"enlightened" praying

just an observation i've been making for a while now.

we often pray in such a manner:
"Lord, send forth Your Holy Spirit!"
"Come, grace us with Your holy presence!"
"Be with us!"

... insinuating that either a) the Lord isn't with us, b) some sort of invocation is necessary, or c) that these words help remind us we are in His presence. the former two are actually quite absent-minded, to say the least, for Christ himself did say that He will always be with us, both at the Last Supper, before His Ascension, and physically manifest by the descent of the Holy Spirit. indeed, much of the spiritual theology discussed in the many letters after the gospels assures us of His continued spiritual presence with us.

maybe it really isn't that huge a consequence, but c) is, to me, a significant point in seeking personal holiness. the human condition is such that remaining crisply aware of our Christian-ness at all times is always a challenge - and central to this challenge is remembering God's presence in our lives. prayers with these so-called 'invocations', if rationalised to be words that remind ourselves of His nearness, do become erstwhile prayers.

the (lengthily protracted) distinction is that we need not ask/plead God to be with us as if He might not be so; but rather, such stylised pleas are really more like laments of our own human weakness in being unable to be mindful of His presence at all times. in a sense, praying for God's presence (as if He wasn't present before) is unnecessary, and may even reflect a little poorly on a Christian's faith; but praying that His presence may be made more palpable, or that we may be more sensitive/worthy of His presence - that is an earnest Christian prayer.

another "problem" with some prayers are the almost senselessly self-centred petitions. these are multitudinous and may be more common than realised: for example, praying for grades, health, that a loved one may recover, weather, traffic, being on time, etc. all these little things which bother us in life, but we know God is Lord over - why not ask Him for a little supernatural assistance?

well, firstly, such an attitude attempts to place God "in our service". even petitions generally supposed to be good such as praying for peace, happiness, good fortune, etc, could have a deeper selfish perspective wherein we are really hoping that God would simply make things better for us. the importance of acknowledging this negative attitude lies in the fact that investing our faith in God's "dependability" on resolving such matters could have the reverse effect: how many Christians have turned away after seeing God fail to answer their pleas? this method of praying also tends to obscure the individual's personal role in such matters - praying for peace could dilute your own role in working towards it. if you feel called to petition for some general goodness, never forget to pray that God may reveal His plan for you in that mission. chances are, noticing a certain petition could predispose you to being a key figure in bringing that petition to fruition!

secondly, we could look at the proto-prayer: the Lord's prayer. while Jesus spends the first 3 lines glorifying the Father's name (to remind us who's serving who, nonetheless!) He simply uses "give us today our daily bread" to summarise all our various particular petitions. the only 2 specifically-mentioned petitions then follow: "forgive us our sins", and "deliver us from evil". at the end (yes, we often forget these last 2 lines), Jesus goes full circle and praises the Lord again: "for the kingdom, the power, and the glory are Yours, now and forever", which doubtlessly also reminds the person who prays to be humble before the Lord and accept that "not my will but Yours be done".

so Christ's example, thru this extrapolation, indicates the right focus for our prayers: to pray for the Father's mercy and deliverance. as His children, we definitely ought to share with Him our daily problems as well, talking thru with Him matters which matter to us and bring us anxiety. however, this discussion, if it degenerates into a "child asking for prize" session, would greatly lose the dimension of two-way communication. when petitioning for something close to your hearts, do not fail to listen for His reply! prayer would be so much more enjoyable if it wasn't merely mouthing wishes into the air, you know. being open to His will and seeking clarity and discernment are much more fruitful and mature forms of prayer, don't you think?

besides, if He looks after the sparrows and the flowers, He is definitely looking after those needs of yours too. if it does not seem like He is, fear not! you don't have to suspect that God is abandoning you... but do listen and discern if this gift of pain is to toughen you up or to bring you in line with a greater plan of His. and be resilient: prayers for discernment often take much more time if you're not used to it.

know that the Lord is with you at all times, and He hears what you ask. now, all you need to do is listen and seek His will.