Take It to the Lord in Prayer
What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! O what peace we often forfeit, o what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer!
As I reflect upon the words of this beloved hymn, I cannot help but think I have had it all wrong! If you had asked me just a few weeks ago to interpret the meaning of this hymn, I might have tried to draw a parallel between these words and relationship — or friendship– with Christ. While I do believe that every person must cultivate a growing, personal relationship with Jesus Christ, I’m not sure that description would fully exemplify the essence of this sacred text. I believe this hymn highlights one of the essential spiritual disciplines of every Christian — prayer!
The Apostle Paul writes in Philippians 4:6–7:
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Prayer is our line of communication with God! Throughout the New Testament, there are hundreds of Scriptures which emphasize the need for prayer and the power of prayer. In the Gospels, Jesus instructs us to pray, and he even leaves us a model, which we call The Lord’s Prayer, to use when we pray. The protestant reformer Martin Luther once wrote: “To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.” Prayer is immensely important!
One aspect of prayer which is evident in the passage from Philippians is the act of presenting prayer requests to God. Many of us can probably think back to a time in church, at a Bible study, or some other small gathering when somebody asked if anyone in the group had a prayer request. Perhaps you keep a prayer list or a journal where you keep track of things you have prayed about. I have even heard of people keeping a separate list of answered prayers!
Sometimes we go to the Lord in prayer when we are desperately in need. The truth is, most of us will inevitably face circumstances in our lives that are beyond our control. We will have problems to which there are seemingly no solutions and questions to which there are no answers. The paralyzing fear of a bad medical prognosis, an acute illness, the death of a loved one, the stress of unexpected financial obligations, and the list could go on and on. In these times when the unexpected becomes reality, prayer is our BEST response!
As humans, there is a real and unfortunate tendency to minimize the importance of prayer. In our “progressive” culture it has even become offensive to offer thoughts and prayers to someone who is hurting. I think at times our resolve wanes because we cannot always see the physical evidence that prayer is working; however, the writer of Hebrews says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1, NKJV).” This means that, despite the evidence or lack thereof, prayer is working and we can be confident through faith!
Three Things That Will Happen as You Pray
1) Prayer will change your mindset. When Jesus was teaching on prayer, he prayed, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:9–10, NIV).” In this model of prayer, Jesus teaches us to submit our will to the Father and ask for His will to be done. If we will submit our will — our thoughts, desires, and expectations — to God in prayer, our mind will not be on our present circumstances, but on God’s ability to move in our situation.
2) Prayer will bring you peace. In Philippians 4, Paul instructs us to take everything to God in prayer. When you follow through on these wise instructions, then the promise is activated: “…the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
3) Prayer will unite you with other believers. Jesus said, “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them (Matthew 18:19–20, NIV).” This is a powerful spiritual promise we have from Jesus that, when we pray in agreement, not only will God hear our prayers, but the presence of Jesus will be with us as we pray!
For believers, prayer is more than just a few sentences we recite as a family meal. Prayer is a powerful spiritual exercise of submitting ourselves to God! Taking “it” to the Lord in prayer, as the hymn suggests, does not mean that you are admitting defeat. It does not mean that life is never going to get any better. We pray believing God will answer, and we pray knowing that His answer may not be the one we expect. The next time a Christian tells you that you are in their “thoughts and prayers,” receive it as a bold proclamation of confidence in God’s divine ability to care for you as only HE can!
