Monday, December 6, 2010

Christian Mythology: 10. Prayer – Myth: God hears everyone’s prayers all the time

Most of us learn to pray by example. As children, "Now I lay me..." is probably familiar. As adults, "Let's pray about it," is the usual preface. Neither phrase is Biblical. We pray for a lot of things we have no business praying for. Much of it is personal responsibility. Why pray for something that God has already empowered us, gifted us, and willed us to do? Why ask for help? This is just a demonstration of unbelief.

God says, "Repent." He even gives us the gift though His goodness to do so. Why then ask God to help us repent? This only shows our unwillingness and maybe withholding of something God has asked us to give up.

Dr. Adrian Rogers of Love Worth Finding asked, "Why should I pray for some Christian's health when all they'll do is run back out and serve the devil?" He goes on to say, "We spend more time praying to keep Christians out of heaven than we do sinners out of hell." Sometimes our priorities get all screwed up. There is a time to pray for health. There is a time to intercede on someones behalf for repentance. There is a time to pray without ceasing.

The key to all aspects of pray goes back to our one relationship to God. Keep that right and everything else works right too. Let sin in and immediately either our prayers go silent or they fall on God's deaf ears. Don't pray for God to give you victory over sin. He already did. Jesus died, was buried, and rose again. It is finished. There is our victory at Calvary once and for all. Prayer without ceasing works seamlessly with our one relationship to God.

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