INSTANT PRAYER

Few things with the word “instant” in front of them are of value. And then there’s prayer.

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I can’t remember a day that didn’t have prayer in it. In my more recent life, there’s very little formality involved.  At least not the kind I learned in church as a child.

Even now I begin with, “Dearest Heavenly Father,” a throwback from the little girl who was taught to address God with this lofty salutation. From there it takes a turn toward more casual language that sounds and feels like chatting with a friend.

At least once a week there’s a particular thought that wedges its way between more mundane activities like driving to the market or blow drying my hair—

I wonder how other people pray.

Too few of us ever pray in public. The majority of us rarely pray out loud.

Doesn’t that make you wonder what your prayers actually sound like? I often write mine out and read them aloud just to imagine how God hears my words.

This week, I had the unusual inclination to ask for prayer. The vulnerability of the asking isn’t something I’m necessarily comfortable with. I think most of us feel in some measure that we don’t deserve prayer. In so many ways, this belief is a tragedy and I don’t think I’m overstating.

Still, I remembered in a more challenging season of my cancer journey how the prayers of others changed the trajectory of my situation for good. And so I opted to humble myself this week.

Here is where I think about all the “instants” in our lives—
Instant oatmeal
Instant gratification
Instant coffee
Instant reaction

None of these hold any real substantive value to the body or spirit.

But there’s something different about Instant Prayer. Its worth is immeasurable, its power unmatched. Instead of saying, “I am praying for you,” or “I have you on my list,” there was one response to my recent request that changed me, in an instant, and then reduced me to tears—

I don't want her to be pressed anymore! Your oil is enough. Lord, Nene has enough oil for the rest of this lifetime. She has gone through so much learning, so much sacrificing and surrender, that surely it is time for you to bring closure to this season for her with your healing touch. While we know you have not caused it, yet you have used it, and as surely as we are saved, we are healed. Nene is healed.

If you’re wondering about the “oil reference” it is a supernatural concept that comes straight from the word—
Not from new age thinking,
Not from someone’s poetic imagination,
But from divinely-appointed wisdom written thousands of years ago.

My friend prefaced her Instant Prayer with this:

"Ministry is others being blessed by the oil
that came from what crushed you." 

From. What. Crushed. You. Is this where you are now?

It appears our “suffering” no matter how large or small, is not always intended for our own transformation but for the transformation of those looking on—from Corridors, Sanctuary Living

I have written of that crushing [suffering] often, to establish common ground. But the idea of “oil” had never entered my mind. Had my friend not prayed in-the-moment, had she not written it down for me to see, I would have missed this reference, this revelation. And now I can’t get it out of my mind.

When we pray in the instant our attention is captured, we harness a particular power that comes from a refusal to delay God’s intervention.

What if God is asking us to pray right now?
I believe that He is.  

Prayer for what? may be your question. But I believe you already know the answer to this—
What is heavy on your heart in this moment?
What is unresolved within the circle of those you love?
What is noticed in human suffering on your street corner?
What has been promised and forgotten that you are now reminded of?

For those of us who have been taught that formality must come with our conversation with the Living God…
For those of us who wait for “just the right frame of reverence” to make our petitions known…

There is such beauty in the knowledge that every conversation with our Heavenly Father is holy.

Even the ones shampooing our hair, driving the car, walking the dog.

I am on my knees in spirit when I lay my burdens at His thrown. And I believe God sees the posture of my heart. And that submission to the King we celebrate this month…is breathtaking.

NOTES:

I confess that I’ve delayed or even forgotten to pray for someone that needed it,
simply because I told myself that the moment wasn’t right.

“I’ll do it when I’m more focused.” “I’ll speak to God about it when I’ve organized my thoughts.”
Haven’t we all been in this very same place from time to time?

There is truly nothing more extraordinary than watching someone praying over another in public.
When it happens, the blessing is not only between the two who are speaking to the Father but includes the one[s] looking on.

What a tragedy to hesitate out of embarrassment that someone might be watching or from fear that the right words won’t come.

Cancer has made me bold. I wish for you a circumstance that would make YOU bold.

I have laid hands on people in the middle of a chic little bistro. I have prayed over a man buying beer. I led my dear friend to the Lord over the phone during a casual conversation that had nothing to do with the Lord.

Nothing to do with the Lord?! Ah! There’s where I was wrong. Every conversation we have, every encounter, involves Him.

Why not bring him into the conversation, draw him nearer to the troubles you face?

He is waiting to be invited. Invite him! But don’t delay. The instant, the opportunity is rarely on “repeat.”

Instant Prayer. There really is nothing more beautiful. At first, it feels raw, somewhat disjointed, and even hurried. Oh, but we get so much better at it the more we try.

ABOUT THE IMAGE: This is me on our balcony overlooking the lake, at the Lake Cottage we recently sold. Nothing lasts forever. A seemingly trite and overused phrase that has abundant meaning in my life. In an instant, things change, opportunities pass and chances to make a difference are left unredeemed. If you feel something important, like the the rushing of the Spirit calling you, the most important thing you can do in that instant is pray.