Prayer is something common to virtually all religions. And, to that extent, Christianity is no different. But if prayer for Christians is exactly the same as prayer for people following any religious Teacher, then what is it that makes Jesus unique? In this short article, I want to take a quick look at 5 aspects of prayer which are uniquely Christian… even if some of them aren’t practiced in nominally Christian churches today.
1. Keep it Private
One of the first noteworthy distinctions between truly Christian prayer, and the type of prayer we see practiced in other religions around the world, is simply this: Christians pray in private. I know, in ‘Christian’ churches everywhere, many do just the opposite; but this is not what Jesus taught. Instead, Jesus said this:
And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. (Matthew 6:5-6)
You see, anybody can pray so that others can see them, and think them to be spiritual. Jesus says that we already have our reward when we do that, in the sense of others thinking highly of us. It’s noteworthy that this sort of ‘prayer’ also doesn’t require much faith in an invisible God who sees in secret.
But the kind of prayer Jesus encouraged does require faith. When no one else is around to see us pray, it moves from being performative to sincere. From being done as a show, to being done as an intimate source of communication with an all-knowing, all-loving Father God. We need more such prayer in the world today.
2. Forgive First
Another unique teaching of Jesus related to prayer is this: He instructed us to forgive others before we move forward with our prayers to God. Read this from Mark’s Gospel:
And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. (Mark 11:25)
Jesus was showing us through His words that relationships are more important to God than pious displays. That all our talk about loving God is meaningless if we don’t truly love those we can see and touch and feel with human hands… including those who hurt us. If we’re not willing to forgive – if we’re not willing to let go of whatever hurts others have caused us personally – then we can’t possibly expect God to forgive us for the many things we do wrong, daily.
I think many religious people in particular struggle with this aspect of prayer, and then wonder why their prayer life seems so ineffective. It’s like, how can we expect God to bless us, prosper us, and guide us, if we hold onto bitterness toward His fellow-children with a cold and unforgiving heart? How can we possibly expect Him to forgive us our sins if we won’t extend the same grace to others? Good food for thought for all of us, I would say!
3. Stop Repeating
This is another unique teaching of Jesus, which I could have linked with my first part (about private prayer); but I felt it deserved its own section for itself. And it’s the need for us to drop the repetition when it comes to praying. Jesus specifically condemned this sort of prayer, saying its what the “heathen” do. (Matthew 6:7-8)
Remember: God knows everything…. including what we need before we even ask Him! There’s no need to keep repeating stuff mindlessly; He heard you the first time! If you truly believe that, pray like you do.
4. Pray for God’s Will
This is a big one, which maybe I should have put higher on the list. And that’s simply this: for us to pray for God’s will.
We all have desires, thoughts, and our own understanding of what is best. But true faith in God recognizes the limitations of our own thoughts, and seeks God’s better way. It sees that only God knows what is truly best, for us and others; and lets go of our shallow, inferior planning to meld into God’s.
There’s a saying that God saves the very best for those who let Him do the choosing. But it’s a challenge for that to happen until we first set aside our own will, to find God’s. When Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane “Not my will, but yours be done”, He was giving us the perfect model of prayer to imitate. (Luke 22:42) It would heed more of us to go and do likewise.
5. Be Persistent
The final point I’ll make about Christian prayer is this: be persistent. It’s easy to think that one single prayer session is all it takes for all to be fixed in our spiritual lives. But in the real world, it isn’t always like that. Sometimes God wants us to persevere with our prayers to show that we really want whatever we are asking Him for. Like the parable of the persistent widow (Luke 18:1-7), God wants us to show resilience with our praying, which is also evidence of our faith. So if you don’t get what you’re asking for the first time, don’t despair; keep praying, especially if you’re asking for something in line with the will of God. It’s a sign of faith to keep going in our prayer; and without faith, it’s impossible to please the Lord. (Hebrews 11:6)
Conclusion
These are just a few of the distinct aspects of prayer which I’ve chosen to highlight in this blog post. But these are not the only ones. Still, to keep this brief, I’ve just chosen 5, which I think are some of the clearest distinctions to easily grasp, and be able to apply to your prayer life immediately.
As a bonus, I’ll just add this: an important aspect of any good relationship is not just speaking, but also listening. And it’s much the same with our relationship with God. While I do believe God wants us to talk to Him and share our thoughts with Him – the Bible describes the prayers of believers as aromatic incense (Revelation 8:3-4) – He also wants us to listen. To open our hearts and minds to His voice, and sit in silence to listen to Him. Let’s not neglect to make space for that, too, in our personal, private prayer lives.
