I heard a couple of interesting things about prayer recently.  One related to form; the other related to expectations.

During a worship service, I heard a wise man speak about prayer.  After a followup dialogue on the subject, he left me with this acronym—FACTS.  Faith, Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication.  It provides a nice format for praying.  One difficulty people have with prayer is in knowing what to say.  How can you talk with Someone who knows everything?  This acronym gives you a good format for doing that.  You start by putting your faith in God’s Word.  It’s not just about us talking to God, but also listening to what He has to say to us.  This is followed by praising God for His greatness, then confessing where you have fallen short, next you praise God for all of the good things in your life, and finally you make requests regarding others and yourself.  Nice.

After the service I went to Sunday school (or my “connect group” as we are calling it now) and heard something else that I thought was good.  In order for God to intervene in our lives in response to our prayers, (1.) God must be able to intervene.  (2.) God must be willing to intervene.  (3.) We must have faith that God answers the prayers not just of other people, but prayers of ours, too. 

I would also add a fourth thing—our request must not be contrary to God’s will. 

It’s easy to say we believe that God is all powerful and all loving, but do we truly believe that He answers the prayers of people like us?  For some, that is the biggest challenge.  Maybe it helps to remember that prayer is never about our worthiness—it’s about His love and mercy.

Pray.  A lot.

Timothy D. Holder

 Schools are back in session across the country, and with this rite of August/September many people are reminded of issues relating to the role of Christianity in our public schools.  Some people point out that in colonial America, Bible reading and prayer were a routine part of the school day.  Others argue that freedom of religion includes freedom from religion, and they point to a line that Thomas Jefferson wrote in a letter that included the phrase “a wall of separation” in reference to the relationship between Church and State.

 Pro faith people note that Jefferson was telling a group of Baptists that the government would not persecute them for being Baptists (which had happened in colonial America).  Secularists point out that today we are a multicultural society and, they say, this fact needs to be dealt with when discussing matters of religion in the public sector.

 Wouldn’t it be nice if what the politicians and judges argued about was irrelevant?  Wouldn’t it be nice if there were so many people who were followers of Christ and they were so loving and hardworking that it didn’t matter what the rules about Church and State were because everyone would be impacted anyway?  Wouldn’t it be great if the people in our society who need Jesus would see such a contrast in the lives of believers that people would be getting saved in droves? 

 Of course, this puts the responsibility for the spreading of the gospel on the backs of Christians (as led by the Holy Spirit).  But isn’t that what Jesus intended?  It is easier for me to complain about the government interfering with my expression of my faith than it is for me to do my job as a Christian.  I guess it’s too bad that we’re not supposed to settle for the easy way, huh?