Prayer

Author: Philip Yancey

Book: Christianity

Year of Release: 2009

To be honest, I'm not a very big fan of prayer. I have my highs and lows. I battle with inconsistencies. I'm just grateful that God never lets me go despite of my unfaithful attitude. It took me a while to finish the book. Perhaps what moved me to really go through it was the need to truly surrender this part of myself.

While going through the book, I gained some insights about prayer. Here are some of them:

Be available. Our days are bombarded with information and demands – Email, phone calls, SMS, and things to do, among others. We never see the end of it all. Most of us hope for more hours in a day to accomplish the things expected of us. Many people focus on scheduling to cope. Sadly, prayer is not on the top of our minds when we fill our daily schedules. Much like having a high profile meeting with the chief executive of a company, setting aside time to be with God is one important appointment we need to make daily. No matter what state we are in physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually – All that God requires from us is our availability. The rest is in His hands.

Humble expectation. We cannot counteract natural laws of nature such as aging or natural disasters. But God did promise us that whatever we ask in His name, He will grant. Humble expectation means we surrender our petitions to the will of God and expect that He will answer in accordance with it. Grandiose answers are not guaranteed. Appropriate answers are.

Listen. We seek to be heard and to be noticed. God knows. But sometimes during prayer, when we are still and don't have much to say, God speaks. At those times, we should listen, as prayer can also be two-way communication. Many people are uneasy or uncomfortable when all seems quiet. I am. But silence is God's way of telling us to be still. I am reminded of an example from a class that when one throws a stone on a still pond, the ripples it makes are easily noticed. A stone thrown into an unstable pond is barely noticed. We must listen.

Anxiety-transfer. We constantly worry about the future. We constantly worry about what happened in the past. There seems to be no end to this worry cycle and nothing in this world can stop it. Prayer is an opportunity for us to pour ourselves out to God. He calls us to cast all our burdens on Him. Isn't it refreshing to have someone to carry all the weight on our shoulders so we can enjoy life?

Stopping Time / Stillness. I am among those young professionals who seem to be rushing through life wanting to do this or that, to achieve this or that. It is a race that we ourselves create and is burning us all out. This is perhaps the most important lesson God presented to me as I read the book. Why are we in a hurry? God gave us life, an outpouring of His love, so that we might enjoy it and not to be burdened by it.

Intercession is an increase in awareness. For people like me starting a habit of consistent prayer, the entire conversation with God is usually about us. Nothing wrong with that. But eventually God makes us aware of the need to pray for others. We may not know everything our family or friends or even enemies desire or need but the mere mention of their name, a split-second thought of them is in itself a prayer. God knows what they need. Our role is merely to be an instrument, asking God to move in their lives.

Do not compartmentalize. This is related to being available. Although it is ideal that we set aside a specific amount of time to prayer, everything we do so long as we do it for the glory of God, is an act of worship. Praying can thus be a part of our worship. I remember asking someone back in college that as we talked about each others' prayer requests during our Bible studies, are we in fact praying already? Yancey, in this book, affirmed it. We are not to compartmentalize – to divide our lives between holy and unholy deeds. Prayer should be a lifestyle blended in every moment.

Nothing is too trivial. Everything that matters to us matters to God. We can pray for guidance, patience, wisdom and self-control. These are seemingly trivial matters but can do wonders for our day. God knows us by name, even the strands of our hair. Nothing is too small for God.

Love God – Seek to adore but not to fathom. We can never fathom the greatness of God. Why should we? Does it really matter? For me to measure is to compare ourselves to Him. We are nothing compared to Him. We are designed to adore and to praise God for who He is. That is what we are made for. That matters.

About the reviewer

Sherry is from CCF St. Francis where she currently serves as a d-group leader. She is also part of the promo team for the B1G (Singles') Ministry. Aside from writing, she likes reading, swimming, Pilates, traveling and photography. The bulk of her days are spent online for social, educational and professional purposes. Sherry works as part of the client servicing team of a digital advertising agency in the Philippines.