Going Old School on Prayer

By Tom Connolly jr

Prayer:  Linchpin to the Christian Life

This is the first in a series on Prayer.  The reason to “go old school” is that when I was a lad, we were taught to write using the-- who, what, when, where, why, and how questions to cover a topic.  That, and the fact that our greatest resources on prayer were given to us over two-thousand years ago, also serves as old school, at least where I come from.  It seems to me that there is no other way to handle such an important topic as prayer, than to go over each question thoroughly, using Scripture, so the reader has a complete picture.  These articles are for new Christians, but I always enjoy hearing what my mature brothers and sisters think of how I put God’s information out there.

Before I begin, I think we need to make sure we all agree as to the importance of prayer.  This will not take over for the “why” section, that will come.  Next in the series will be the “who”, or rather “Who” is involved in prayer.  For now:

Proposition:  Is the first law, or rule, for the Christian to follow:  “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with alll your strength”?    

            Conclusion:  It would have to be, since this statement is found in both the Old and New Testaments, as well as being the words of Jesus Himself.  We find this phrase in the Old Testament, in what the Hebrew people today refer to as the Shema.  The Shema is a prayer based on the Tenach which is said three times a day by orthodox, or Hasidic Jews, and gets its name from the first word of the verse in Hebrew, “Hear” or “Shema”.  You will find the first part of the prayer in Deuteronomy 6:4, but our particular phrase is found in 6:5, “And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.”  You can find the complete Shema at www.jewfaq.org, a wonderful site to understand our Jewish brothers and sisters.

            We find in the New Testament, in Mark chapter 4, a Scribe asks Jesus what the first commandment is.  Jesus affirms our proposition when He says, “The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.  And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.”  I enjoy when the Scribe answers, “Well Master, thou has said the Truth…”.  It is so nice that Jesus was right about the first commandment!  Actually, we know this is the Holy Spirit, working through this Scribe, who was giving the Scribe insight into the Kingdom.  Jesus even answers this Scribe by saying, “Thou are not far from the kingdom”. 

            Proposition #2:  Then, if we are to love God in this way:  Is prayer the linchpin in the Christian life? 

Conclusion:  Let me put forth a scenario for you.  Suppose I have the best, no the greatest wife in the world (which I do) and we have been married for more than twenty years (which we have).  I am so enamored with her that I cannot stop thinking about her.  I write poems about her, I spend time blogging about her, I tell all me friends how great she is, even strangers aren’t immune to my rantings.    The problem is, I am so busy thinking, writing and talking about my lovely wife, I stopped finding time to talk to her.  What would happen if I had not spoken to her in months, and then ask her for her help on something?  How long do you think this could go on before she leaves me for someone who, although may not be as great as I, at least talks to her?  You know the answer.  It would be in a New York minute, if that!  Nobody wants to be just well thought of, we want a relationship, to communicate and connect with someone. 

Be mindful of the prayer life of Jesus.  We see that Jesus went away for long periods of time for prayer.  He would rise early in the morning, before the others, to pray.  He was praying on the mountain when He changed His appearance, transfigured, rising up into the air to converse with Moses and Elias.  He prayed at Gethsemane, to the point where His sweat became like droplets of blood.  All through His life on earth, Jesus spent hours alone in prayer, speaking to His Holy Father, and taking time to listen as well. 

Prayer is all about creating that relationship with God, so we can love Him with all of our heart, all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength.  There is no other way to establish a deep love of God without prayer being the linchpin of your life.  Remember the admonition of Paul, “Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil.”

1Thessalonians 5:16-22.

            If you feel your prayer life is not giving you that deep relationship with our Father in Heaven, join me next Monday as we begin to delve into prayer.