I’ve been revisiting one of my favorite books on pastoral ministry by Eugene Peterson entitled Working the Angles. His chapter on prayer entitled “Praying by the Book” both convicted me and convinced me that I need to reevaluate my theology and practice of prayer. He reminds me that prayer is not a venture to be entered into lightly, but an encounter that brings my words into juxtaposition and interaction with the very word of the living God.
“When we pray we are using words that bring us into proximity with words that break cedars, shake the wilderness, makes the oaks whirl, and strips forests bare (Ps. 29:5-9)…Praying puts us at risk of getting involved in God’s conditions. Be slow to pray. Praying most often doesn’t get us what we want, but what God wants, something quite at variance with what we conceive to be in our best interests. And when we realize what is going on, it’s often too late to go back. Be slow to pray.”
This is quite different than the counsel I normally give and seek to live by which is be quick to pray. But Peterson is not bringing into question the urgency or frequency of prayer, but rather he is reminding me of the divine significance of prayer. Peterson’s warning is against the shallow, banal, limp praying that is “uprooted from the soil of God’s word,” what he calls “cut-flower” prayers that we often use to decorate particular situations, but which have no lasting value. As a pastor, often called upon to pray, it is easy for prayer to become just that, decorative words spoken to a particular situation rather than deeply-rooted words responding to an all-powerful God.
So what is the solution? According to Peterson, “We restore prayer to its context in God’s word. Prayer is not something we think up to get God’s attention or enlist his favor. Prayer is answering speech. The first word is God’s word.” Prayer, like everything else in the Christian life, must be rooted in the soil of God’s word. Maybe a good place to start is returning to the Psalms as an inspired prayer guide. What do you think?
