Prayer-less Prayer

“Prayer-less Praying”

As I reflect upon the thoughts of E.M. Bounds a wonderful author on "Prayer", I would like to share my thoughts and reflections with all who care to read and reflect with me.

What "Prayer-less Prayer" is:
"Prayer-less Praying lacks the essential element of true praying; it is not based on desire, and it is devoid of earnestness and faith. Desire burns the chariot of prayer, faith drives it's wheels. In other words prayerless praying has no burden because it has no sense of need or ardency and has no strength or vision, or "glow" of faith. (Genesis 32.36, and Exodus 32.32.)

Prayer-less Praying stakes nothing on the issue, for it has nothing to stake. It comes with empty hands, indeed, but they are listless as well as empty. They have never learned the lesson of empty hands clinging to the Cross; this lesson, to them has no form or comeliness. In essence as Christians we tend to even skirt around the issues of our lives (trials and tribulations) with a God who knows all of them. He just wants us to take the time to voice them out to HIM. (Isaiah 53.2)

Prayer-less Prayer has no heart in its praying. The lack of heart deprives praying of its reality, and makes it an empty and unfit vessel. Heart, soul, life must be in our praying; the heavens must feel the force of our crying, and must be brought into oppressed sympathy for our bitter and needy state. The needs that oppress us and the only relief we find is to CRY OUT TO GOD and voice it all out to HIM.

Prayer-less Prayer is insincere. It has no honesty at heart. We name in words what we do not want in heart. Our prayers give formal utterance to the things for which our hearts are not only not hungry, but for which they really have not taste.

If God were to shake you and ask you “What did you ask me for?” “What did you pray for”? We can't tell him to save our lives, (whatever prayer we just uttered from our lips)

Prayer has indeed become rather dry and impersonal (I include myself in all of this). So in the end let us live out "prayerful Praying" (prayers with heart, and life, especially since God is the one we must really bare our all to)

I really want to encourage you all by saying in the words of Bounds "the prayer habit is a good habit, but prayer done only by force of habit is a very bad habit. It is not conditioned after God's order nor generated by God's power. "It is not only a waste, a perversion, a delusion, but also a prolific source of unbelief. We get no results from such prayers, for God is not reached and self is not helped. We might as well not pray then to gain no results from our prayers. In the end Religion and God are dishonored and our unbelief is strengthened by these prayers that are loaded with too much asking and not enough getting "results".

But in stark contrast to all of this rather serious talk " Real prayer helps God and Man. God's kingdom is advanced by it. The greatest good comes to man by it. Prayer can do anything that God can do. It is a pity that we don't believe in it as we should, and don't put fervent, prayerful prayer to the test.