The But Prayer

2/15/2021

Matthew 10:1 "Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness."

Last night I watched a TV preacher who made me think about things a little differently. I love when I am challenged in this way. He was speaking about strength in prayer (among other things), and he referenced the verse above. Matthew 10 is also the Biblical chapter that my husband and I happen to be discussing recently, and this was what drew me in to what the preacher was saying. He was referencing this verse to encourage people to pray with authority, and as spiritual warfare against Covid-19. 

I shared some of what the preacher said with my husband when we had our morning devotion time. It sparked an interesting conversation about how we pray. Are we praying with power and full faith, or a trembling meekness and wishy-washy lack of conviction? It was a difficult question to consider, for sure. 

I remembered a conversation that happened in my Sunday school class before we went virtual last year. It was about praying for healing, but also praying for God's will. After talking about this kind of prayer for a while, my husband and I categorized it as a "but" prayer. A dear friend of ours once said that everything before the "but" in a sentence is negated by what follows. This was a very wise insight that I have never forgotten. So we considered when we have been using that word during our time with God. I think I do that a lot, actually. The one person I remember praying for clearly without the "but" was my mother. I would pray for her to be completely healed from the devastating effects of a massive stroke. I would pray, more often than not, for her to be totally healed and be able to get up out of her bed. She was already an amazingly powerful witness for Christ post-stoke, but I would pray for her healing, for her quality of life, and the miracle that others would witness. God never did give my beautiful mom a physical healing. However, she became an even bigger powerhouse of faith and love. She trusted God, and He was always with her. When I prayed for her healing I actually never said, "but Your will be done Lord." I guess I never articulated that in my prayer because I already knew His will was going to be done; for it always is. 

So, as my husband and I spoke about how we pray, we thought about all of these things. My husband turned to our model of prayer: The Lord's Prayer from the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 6:9-13, and we read that as well. We began talking about and considering how we pray and how we ought to pray. Am I distracted when I pray? Do I list off a string of petitions only to throw in a "but" because of my own weakness and lack of faith negating all I have said? Do I pray with confidence, power, and faith? Do I come boldly before my Savior and pray as a warrior, binding Satan and his schemes, with my armor firm and secure and the Sword of the Spirit in hand? 

What would happen if all God's children prayed with conviction, full faith, and Holy Spirit power? My desire is to truly be a prayer warrior. However, what might be a better phrase for me is a warrior in prayer.