One of the reasons we should pray before we do anything of major importance is that we want to make sure we do the right thing. Someone somewhere said, “There is no right way to do the wrong thing.” I would tend to agree. Some people work so hard to save money, only to spend it on the wrong things. Some people want love so badly that they get into the wrong relationships and try to make them work. Some people do something terrible and then, instead of confessing and repenting and trying to get back on the right track, they cover it up or smother it with good deeds to somehow compensate for doing something bad. In every one of these cases, there is no way to make the wrong thing right.
Don’t get me wrong, Jesus can forgive the wrong act and make the PERSON right. But, he will never make the wrong thing right. That is against his consistent and holy nature. He cannot bless evil or bad. He can forgive it and shape a person to become and do good, blessing them through and through.
The point is that we have to get on the right footing. We just cannot start wrong, continue wrong, excusing the wrong and expect things to work out. Life does not work that way. Jesus does not work that way.
That is likely why Jesus succinctly said, “Seek first his kingdom and righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33). Seek the first thing first, the right thing right off the bat, and everything that is needed will be ironed out along the way. Paul succinctly agreed, saying, “find out what pleases the Lord” (Ephesians 5:10). He was following the statement that we were once darkness, but now we are light. The idea is that we have to live, walk and stay in the light for our lives to find out what pleases the Lord and keep us on our way. We absolutely must get it right.
So back to why and how we should pray. The good thing about praying for Aunt Suzie’s varicose veins is that God may heal her veins and make her legs whole. But, that is about the end of that prayer. Praying for Aunt Suzie to live right and make wise decisions will help far beyond recovery from unsightly and sometimes painful veins. Prayer for moral choices, right decisions, appropriate relationships, freedom from sinful and self-centered actions is perhaps the highest order of prayer for ourselves and others. Sadly, I would put that soundly in at least number four of the kinds of things for which people pray. First, in my unofficial poll, is hands down about physical healing. I believe second is for things to go our way or go the way for whomever we are praying- the interview, the test results or the position I/they have been seeking. Third, I think, would be the generic prayer- “God bless so and so”- that doesn’t really say much or ask for much or repent from anything or call upon God’s aid for anything. I call this “filler prayer.” It could also be called perfunctory since it is somewhat mindless and fills the gap of required prayer time. You won’t find any of those in the Bible. But, you will find them everywhere in homes before meals and bedtime and too often from pulpits. [In quantity these might actually be the most frequently prayed prayers.]
The next two kinds of prayer are likely fourth and fifth, but they are really first order prayers and should soundly be first in quantity and investment. First, is to flat out praise God, regardless of what is going on. He is not Santa Claus. We should not treat him as such. He is our Savior, Redeemer, Friend, Lover, Creator, Sustainer, Alpha and Omega and the Light of the World. First order prayers should be praise prayer. Following from that, then, should be that we solicit his wisdom and seek his will so that we can get it right in living for him. A subset of this kind of prayer is confession and forgiveness seeking for getting it wrong in the past. When we are praying to get it right and God makes it clear, then we can see the wrong and ask for forgiveness there. This is one of the first order prayers. So praise prayers and getting it right prayers should dominate the prayer scene in our lives.
Honestly, everything else seems a little perfunctory to me. If He is Right, then I must praise him. And, I must pray that I and the world get it right. In that, I must at least seek to know and do the right thing. That should be a dogged and determined prayer of ours. Prayer to do the right thing; to seek him and his righteousness; to find out what pleases the Lord, these are what should be chief on our prayer list.
Someone came to me yesterday seeking counsel about their future. The reason they were doing this is that they wanted to get it right. For the moment, they are less interested in Uncle Bob’s cholesterol, in their financial future and in generic prayers for blessings. They were worshipping God, celebrating his goodness in their lives and really wanting to be where God could use them best. Needless to say, these are fruitful, loving, Holy Spirit soaked people who have blessed others and have been blessed by God. Their persistent prayer is the right one- to Get It Right.