Each night, our family joins together for family prayer before bed.  Each of us has a turn to pray.  It has been fun to watch the boys’ prayers evolve over the years.  I remember one season of family prayer in particular.  I typically prayed for wisdom as part of my prayer.  My youngest picked up on this theme and began to pray for wisdom as well.  At first, I treasured this.  He was only a few years old.  After a while, it really grated on me.  You may be curious as to why I was so irked that my son was praying for wisdom.  It’s a good thing, is it not?  It frustrated me because I realized that he didn’t know what he was praying for.  He was praying that prayer because he heard me pray that way.  I deeply desired for his prayer to be his own, not a copy of someone else’s prayer.

Now, let’s fast forward a year or two.  My youngest was now about 4 years old.  We were working on a project in his room when I said, “You’re so smart!  How did you get to be so smart?”  I was curious how he would answer, because I asked his older brother that same question at about the same age.  His older brother had replied, “Because I eat Smarties!”  I had no idea that the candy Smarties had such power!  In that case, I will certainly avoid Dum-Dum suckers.

I was putting something away in the closet as I awaited the cute 4-year old answer that was sure to follow.  Instead, I heard his little voice say, “I’m smart because people tell me things; things that are true.”  I was stunned by the depth of understanding of this little four-year old boy!  He grasped that his growth in knowledge was dependent on others.  It was not of himself.  Not only that, but he recognized that one could be taught falsely.  In that case, that knowledge would not lead to being “smart,” but to folly.  God had indeed answered this tiny boy’s ongoing prayer for wisdom, even though he didn’t understand what he was praying for.

Since that time, I have learned that we really don’t understand what we’re asking for anytime we ask God to impart upon us an aspect of His character.  We may think we know, but we only have a sliver of understanding.  We don’t have to understand.  All we have to do is ask, and copying prayers is a good place to start.

This semester I have been studying the book of John in a group Bible study.  John is fascinating and challenging in that time after time, Jesus relates spiritual truth and His listeners get stuck thinking in physical terms.  Nicodemus doesn’t understand how one must be born again.  The Samaritan woman wants living water so she doesn’t have to keep drawing water from the well.  After Jesus feeds the 5,000, He tells the people that He is the Bread of Life, but the people just want another meal.

So how does this tie into prayer?  In my prayer life, I get stuck on the physical.  I spend most of my time focusing on physical prayer needs.  The physical is much easier to understand and measure.  I can pray for healing, finances, or other physical provisions and watch how those prayers are answered.  What if I balanced my prayers with spiritual needs as well?  The spiritual is not as obvious, but it is lasting.  I can pray for someone physically AND spiritually.  I don’t have to understand their spiritual needs to have an effective prayer.  God knows the details.  I just need to lift up that person, body and spirit, before Him.

We are physical and spiritual beings.  God meets the needs of both realms.  Jesus came to dwell among us.  He healed the blind, lame, sick, and dead!  He also healed our souls and brought us near to God.  Let us strengthen our prayers by balancing the physical with the spiritual.  After all, spiritual results last for eternity.  God hears and honors our prayers, even if we don’t understand exactly how to pray or what to pray for.

This week’s scriptures focus on praying for the spiritual.  Feel free to copy, as praying scripture is a great way to pray:
Ephesians 1:15-23
Ephesians 3:14-21
Colossians 1:9-14
Romans 8:18-28
1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13