From organ recital to prayer meeting
August 7, 2006
When Jean Larroux was with us at FPC in May, he reminded us that it is better to be redeemed than it is to be “better.” But often our prayers indicate that being “better” is good enough, thank you. Our prayer meetings and prayers in public worship must never become mere “organ recitals”–a prefunctory review of everyone’s aches and pains with prayer attached to the end. I am convinced that God wants us to call on him for some much better things. David Powlison has written an excellent article on this aspect of prayer. You should read it. Here’s a sample:
Is God interested in healing illnesses? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Yet he is always interested in making his children wise, holy, trusting, and loving, even in the context of pain, disability, and death…We all tend to pray for circumstances to improve so that we might feel better. Such requests are honest and good—unless these requests go no further. Detached from God’s purposes for sanctification and hearts that groan for his kingdom to come, such prayers become self-centered.
Even when we approach prayer, we need to ask ourselves, What really needs to be changed in my life? How can my life most glorify God?
