Austin's Blog

What is prayer? Prayer is intentionally conveying a message to God. I avoid the use of saying prayer is talking to God because sometimes prayer is a deep attitude of the heart. Sometimes the Spirit helps us pray without us uttering words (Rom 8:26-27). It is communication with God. An attitude, a sigh, a groan, a desire, a deep conversation in your heart, and even a state.

Why do I pray? I pray because I am needy. I am a hot mess. I’m jacked up. Messed up. Prayer is the confession that you aren’t in control and you are very, very, very needy. Sometimes I do things and I’m like, what the heck?!” My heart is deceitfully wicked. I don’t always desire what I ought to desire. I don’t always love God with everything I got in me. Sometimes this idol factory called my heart is pumping at full productivity in evil. I pray because I know I can’t do it on my own. St. Teresa of Avila said it well when she said, “Oh God, I don’t love you, I don’t even want to love you, but I want to want to love you!” That’s me. That’s why I pray. I can’t do what I need to do, be what I need to be, go where I need to go, say what I need to say, and live like I need to live without talking with God.

Why do I pray? I pray because I want to be like Him. When I get alone with God, it is like he begins to work on my problems. Let’s be real, we can fake it in front of people. We can save face and put on a mask. You can do that with just about every single person. Remember Judas. No one knew he was fake except for Jesus. You cannot fake it with God.

When I get alone with God, he begins to work on me. God takes out his scalpel, his sewing needle, his knife and begins cutting. He begins his painful, deep, enduring work of changing me. It hurts like hell but it makes me fit for heaven. C.S. Lewis described it this way.

Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of – throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.

The result of all this is healing, restoration, transformation, conformity, holiness, righteousness, basically…becoming like Jesus.

Why do I pray? I pray because I want to join Him Pray is a way to join God in his work in the world. Jesus says in Luke 10:2, “And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” We link arms and partner with Christ in His mission when we pray.  It is a joining in on the battle. It is the beginning of a revolution, a war, an assault of the Kingdom and forces of Hell.  Karl Barth famously said, “To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world.” Some things are so dark, so twisted, so mammothly and demonstrably evil that the only one who can fix them is God. Prayer is the beginning of this work.

Why do I pray? I pray because I want to love Him & feel His love. Sometimes I have prayer times where I come to God like that youngest son in the prodigal son story. I’ve messed up, I’ve squandered and wasted what God has given me, and I have nothing left. I go to him ready to give a panned speech about how I’ve sinned against heaven and I’m unworthy to be called your son. Can I just be a servant? It is crazy but he stops me like he the father did in that story 2,000 years ago. God says, “I love you. I’m glad you’re home. You took two steps forward before taking four steps back. I’m proud of those two steps son.” Prayer is a way of literally knowing, loving, adoring, treasuring, delighting in, rejoicing in, serving, worshiping, and blessing the most beautiful and precious person in all of reality.