I am a procedural person. I like checklists, flowcharts, tables, standard operating procedures (SOP), outlines, formulae. I like order. I like knowing that there is a plan in place to make the process run smoothly and efficiently. 1 Corinthians 14:40 states “Let all things be done decently and in order.” (NKJV) And, in my work and volunteer life this works well. However, when I try to use formulae or someone else’s SOP in my prayer life, I become confused and overwhelmed. What is the right way to pray?
I have heard several ministers advise their congregants to use the ACT(S) formula for prayer. Yippee, a formula. Based on the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-15), ACTS stands for Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication. For me, a formula was perfect; however, I found myself praying not from my heart, but from my head. I was so concerned about ensuring that I hit every aspect of the formula in order that I forgot the purpose of prayer.
Once, I heard a minister say that when you pray it should feel like your prayers are breaking through the ceiling. Because I did not feel that my prayers were bustin’ open the roof, I believed my prayers were unworthy and ineffectual. Because my prayers were not “breaking through the ceiling,” I believed that God could not hear me or was not listening to me. So I stopped praying.
I want to pray correctly; the process-driven me wants to know the right way to pray. But, that side of me has to accept that matters of the spiritual heart are not necessarily process-driven. Decency and in order does not necessarily mean rigidity and inflexibility. I literally have to remind myself that prayer is my conversation with my friend, not a presentation at a conference. I rarely map out conversations with my friends. While I do believe that I should adore the Lord, confess my sins, offer thanks for all the Lord has done, and submit my supplications, I have accepted that I do not have to do so in a formulaic way. I have learned that fervent prayer, i.e. roof-busting prayer, is only one type of prayer. Sometimes, a quiet “Thank you Lord!” or a whispered “Please see me through this.” is a sufficient prayer. My prayer is MY PRAYER.
My AHA moment: I should not let doubt or confusion keep me from being with God. “God is not a God of disorder but of peace.” (I Corinthians 14:33, NIV) God wants a relationship with me, with you. In the words of the songwriter,
Just as I am, Thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
Because Thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
Reflection: Has anything caused you to doubt your praying? How do you overcome those doubts?
