How specific are your prayers?
Perhaps you’ve never given this question any thought. Take some time and think about it – listen to yourself. When you pray, how specific or general are your prayers?
Keep it Generic
You see, I like to keep my prayers nice and generic. Don’t you? Here’s why:
- Generic prayer doesn’t leave me disappointed. If I don’t really ask the Lord for anything, then He can’t tell me NO. I do my best to avoid hearing NO whenever possible.
- Generic prayer consumes much less time and energy. Convenience is terribly important to me. I have a rather busy schedule, so I prefer to cover all my bases with broad, prayerful strokes.
- Generic prayer doesn’t force me to think about my own sin. Instead of repenting of specific sins and sin issues, why not just acknowledge sinfulness in general. Much less messy.
- Generic prayer doesn’t force me to grow in holiness. If I don’t ask the Holy Spirit to help me to grow in holiness and Christ-likeness in specific areas of my life, then I’m not disappointed if I don’t. I’m usually able to convince myself that I have experienced “overall net growth.”
- Generic prayer doesn’t force my relationship with my Father to grow in intimacy. Sometimes it’s just easier to keep those we care about at a healthy distance.
- Generic prayer doesn’t cause me to exercise my faith. If I keep it general, then there is no need to trust that my God is big, sovereign, mighty, loving, and capable of providing an answer. I do trust Him, but there is no need to press the issue.
- General prayer doesn’t force me to wrestle with the heaviness of Jesus’ death on the cross. Enough said.
What about you? Do you pray generic prayers? Are you experiencing these benefits as well?
You might also be interested in these posts:
- Thoughts on the National Day of Prayer
- Rick Warren’s Inaugural Prayer in the Name of Isa
- Theology of Recorded Prayers
- Making Decisions: No Prayer Required
- The Demons Believe – Part I
Tags: faith, National Day of Prayer, Prayer, sin
