Praying for the “Little” Things

As I grow older thoughts of prayer seem to dominate my attention. I would like to think that spiritual maturity has developed my prayer life, but I believe I owe it more to practical experience. Over and over, I have witnessed the power of prayer. There have been countless times in my Christian life that prayer has helped me or one that I love.  

Recently, I witnessed the power of prayer up close when my wife was undergoing some scary medical tests. This wasn’t the first time prayer has played a critical role in my life, but it is certainly one of the more recent.

This event concerning my wife, coupled with a growing desire to pray for my friends, has caused me to ponder prayer extensively over the last few days. What is it about prayer that God likes? What types of prayer does He prefer? What does the Bible mean when it instructs us to pray without ceasing? (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

I’m reminded of Dallas Willard’s book, The Divine Conspiracy, where he teaches that prayer is basically a request of things we want from God (see 1 Kings 8:22-56). Willard suggests that many of us have been taught that we are only to pray about big things like world peace or hunger (Willard calls this ‘heroic prayer’ but I prefer the term ‘Bono prayer’ coined by a friend of mine). Willard has the following to say about ‘Bono prayers’:

“Prayer simply dies from efforts to pray about “good things” that honestly do not matter to us. The way to get to meaningful prayer for those good things is to start praying for what we are truly interested in. The circle of our interests will inevitably grow in the largeness of God’s love.” (Willard, The Divine Conspiracy, p. 242)

It’s not that we shouldn’t pray for the big necessities of this world. However, if we are praying for the big things because we think God prefers them, we are mistaken. God wants us to pray for the things that really matter to us. Consider the Lord’s Prayer for a moment ( Matthew 6:9-13). The prayer opens by acknowledging the “bigness” of God ( Matthew 6:9-11). It is quickly broken down into things that really matter to us … daily food, forgiveness, temptation, and protection ( Matthew 6:12-13). Not many of us are in a position to cause world peace or end hunger, but we all have a small sphere of influence where we can help advance God’s Kingdom. If we all pray for God to put the little things of our lives in order, it will go a long way towards addressing the big things. God desires us to be honest and to pray about what really matters to us. If I may borrow from Willard once more:

” … [T]he most adequate description of prayer is simply, ‘Talking to God about what we are doing together.’ ” (Willard, The Divine Conspiracy, p.243)

What are you in the midst of doing with God? For me, I immediately think of my marriage and our children. I have a vested interest in praying for my wife and kids. They matter to me. I pray for my friends and their families – those people who mean something to me. I pray for my schooling. I pray that someday God will be able to use what I’m learning for His glory in some small way. I am learning that as I consistently pray for the most immediate issues in my life it is inevitable the Spirit will lead me into some of those “Bono prayers.”

If you find your prayer life is growing stagnant, I highly recommend that you take a personal inventory in an attempt to discover what matters the most in your life. Once that discovery is made, dedicate yourself to a daily pattern of prayer. Keep your focus on those specific issues that you are most passionate for and stick with it. Eventually, you’ll find yourself praying for multiple issues in a variety of situations.

The more I stick to this routine, I am continually shocked by the blessings I have received. God is good!