Just pray

 

I am not an expert on prayer. I admit I read a lot, I read widely (from different theological perspectives) and I discipline myself to write daily, but I don’t pray a lot, pray long or pray eloquently. So I am not sure I am your go-to when it comes to prayers.

What I am sharing is my own take on prayers. We’ll call this prayer, Nieto-style.

The first thing I wanted to share is prayer is conversation between God and the believer. It is not a ritual. It is not a duty to check.

I think of prayer as between a boss and an employee, of a parent and a son or between friends (after all reconciliation is removal of hostility).

And in all cases, relationship develops the more you converse to each other. An employee who doesn’t consult his boss will definitely fail to accurately determine what the boss wants. A son who doesn’t check in with his father will lose fellowship with him. And friends who don’t talk will soon lose in touch with each other.

I am always amused by people who make a ritual of prayer. They need to assume a certain position, say certain words using certain tones and only do it at certain times and certain places. That is not how friends or family or colleagues talk. They talk all the time, in any position and without resorting to fake words and fake tones.

For instance, I observe certain people who are talks straight but when it comes to prayer they sound more like a witch casting a spell. There is repeated formula, sung in singsong voices, and as if God is an idiot or deaf, have to repeat their requests again and again and again. A request that only takes 2 minutes to state become a 20 minute prayer with the first 18 minutes as flattery. Then right after the Amen, switch to the normal straight talking voice.

Do we honestly think changing our voice matters to God?

Then there are people who needs to stop at a certain place and at a certain point in time to pray. I have nothing against having regular praying time (mine is at 8:15-8:30 AM before my first subject), but there is something wrong when prayers are restricted only to these times.

I imagine prayer as a continuous, all-day conversation with God. Sometimes a brief prayer of praise, a prayer of requesr, or a prayer of confession while walking, while sitting, while waiting, while driving, etc. Other times, a prolonged prayer which lasts longer than 15 minutes. If you have a healthy relationship with God, you have a lot of opportunities to pray.

I have read of prayer formats like ACTS (adoration , confession, thanksgiving, supplication) or JOY (Jesus first, others next and yourself last). Frankly other than confession of sins, which is always a part of my prayers, I don’t follow any rituals. I offer a prayer of adoration and thanksgiving when I contemplate His grace to me. I offer a prayer of supplication when I am in need, especially if I do stupid decisions that can have damaging effect. I pray when I sinned and wanted to clear the air between God and myself. Sometimes I prayed for others. I don’t think it is required to have all the elements in every prayer. It is the insistence that all prayers should have these elements that keep prayers very long and discourage many to have a healthy prayer life. Imagine if your talks with your boss are always like this. I guarantee you he’ll dismiss you before you’re done with the first element because you’re eating his time. Just say what you need respectfully.

Use your own words and your own personality when you pray. Contrary to what others think, God didn’t speak in Shakespearean English. So there is no need to speak formally or use prayer terms.

If you’re given the chance to publicly pray, please be mindful that public prayer is not the same as public prayers. Pray as long as you want privately but pray short and to the point publicly. You are to led the people in presenting requests to God, not to make it an extension of your devotional prayers. Pray as the situation demands and keep the private requests private. I have sit through prayers that are longer than sermons! They put me to sleep and I am lucky to wake up before the Amen!

I will continue my thoughts in future blogs.

Manatiling nakapokus sa biyaya. Huwag ninyong hayaang nakawin ng mga huwad na guro ang inyong karapatang mag-isip ng doktrina.

(Kung gusto ninyo ng karagdagang impormasyon, bisitahin ninyo kami. May pagtitipon kami sa Dahat, kada Linggo, kada 1:00-3:00 pm. Sana manampalataya kayo at kita-kita tayo.

Isang mahalagang paalala: ang mga blogs na ito ay personal kong opinyon at eksposisyon; hindi ito opisyal na pananaw ng Partido Christian Bible Church. Kung nais ninyong malaman ang kanilang opisyal na posisyun, magtanong kayo sa mga matanda ng simbahan. Ang Nieto Bible Page ay isang hiwalay na ministri mula sa PCBC at independiyente rito. Nakikipagtipon ako sa PCBC, pero may personal akong kumbiksiyon sa mga bagay. Bagama’t miyembro (muli) ako ng teaching and ruling leadership ng PCBC, anumang mabasa ninyo rito ay hiwalay sa kanila. Anumang nasusulat ay aking pananagutan.

Kung nakatulong sa inyo ang mga blogs na ito, mangyaring pasubscribe at pashare sa iba. Ibahagi natin at ikalat ang mga Salita ni Cristo at ang libreng biyaya ng Diyos sa lahat ng dakong Filipino ay lenggwahe. Salamat po.)

Download for free: https://faithalone.org/ebooks/santiago/