When Grace Asks You to Pray
When Grace Asks You to Pray
By Aaron Schulman
10-26-10
In our house, we often pray at mealtimes. We pray for our kids sometimes before bed. Most frequently, I pray for my wife and often place my hand upon her head while I pray. Recently, when I laid down little Grace for bed at night, we went through our usual routine. We had to do butterfly kisses, then a “nosey-nosey”, and a kiss followed by a hug. In fact, she has it ramped up now to the point that I cannot get out of her room without giving a nosey, kiss, butterfly and a hug to most of the stuffed friends she sleeps with, from the 3 babies, to the elephant, to the 3 bunnies, her 2 doggies, and her best brown bear friend “Bearey”. It is a real chore just to get her to sleep at night.
A few nights ago, after going through the entire roll call, I was leaving the room when Gracie called out and said “how-me” as she was patting the top of her head with her hand. I kept asking her over and over to help me understand what she was asking, and she continued to repeat “how-me” (meaning “help me”) while placing her hand on her head. Finally, after several rounds, the light bulb finally lit up in my dim mind! Gracie was asking me to pray for her just as she had seen me pray for mommy.
So, I said ok, and off we went. Though I had prayed often for her and the rest of the family as they lay sleeping at night, this was the first time I had been invited by Grace to pray for her specifically. At first, I approached it as a little act between Daddy and Grace, but as I was going through the motions, I realized the opportunity I had been given by Grace to be asked to pray for her. Once I realized this (I am sure the Holy Spirit chimed in and let me know that He had a little more to do with it than I had first imagined), I began to pray with more sincerity. This little invitation to pray for Grace had begun to remind me of my place in the family – as a type of God-given covering for all of them – and I began to take this little prayer time intentionally to the throne.
What started out as a cute little gesture – like the noseys and the butterflies with Gracie and her endless gang of stuffed friends – this prayer soon turned into something more significant and intentional. In fact, it had reminded me of how lax I could really be at doing something so important as praying a covering over my family. Even as I write this, I am taken back at how relaxed or weak-hearted I can be at times when praying for my family. This little invitation to pray turned into another revelation to me.
We can take prayer so far out of context (at least I can) and I have send prayer come from all kinds of motives and directions. Some people think they use prayer as a means to get God to do certain things. Some people pray with endless rote of scripture, thinking that many words will cause greater miracles. Many people don’t pray at all. Some people pray as in a conversation to God. Regardless of approach, prayer in terms of Jesus model was not a means as much as it was the actual life-blood of a living and dynamic relationship with the Living Father – and so it should be for us. Prayer is a gift of Grace – and invitation to get connected to the Father long enough to begin to hear His heart – to know Him more deeply – and to become more transformed by His presence. Prayer is not a magic spell – but it is at the heart of deep communion with God. To pray without ceasing is to have an ongoing, open communication with God on a regular basis – both during devotions –as well as during the rest of the day. Because of Grace’s invitation to pray, I am reminded this day that every opportunity to approach God’s throne is an invitation that was made only through the Blood of Christ spilled on my behalf.
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6 NIV)
It is by Grace that we have been saved. It was Grace that paved the way for Christ to die for us when we were still His enemies. It is Grace that allows us to approach God, and it is Grace that will bring us home.
Questions about Grace:
How is your prayer life best described?
Is it a burden or cumbersome duty?
Is it non-existent?
Is it a bunch of puffery and magic tricks using scripture to try to manipulate God’s will?
Is it an ongoing conversation in an ongoing loving and growing relationship?
Ask God to help you release all of the religious performance from your prayer, or to begin learning how to pray altogether. Learn to listen for His Invitations of Grace that call you away to pray or spend time talking and listening to Him. Ask Him to restore the joy of prayer to your life (as I am right now), and ask Him to help you to live and draw life from your time in prayer. Also, ask Him to encourage you by showing you how your prayers can help positively affect the lives of others.
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