“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.” – Ephesians 6:18a
Paul wasn’t picky! He told the church in Ephesus to pray as many ways as they could. As long as the Holy Spirit was in charge, the results wouldn’t be chaotic. They’d be powerful and effective.
Pray more.
This has to be one of the most common sentiments Christians feel. God wants us to pray more. We worry that we don’t seek the Lord enough. God is waiting to grant big answers if only we would intercede.
I’m sure praying makes many a list of New Year’s resolutions.
And while the apostle calls the Ephesians to fulfill their responsibility, he reminds them that they’re not bound to any particular form. He emphasizes variety.
There’s more than one way to pray.
Paul shares two of them with the Corinthian believers:
“For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. 15So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding.” – 1 Corinthians 14:14-15
We can talk to God, and even sing to Him, in two ways. One is spiritual; the other is mental. The former stems from the depths of our hearts and manifests in what Paul refers to as “the tongues of men or of angels” (1 Corinthians 13:1).
The latter arises as a result of reflecting and processing. Both are important; both are necessary. Paul didn’t pick one over the other; he committed himself to praying both ways.
We can, too!
There’s another approach to prayer that we have to consider. Should we practice scripted or spontaneous praying?
It’s common to define prayer as “conversation with God.” If this definition is correct, scripted prayers would come across as awkward or showy. People don’t write out their discussions in advance; they jump in and talk!
On one occasion, the apostle Peter didn’t have time to rehearse memorized lines. After seeing Jesus walk on the Sea of Galilee, Peter left his boat and joined the Lord. An awesome miracle that didn’t last!
“But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord, save me!’ 31Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and caught him. ‘You of little faith,’ He said, ‘why did you doubt?’” – Matthew 14:30-31
A three word prayer! That’s all Peter had time for! But it was enough, because Jesus rescued him.
Christ Himself prayed a scripted prayer. Hanging on the cross, He quoted a psalm:
“About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ (which means ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’).” – Matthew 27:46
This is from the first verse of Psalm 22. Much of the psalm is a prophecy of Christ’s crucifixion.
By quoting this verse, Jesus is praying the psalm to the Father. He repeats the opening words because they’re Scripture and they express His heart.
This serves as a lesson for us. We have every reason to pray God’s Word. When we recite the Bible, we’re sharing the Word of God with the God of the Word. And the more we dig into Scripture, the more we discover how well it relates to our issues and desires.
Prayer is a great privilege and an awesome responsibility. Let’s not limit ourselves to a single form or approach. Under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, we can talk to God in the name of Jesus.
Prayer is God’s will.
All kinds of prayers.
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