Perfunctory Prayer

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matt%206:7&version=NIV1984

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2018:10-14&version=NIV1984

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matt%2017:19-21&version=NIV1984

"In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart."  John Bunyan

We are busy people, aren’t we?  Rushing here.  Rushing there.  Doing this.  Doing that.  Always on the go.  Always multitasking.  On the phone while we drive.  On the computer as we watch TV.  Texting as we are getting ready for work or school.  The fact is that there’s always way more to do than we have time for.  Or energy.  This extreme busyness affects us in a number of ways.  We live in a series of sound bytes.  A little here and a little there.  Never fully completely in the moment.  Our attention always diverted in several directions at the same time.  As a result we can end up leading a pretty distracted life.  A shallow life.  Not exactly the kind of life we are all looking for, is it?

Unfortunately, busyness has also crept into our prayer lives.  Myself included.  Gradually we have come to the point where we are perfunctory in our prayers.  Perfunctory you may ask?  What is that?  Glad you asked.  According to the dictionary perfunctory is defined as “performed merely as a routine duty; hasty and superficial”.  Yep, that about sums it up, doesn’t it.  Not only do we live in sound bytes and nano-seconds, we pray that way.  I suppose that this transition is inevitable.  Because one part of our lives inevitably bleeds over into other areas of our lives.  So, what is perfunctory prayer?

As the definition states, it is prayer that is routine.  Like saying grace.  Saying grace before each meal should be the standard for every Christian.  It is for me.  The problem is that I sometimes say grace and then a minute later don’t remember if I said it.  Or what I prayed.  The obvious conclusion is that my mind wasn’t on what I was praying.  Another aspect of perfunctory prayer is hasty.  As in quick.  Short.  To-the-point.  Isn’t that where most our prayers are these days?  A quick prayer in the vehicle on the way to work.  Another short prayer at work or school when a need comes to mind.  A quick prayer at night as we are about to turn the light out.  When we are exhausted.  So we can get to sleep.  The last part of perfunctory is superficial.  This would be shallow prayers.  “Dear Lord, please help me to live for you.  Help my family.  Help all the missionaries around the world. Amen.”  You know what I mean.  The kind of all-inclusive prayers that we pray.  Neatly packaged prayers that cover everything.  Convenient.  And superficial.

Now I am not implying that there is anything wrong with short prayers throughout the day.  After all, in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 we are told to pray “without ceasing” or “continually”.  The problem is not short prayers on the go.  The problem is that we don’t set aside larger amounts of time to pray.  A half hour.  An hour.  Nor do we set aside uninterrupted time to pray.  Nowadays people keep their cell phones and computers on while they are praying.  And if a text, e-mail or call comes through, what do they do?  The communication with God comes to an immediate halt!  “Sorry God, I have someone on the other line.  You know, someone pretty important.  Can I put You on hold?  Better yet, can I call you back when it’s convenient for me?  Thanks, God.  I knew You’d understand.”  Click.  Then we direct our attention to other things.  And God is left hanging.

And yet, when an important need arises in our life, or an emergency, what do we do?  We pray.  We immediately pick up the phone and speed dial God.  “God, this is me.  I need Your help.  Right away.  Here’s what I need done.  Remember, it’s an emergency.  I need it right away.  Thanks God.  I knew You’d understand!”  Click.  Now, what if our earthly friends treated us like this?  What if when we called them, they constantly put us on hold?  Or begged to call us back when it was more convenient for them?  Once in a while I’m sure it wouldn’t bother us.  But what if it became a habit?  How would we feel then?  Worse yet, what if when they had a need, they immediately called us?  And demanded our time.  Or our help?  How would we feel about these friends?  I would dare say that we wouldn’t consider them true friends, would we?  We would classify them as ‘fair-weather’ friends.  Or maybe just ‘users’.  So, how is God supposed to feel about us when we treat our communication with Him so casually?  You be the judge.  More on this subject tomorrow.

Lord, I realize that, more often than not, my prayers to You are perfunctory.  Hasty.  Spur-of-the-moment.  Routine.  Shallow.  Help me to change this.  Help me to make prayer a priority in my life.  Prayers that have heart.  My heart.  Prayers that touch Yours.  In Jesus' name, Amen.