GodReflection: Talking with God.
Is there a topic, an item, or an interest never far from your mind’s surface? If you could acquire one skill, what would it be? What if you could speak with the undeniable expert on your subject of interest—the person who is the ultimate authority—the one who knows more about your interest area than anyone who has ever lived?
The core storyline of the Bible tells the central reality of all history: God loves humankind so much that he made us in his image and came to earth to live with us, die for us, and to protect our future through his reign over us in Jesus Christ the Son. It is that very God—the Son Jesus—who is God—the one who knows the most about pray.
If my desire is to carry on an adequate conversation with Holy God, I want to begin with an attempt to understand the basic instruction given by Jesus on how to talk with God. Then, in the next post I will look at what Scripture shares with us of his conversations with God the Father while Jesus walked on earth as a fully human man.
Prayer was not new to the people who first heard Jesus teach. Jesus wasn’t the first person to pray. Jewish children grew up with stories of Abraham, Moses, David, priests, prophets, and their prayers to God. When Joseph and Mary took Jesus to the Temple eight days after his birth, their encounter with the aged Simeon and the eighty-four-year-old widow Hannah was with two old saints who—after long years of conversation—knew how to talk with God. Immediately two of the Bible’s most spontaneous prayers flow from their souls.
As the time arrives for Jesus to begin his ministry of announcement to alert his creation with arrival news of God’s new kingdom, his message goes out by his words and his through his actions. In both word and action, he shares the 
importance of humans talking with God as this new kingdom—new way of life—unfolds.
Once again, the assumption is present of God’s desire to hear from his creation. He wants to be in conversation with his children. What comes as a surprise is the simplicity of his instruction on how to carry on that conversation. I find seven basic instructions shared with his first disciples:
- Pray for those who mistreat you (Luke 6:28).
- Pray without pretense; no need to impress anyone—not even the Holy (Matthew 6:6-7).
- Pray in faith with expectation. IF YOU BELIEVE, you will receive what you ask for in prayer (Matthew 21:22) (John 15:4-8).
- Pray so you will not fall into temptation (Matthew 26:41).
- Pray with persistence; don’t give up. (Luke 18:1).
- Pray in humility. (Luke 18:10, 13,14).
- Pray in Jesus’ name and trust him to act. (John 14:10-13).
Basically, that covers Jesus’ instruction. Then the disciples make a request to show them how to place his instructions into words. And Jesus teaches them and us what we have come to identify as the Lord’s prayer. Matthew records it in two sentences. Once again, hear the conversational tone:
Our Father, who is in the heavens, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts and we forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen (Matthew 6:9-13).
Without pretense, with persistence and humility, we pray in belief that evil will not dominate us, and even that those who mistreat us might see fit to join the tribe of believers to pray with us in recognition of Father God our Creator. The very nature of such request is entrance into conversation with the Holy that leads to worship. We acknowledge the Kings rule of the world and join with the Holy desire to see chaos disappear from the human walk.
Throughout the prayer I find both the tone of request and the humble confidence of the Holy answer. The request and the trust of response for daily sustenance and Divine forgiveness. The request and the confidence for protection from evil and temptation. The prayer closes with worship and assurance both now and forever; AND the certitude of all carried out through the power and the glory of Creator God who stands with us in our request and backs the outcome.
It seems to me, Jesus’ seven guidelines plus his prayer as our outline, provide the substance we need from the one who knows the most about prayer. That alone should be sufficient content to sustain a lively conversation with the Holy throughout our new year. What do you think?
Stay tuned.
Dr. Gary J. Sorrells
A GodReflection on Who Knows The Most About Prayer?
God Reflection 
Yes! and thanks for the seven basic points. God bless!
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