drawn” into looking deeper, and studying the art from many angles.
What if we approached prayer this way? Sometimes, I pray from a very fixed perspective– my own desires or in my own wisdom– instead of giving my thoughts and worries entirely over to an all-knowing and all-wise God. What if God wants me to see the situation from a different perspective– HIS?!
Instead of instant healing from an injury, what if God wants me to work harder to maintain my overall health as I recover? Instead of mission work in East Asia, maybe God needs me to work in East L.A. (or vice versa). Instead of my child having the “perfect” job, what if God’s plan is for her to be challenged and unsettled for years before finding the most fulfilling career?
Jesus gave us excellent examples of praying with the proper perspective. “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” (Matthew 6:10-12) “..yet not my will, but Thine be done.” (Luke 22:42).
I tend to pray “two-dimensional” prayers. Lord, help me to pray with Your eternal perspective!
Pursuing Prayer 