The Fear Factor
“Whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners, to be seen by people. I assure you: They’ve got their reward! But when you pray, go into your private room, shut your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. When you pray, don’t babble like the idolaters, since they imagine they’ll be heard for their many words. Don’t be like them, because your Father knows the things you need before you ask Him (Matt. 6:6-8, HCSB).”
“When fear replaces faith, remember prayer.”
-Thomas S. Monson
As I said in the last prayer blast, I’d like us to consider some of the barriers we may have in our personal prayer lives. Recall, if you will, the very first barrier last time was
FEAR:
1.Fear
a. I’m a perfectionist! It makes me so uneasy to do something I don’t really know how to do.
b. If I pray about missions or doing God’s will, is He going to uproot me and take me to someplace like Papua New Guinea?
c. Don’t like praying out loud…people have judged me in the past.
d. Don’t really know how to put things into words, big religious words.
Now let’s break these down to a manageable place and think biblically about each one.
a. I’m a perfectionist! It makes me so uneasy to do something I don’t really know how to do.
What does the above Scripture say about the uber religious leaders and how they talked and prayed? Jesus says, “DON’T be like them.” Don’t think that you’re hot stuff because you can follow ONE pattern from the Mosaic Law. They had their speeches and “prayers” down pat…backwards and forwards. But the Pharisees did these things for selfish gain; so that people would look at them and think they were important. Oftentimes, even more important than God.
Instead, we can be exactly who God has made us to be. We can be completely genuine without having every single detail mapped out. Go to the Lord with openness and honesty, with struggle and doubt, with needs and praises.
b. If I pray about missions or doing God’s will, is He going to uproot me and take me to someplace like Papua New Guinea?
I can honestly say that I don’t believe God is in Heaven looking down on me and saying, “Hahahahahaha…Let’s See. How can I throw Clay for a loop today and completely flip him out? It’s super fun seeing him squirm!” Remember what the passage says. “The Father knows the things you need BEFORE you ask Him.”
God knows your fears and apprehensions. If you truly are supposed to go on the mission field, He will prepare your heart, mind, and whole life. God will get you to the place where you are confident in Him and His sovereign plan for your life. Be willing to trust His judgments for you.
c. Don’t like praying out loud…people have judged me in the past.
Stop worrying about what other people think about what and how you pray! Easier said than done I realize. But again, this passage should comfort those who have had some trauma in the past in prayer meetings. ”But when you pray, go into your private room, shut your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
Go to the Lord and develop that confident and most intimate relationship…just the two of you. The closer you are to your Heavenly Father in prayer, the more open you will be to share some of your thoughts and prayers with others. Remember, He’s not calling you to perfection…He’s calling you to come and find rest, satisfaction, and fullness in Him alone regardless of what others in the past have said or done.
d. Don’t really know how to put things into words, big religious words.
The goal when we come to the Lord in prayer should never be to have overly fancy or decorative words. We come just as we are. Do you have a speech impediment? A learning disability? A 4th grade education? A less than extensive vocabulary? The Lord knows all of this…He created you that way. He desires that you come to Him just as you are, broken but excited to be in His presence no matter what.
Recall one last time what our Scripture passage says about big religious words, “When you pray, don’t babble like the idolaters, since they imagine they’ll be heard for their many words. Don’t be like them…” Pretty bold and straight to the point warning from Jesus. The Lord doesn’t look at all the fancy words to see how many you can fit into one glorious sentence, that very few, if any of us understand. Instead, he looks at the genuineness of our heart. He sees straight through all the pomp and circumstance directly through to our true selves…warts and speech impediments and all!
At the root of fear lies doubt and distrust of ourselves and God. We doubt our own abilities because, try as we may, we can never be perfect, never have the most eloquent speech, never feel enough like people will look at how we pray and think we are incredibly close to God. We doubt and distrust God due to our lack of understanding of His sovereignty over our lives. We distrust Him because we have had past failure or experiences where we felt like God should have been there a certain way when WE FEEL like He wasn’t.
Yet through all of this the Lord has remained faithful, steadfast, and immoveable. He desires deep communion with us. And the most incredible part is that we have direct access to the Father who knows every single thing we’re going to ask, even before we ask it!
So, are you going to keep holding on to these barriers, letting them control your life/prayer life? Or will you cast down all of these fears, doubts, and man-made rules, and go to the Lord just as you are? Ask the Lord to take all of the fear and doubt away, confessing that you have tried to develop a lifestyle of prayer without Him at times. Go to the Lord with reckless abandon and be filled.
Blessings,
Clayton J. Elliott
Pastoral Ministries and Prayer, Kontaktmission USA
clay@GoKMUSA.org (731) 217-1741
Here are two recent prayer requests from KM missionaries.
From the KM mission team working in Mistelbach, Austria we hear “Some refugees have been attending our course on baptism. Pray for wisdom in our instruction and personal conversations. Pray that those interested in baptism will understand that it is not just about changing religions, but about living life with Jesus Christ.
And from the KM missionary team in Râşnov, Romania, we hear “During this month there will be tent camping on our property. The most important preparations have been completed. Please pray that God will help us in the details and work in the hearts of the participants. We thank God for the many Romanian volunteers upon whom we are depending. Pray that God will richly bless them and be glorified through their work! “