Mission life: THE KUKMIN DAILY

“Help, my prayers are stuck!”…“Prayer is conversation with God, not nagging”

2016-02-01 17:10

“I think we pray too often with requests for blessings.”

“Right. Even though I know prayer is conversation with God, I often find myself nagging God to do this and that for me, as if casting a magic spell.”

“But didn’t David once pray, ‘God, teach them a lesson’? Wasn’t that a requesting prayer as well?”

The group burst out laughing, but their conversation about prayer soon became intense, at the Reformed Christian World View School’s discussion “Help, my prayers are stuck,” taking place at the 100th Anniversary Memorial Church in Mapo-gu, Seoul, on January 29. The discussion was hosted jointly by the Christian Worldview Studies Association of Korea (board chair: Son Bong-ho) and L’Abri Fellowship Korea (representative: Seong In-gyeong).

As to their reasons for feeling blocked in prayer, the participants listed greed, lack of courage, comfortable situations, sin, lack of faith, and blaming God.

A participant in her 30s confessed that she was disappointed and even got angry when God did not listen and respond to her request. A middle-aged participant confessed that he did not want to pray when he viewed the fallen, evil side of the world. A middle-aged woman sighed as she said she had been waiting for God’s response for 28 years.

L’Abri Fellowship Coordinator Lee Chung-seong (center), who lectured and moderated the discussion this day, said, “When we feel our prayers are stuck, we first need to consider the reason… When a prescription is made appropriately, according to the cause of the blockage, then we can expect our prayers will be answered and the relationship restored.

Lee also advised, “Prayer is a dialogue with God. It’s a communication that expresses your emotions, desires, thoughts, needs, thankfulness, and everything else that concerns you. Prayer should not be difficult. Just pray like children conversing in a friendly way with their earthly parents.”

He quoted James 1:6: “But ask in faith, never doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind,” and explained, “When you pray in doubt, the prayer is not answered.” He also quoted Proverbs 28:9: “When one will not listen to the law, even one’s prayers are an abomination,” and said, “It is also when we do not abide by God’s Word that our prayers are not answered.” The participants responded, “Amen!”

The discussion concluded with the participants’ agreement that when people feel their prayers are stuck, it is a time when they need to depend more on the Holy Spirit, and ask God frankly for help.

Coordinator Lee added, “When we think our prayer is not being answered, we need to try to listen to God’s voice… Through Bible verses, worship, sermons, meditation, and many other ways, God speaks to us continuously about what we should do. Sometimes we need to stop and listen. Conversation makes sense when the two parties exchange, not when one party dominates unilaterally.”

Article and photo by reporter Yeong Dae Yoo (ydyoo@kmib.co.kr) & student intern reporter Moon Se-rin, with Yeara Ahn-Park (yap@kmib.co.kr)


Click here for the original article in Korean

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