Do You Pray Like a Nonbeliever?

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By John Piper About Prayer

Something is amiss when Christians pray the way unbelievers pray. Of course, unbelievers do pray. They pray by the millions. Countless nominal Christians in all the nations of the world pray almost every day.

Just recently I read this about Latvia in Operation World: “Christianity is characterized by nominalism. . . . Although 60% belong to a Christian confession, only a small minority actually practice their faith.” With varying percentages, the same is true everywhere Christianity has spread. The wheat and the tares grow together. And both pray.

This was true in Jesus’s day, as in ours. The Pharisees loved God least, and prayed most. They “devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers” (Mark 12:40). “They love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others” (Matthew 6:5). And not only the Pharisees, but the Gentiles pray as well: “Do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words” (Matthew 6:7).

It is possible that nominal Christians learn the language of true, Christ-exalting, God-centered, sin-confessing, Spirit-dependent, promise-trusting, holiness-pursuing prayer. But I have found that it is rare for those with little love to Christ to pray as though they love him and his kingdom.

What’s Better Than Good

How then do they pray? Generally, they do not ask God to do bad things. They ask him to do good things without asking him to do the best thing. They pray as though God were the giver but not the gift. They pray for protection, and shelter, and food, and clothing, and health, and peace, and prosperity, and social justice, and comfort, and happiness.

“True Christians do not pray for less than what nominal Christians pray for. They pray for more.” Tweet Share on Facebook All of these good things are things the world wants. You don’t have to be born again to want these or love these. And you don’t have to be a Christian to pray for them — for yourself or for others. Every religion prays for them, more or less. So do the non-religious, when things get scary enough.

So then, what is the difference? How should Christians pray? Do they not pray for these good things?

What Makes Prayer Christian

The difference is that Christians are people who have a new nature through the new birth. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6).

True Christians do not pray for less than what nominal Christians pray for. They pray for more — infinitely more. The heartbeat is always that the supremely treasured Christ be supremely magnified in answer to every prayer.

Praying for Protection

For example, every prayer for protection (if miners are trapped underground, or soldiers are going into battle, or Christians are leaving on mission, or sons and daughters are heading for college, or police are in harm’s way, or hostages are threatened with death, or children are playing where bullets fly) — every Christian prayer for protection should be a prayer for the best protection, not the least.

“Temporal dangers are shadows of eternal dangers. And the eternal ones are far more destructive.” Tweet Share on Facebook The best protection is protection from Satan, unbelief, sin, and eternal perishing. The Christian sees the world as it really is. Temporal dangers are shadows of eternal dangers. And the eternal ones are far more destructive. To pray for temporal protection without caring and praying for the far greater protection sounds compassionate to the world — and to nominal Christians — but not to those who live in the light.

Pray for More, Not Less

So it is with every good gift that people need. Christians do not pray for less, but for more — infinitely more.

Not Deterred by Nominal Critics

Nominal Christians do not usually pray this way. In fact, they will pull away from those who do. They will feel uncomfortable around such prayers. They have no real heartfelt affections for the beauty of such prayers. Such prayers feel alien.

Therefore, nominal Christians will deflect the exposure of their spiritual emptiness by twisting such prayers inside out and saying things like, “All you care about is pie in the sky.” Or, “Empty bellies don’t care about religion.” Or, “What people need is love, not religion.” Or, “You can’t even pray people’s needs without a few pious platitudes.” And so on.

Of course, none of these arrows hit the mark. Except in the eyes of other nominal Christians — who do have a few million Twitter accounts.

But true Christians refuse to stop loving just because nominal Christians mock that we care about eternity. True Christians press on with Jesus in the conviction that we should care about all suffering, especially eternal suffering.

“True Christians refuse to stop loving just because nominal Christians mock that we care about eternity.” Tweet Share on Facebook Christians hold fast to the conviction that 85 years of protection, shelter, food, clothing, health, peace, prosperity, social justice, comfort, and happiness, followed by an eternity of misery, is not a good life. And we know that real love will not settle for such a tragic life. It prays for more.

So, I am pleading for all Christians to pray like real Christians. I am pleading that you never give into the criticism that it is more loving to ask God to give people his gifts but not himself. I am pleading that all prayer be Christ-exalting, God-centered, sin-confessing, Spirit-dependent, promise-trusting, holiness-pursuing prayer. In other words, I am pleading that we really love people when we pray for them.

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