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Reimagining Prayer for the New Year
I think the Psalms actually give us incredibly imaginative examples of how the Lord taught His disciples how to pray in Matthew 6:9-13.
As hard as it is to believe, New Year’s resolutions are about to ramp up again, and to be honest, I’m here for it. The reason why I happen to be pro-New Year’s resolutions is because I like a blank slate. There have been resolutions (or “commitments” if you’d prefer a different word) I’ve made over the years that have not died a fateful death on January 2 but actually established some healthy habits that carried me through the year. With that said, it’s no stretch to say that most ministry leaders would say that one area they would love to improve in as the ball drops on December 31 is their prayer life.
Spurgeon said, “Nothing brings such leanness into a man’s soul as lack of prayer.” If that’s true, why do most of us struggle so deeply to pray? It seems like we acknowledge its power on a cognitive level, but lack the heart to believe that it contains the very lifeblood of our spiritual souls.
Here are a few observations as we reflect on the “problem” of prayer:
Prayer can become dull.
Because we have such a hard time with prayer feeling more like a duty than a delight, it often can become very mundane and obligatory. We may believe Christ’s words when He said that we need to “ought always to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1), but the act of sitting quietly before Him, listening to His voice, and submitting our requests can feel like speaking into a cavernous void.
Prayer can be filled with anxiety.
Many times, we simply don’t know what to say as we come before the Lord, so we shrink into paralysis. We feel a pressure to not repeat ourselves, and to say things we believe the Lord would be most pleased to hear, so we find ourselves repeating the same phrases over and over again to the point that we’re convinced He couldn’t possibly be enjoying the conversation.
Prayer can generate fear.
Although we believe what David wrote in Psalm 139:4, “Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether,” we find ourselves afraid to express the dark and troubling thoughts that may be circulating in our minds and hearts.
Here is a suggestion: we should pray more imaginatively. To be clear, I am not suggesting some kind of new school reinvention of prayer, but I think the Psalms actually give us incredibly imaginative examples of how the Lord taught His disciples how to pray in Matthew 6:9-13.
Let me show you what I mean as we step through the Lord’s prayer:
“Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name’” (Matt. 6:9).
Look at the way David imaginatively magnifies the name of the Lord in Psalm 8:1-4:
O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?
Do you see what David does here? He praises God for His majesty, glory, strength, mindfulness, and care. David uses creation imagery to put himself in a place of awe, reverence, and adoration before the Lord. What are some ways you could imaginatively praise and honor the Lord when you pray?
“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10).
Let’s see how David uniquely expresses his longing for God’s will to be fulfilled in Psalm 57:2-3,5:
I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me. He will send from heaven and save me; he will put to shame him who tramples on me. God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness! … Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!
David is in total distress as he flees from King Saul and pleads with God using really dramatic language. He is not simply looking for a quick fix to his dilemma, but he desires to see the love, faithfulness, and glory of God permeate the earth. David is a songwriter who doesn’t shy from being overly emotional and epic with his words. We shouldn’t either, whatever that looks like for our personalities.
“Give us this day our daily bread” (Matt. 6:11).
Read the way David beautifully describes God’s provision from Psalm 65:12-13:
The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy.
Praying for God’s provision is probably the one part of the Lord’s prayer that comes most naturally to us. But what we don’t typically do is acknowledge the myriad of ways we have benefitted from His vast abundance. To acknowledge God’s lavish nature like David does here is a reminder that He lacks no means, or heart, to care for our needs.
“Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matt. 6:12).
Take a look at how David honestly cries out from the depths of his sin in Psalm 32:1-4:
Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.
David breaks down how awful it is to live with unconfessed sin and even describes the physical effects of it. He’s not trying to put on a brave face, he’s laying it all on the table and saying “this is how bad it is, Lord.” What would it look like for you to be this honest about your sin and what needs to happen to come clean before the Lord?
“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matt. 6:13).
Notice how David beautifully affirms God’s protection over him in Psalm 91:14-16:
Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.
The Psalmist is like us. He has a tendency toward self-reliance, so he gets bare and beautiful before God, trusting that he will draw near during trying times. Do you ever affirm those things that are true about God whether you are feeling them in the moment or not?
The goal is honesty, not poetry.
In the Psalms, we see some of the most beautiful writing and poetry ever written by human hands. But God is not calling you to poetry, He is calling you to honesty. So, don’t be afraid to express yourself in ways that at first might feel raw and exposed but will provide greater expression for your distressed soul.
