GodReflection: Talking with God.

Saul of Tarsus, travels to Damascus, convinced of his own misdirected God-building. While en route he sees and hears The Light—then it all goes dark, and we find him in prayer. “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying” (Acts 9:11). That is our introduction to the prayer life of the Apostle Paul. He is Praying is a theme that continues to root itself deeper into his life as we follow his story.

Saul—like Jesus—grows to manhood in a Jewish home. From his youth he directs his life toward God. He prays to God from the Psalms, most likely by memory. He knows the prayers of Moses, Mariam, judges, kings, and prophets, who talked with God. However, it took his prayer time with God in the city of Damascus to set him on the road to grow into the Apostle Paul—perhaps the greatest Jesus-light reflector the world has seen.

Unlike our look at Jesus, we cannot eavesdrop on the apostle and listen to him pray. I find none of his prayers in Scripture. He never records a word-by-word talk with God. Yet a scan of his life from Acts chapter nine forward introduces us to a man of prayer. He is in constant communication with the Holy. Ten times in Acts and on fifty-four occasions in his letters Paul cites and encourages prayer.

From Luke’s description in The Acts of the Apostles, the new apostle prays and fasts when he appoints elders, and again as he goes to prayer places in search of God-seekers. Locked in a midnight prison he prays and sings. At his last departure from the Ephesian elders, he loves—he prays. In the temple he prays. At his trial before royalty, he prays for those who stand in judgement over him. Prior to his arrival in Rome, as the book of Acts closes with a shipwreck he prays for a ruler’s father who is sick in bed and becomes well.

In his correspondence Paul often shares concerns and writes of his well-wishes to God for those who will receive his letters. There are occasions when he talks with God about closed doors and prays for open roads where he can proclaim Jesus’ gift of forgiveness to receptive hearts.

When I read Paul’s letters, rather than word for word prayers, I get a sense of how he prays and of his subject matter as he talks to the Holy. I find a relationship not a technique. Three different times, I hear him confess to and encourage others to pray night and day. On two occasions he uses constantly, as a description of time he spends with God.

He instructs Christians to devote time to prayer. Like his admonition to pray night and day and constantly he uses the synonyms of always and faithful as descriptors of conversation with The Holy. To Colossian Christians he describes these combined concepts as wrestling—the idea of hanging in until the challenge is resolved.

Paul encourages readers to let the Spirit assist in prayer and to make thankfulness for others a part of one’s conversations with God. He prays for safety and for all people. The apostle teaches his listeners to speak all kinds of prayers in favor of God’s people. At the heart of all his God-conversations is the desire for both himself and his audience to reflect Jesus, be strong, incorporate goodness, joy, love, and insight into one’s own heart.

I like how Paul describes to Ephesians Christians the way we should pray and the ease we should feel as we talk directly with the Creator God—our Father.  Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out (The Message Ephesians 6:14-18).

Much like the witnesses and evidence to Jesus’ resurrection and ascension that cause me to believe; when I examine the record of Paul’s companionship with Father, Son, and Spirit, I come to believe in prayer. From Paul’s prayer-walk, I more readily see the availability we as twenty-first century believers have at the tip of our tongues to talk freely to God. And from these talks together—each one of us with the Holy—we live faith.

In Summation, although—unlike with Jesus—I find no specific prayers of the apostle, what I do find is a man who mirrors Jesus in his concern for companionship rather than technique as he talks with God. Isn’t that what we all desire?

Stay tuned.

Dr. Gary J. Sorrells

A GodReflection on Paul Talks with God in Holy Companionship.

Gary@GreatCities.org  

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