Dr. Randy White
I know I’ll be misunderstood with this article, but I ask you to read it anyway.Is prayer really the cure-all that we claim? If we are good Bereans (see Acts 17:11), we will test the claims of prayer to the Scripture. But, if we are brave Bereans, we will reject the commonly touted view of prayer, and accept the Bible’s view of prayer.The MythIf you have spent much time in church, in almost any church today, you have heard the myriad of modern “prayer myths” that include:
- Every Christian should have a daily quiet time.
- Prayer is as much listening as it is talking.
- Prayer should not be a wish-list shared with God.
- Prayer is the key to revival and Spiritual awakening.
The TruthDaily Quiet Time
The term “quiet time” is so pervasive in most evangelical circles that everyone within those circles understands that this is not the afternoon nap time, but the early morning personal worship experience. A simple web search of “how to have a quiet time” will show that conservative and liberal evangelicals all teach the Daily Quiet Time concept. Quickly looking through the articles, you’ll find very little difference, and a great deal of unanimity, on how this quiet time should be done. However, one thing you won’t find is a Biblical basis for the daily quiet time. Perhaps modern evangelicals have created the
Quiet Time as a new legalism unto holiness, as the Pharisees had created fasting twice-a-week as their personal standard of holiness.In the instructions on creating your personal Quiet Time, you will note that actual Bible study is given very little attention. Rather, the individual should read small sections of Scripture slowly, “chewing” on each piece. A daily quiet time is not
unbiblical, but I prefer that those under my leadership would have a daily time of Bible study and prayer. Same thing? Not if you go by the common instructions for
Quiet Time activity. To be sure, I would reject all teaching on journaling, listening to God, or unbiblical meditation.
Prayer is listening
The “prayer is a dialogue” mantra has been repeated so many times in the modern church that it has become “gospel.” The problem is, it isn’t gospel. It isn’t even true. We have been duped into believing this over time. If you search through the old books on prayer (pre 1980s), there is no chapter on “listening to God’s voice.” By the time Henry Blackaby’s
Experiencing God came out in 1990, we were the frog in the kettle, scarcely noticing that we had adopted a theology that says God speaks through the Bible, prayer, other people, and circumstances (even though there is absolutely no Biblical teaching which tells us that His Word is found anywhere except in Scripture). With this false teaching, it is only natural that our personal Bible study and prayer time would become a quiet time where we can expect to hear God’s still small voice speaking to us (something He did
once in the past 6,000 years has now become the standard for His voice today).
Prayer as a wish list
We’ve almost come to the point of feeling guilty if we share with God the things we would like from Him. The Bible, on the other hand, almost commands us to share with God both our
needs and our
wants! “…
in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6, NKJV).The Greek word translated
prayer is προσεύχομαι [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=“yes” overflow=“visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=“1_1” background_position=“left top” background_color=“” border_size=“” border_color=“” border_style=“solid” spacing=“yes” background_image=“” background_repeat=“no-repeat” padding=“” margin_top=“0px” margin_bottom=“0px” class=“” id=“” animation_type=“” animation_speed=“0.3” animation_direction=“left” hide_on_mobile=“no” center_content=“no” min_height=“none”][proseuchomai] is a compound of προσ [pros] and εὔχομαι [euchomai]. If you do a word study, you will find that
pros means “unto” or “toward” and
euchomai means “wish.” You can see
euchomai without
pros in Romans 9:3 and Acts 27:29. I have found that my prayers are so much more effective when I
ask God what I’m wishing for! As a born-again Christian, my wish list is refined by the Scripture, which keeps me from wishing for things that are ungodly.
Prayer is the key to revival
Since seminary days, I’ve been taught that great revivals always come through prayer. What if it turns out that prayer is a
result of great revival, not a prerequisite? What if we’ve misread history, and found out that great revivals actually came from a renewal of solid Bible teaching and preaching, or repentance of church members, or a renewed personal soul-winning? The fact is, there is really no Biblical instruction to the church that revival comes through prayer. Further, there is no Biblical instruction that we should pray for a great, awe-inspiring revival. Perhaps we should pray for a faithful consistency to everyday Biblical living.In my denomination, the newly elected President, Ronnie Floyd, has issued
A Call To Prayer for spiritual awakening. Floyd has asked Southern Baptists to, “Pray extraordinarily for the next Great Awakening.” He wants next year’s SBC Annual Meeting to be, “one of the most significant prayer gatherings in our history to pray for the next Great Awakening.” This is a very lofty goal, in spite of the fact that we really have no solid evidence that prayer is really the key to accomplish this goal. Perhaps God would be more inclined to send revival if Southern Baptists would clean up some of the bad theology sold in LifeWay Stores or some of the craziness we call church planting at the North American Mission Board.
Try Real PrayerI truly want you to have a prayer life, but I want your prayer life to be Biblical. I want you to spend regular time studying the Bible and praying. Hear from God through His Word, and talk to God in your prayer. Doing this, you will find that your prayer life will become…an answer to prayer![/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusi
I know I’ll be misunderstood with this article, but I ask you to read it anyway.Is prayer really the cure-all that we claim? If we are good Bereans (see Acts 17:11), we will test the claims of prayer to the Scripture. But, if we are brave Bereans, we will reject the commonly touted view of prayer, and accept the Bible’s view of prayer.The MythIf you have spent much time in church, in almost any church today, you have heard the myriad of modern “prayer myths” that include: