The Simplicity Of Prayer

The Simplicity Of Prayer

A pastor and father writes about a valuable resource.

Prayer can do anything that God can do! In reality, prayer is life changing, earth shaking, and eternity impacting. When we talk to God in prayer we are communicating with the God of the universe who is sovereignly in control of every aspect of creation. How tragic, then, that so many Christians fail to experience the blessing of personally communicating with God through prayer.

Could it be that in our intellectually complex and high-tech world, we often fail to apply basic truth? The Book of Psalms gives us five simple aspects of prayer that can help develop our personal praying. They are: coming, calling, crying, committing and casting.

1. Coming
“Hear my prayer, O Lord, and let my cry come unto Thee” (Psalm 102:1).

Prayer begins when we recognize that we are coming to God. Coming to God is a privilege and an opportunity like no other in the universe. We would be denied if we sought an appointment with the President of the United States; yet we have unlimited access into the throne room of heaven through prayer.

God does not force His children to pray, but rather leaves the door wide open for those who will come to Him in prayer. Prayer is not only a matter of opportunity, but also of obedience as we are commanded to pray. To disobey this command creates a prayerless life which is void of the blessing of God.

2. Calling
“Call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me” (Psalm 50:15).

Calling is asking. The failure to call is the failure to ask; therefore, we have not because we ask not. There is no request that is too big or too small to bring to God. When we call upon Him, we are asking Him to meet a need in our lives that only He can meet. Calling is based upon the relationship that a child of God has with his heavenly Father. Prayer is similar to a small child coming to his father and saying, “Daddy, may I please ... ?” Unfortunately, our problem is usually not unanswered prayer, but unoffered prayer.

3. Crying
“In my distress I called upon the Lord ... and my cry came before Him, even into His ears” (Psalm 18:6).

To cry out is a symbol of desperation. It is the picture of the youngster who wakes in the middle of the night during a summer thunderstorm that is at its peak. The child lets out a cry of anguish that is recognizable to parents. Usually there is not a lot said, but the need is communicated effectively. For years I used a saying that went like this: “When it’s hardest to pray, pray the hardest.” I no longer say that. I have learned that there are times when verbalizing a prayer just doesn’t happen. All I can do is let out a cry for help from the Lord.

Crying out involves a sense of urgency and intensity that the Father recognizes.

4. Committing
“Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass” (Psalm 37:5).

The theme of committing is: “Let go, and let God.” It involves taking our hands off and recognizing there is nothing we can do to meet the need. God must do it. Human beings are prone to feel that they must do something in time of need. However, one of the great blessings of prayer is being able to bring a need to the Lord and leave it there. It is the recognition of my insufficiency and God’s all sufficiency. It is the realization that I can do nothing and yet my God can do anything. It is not a risk to commit a need to God knowing that He “is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Eph. 3:20).

5. Casting
“Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved” (Psalm 55:22).

Real life means real burdens. Yet prayer allows a child of God to unload any and every burden upon the Lord. As a father, I have watched each of my children try to carry something that was too heavy for them. Eventually, they set it down and say, “This is just too heavy, you will have to carry it.” For me the load is no problem, and I easily carry it. So it is with God. My burden is not a burden to God. I can go to Him in prayer and simply unload it. As I tell Him the burden, He then picks it up and carries it. Sometimes He even carries me too!

To some, prayer is a theatrical production that involves the highest level of dramatic recitation. Unfortunately, to the new believer, or the Christian teenager, or even our little children, that kind of praying makes prayer seem quite impossible. However, prayer in its simplest form is just talking to God. No matter what the need, trouble, or burden, there truly is simplicity in the fact that, as songwriter Cleavant Derricks wrote, “just a little talk with Jesus makes it right.”

By Tom Palmer

I may have doubts and fears,
My eyes be filled with tears,
But Jesus is a friend who watches day and night;
I go to Him in prayer,
He knows my every care,
And just a little talk with Jesus makes it right.
By Cleavant Derricks