# The Praying/Trusting Balance



## nwink (Nov 15, 2010)

What does it look like for a Christian to be praying without ceasing for some matter, yet at the same time to not be praying with every, single brainwave realizing he doesn't want to have a spirit of prayer that thinks he "will be heard for his many words"? In other words, what does it look like to pray without ceasing, but yet not be praying constantly but trusting the Lord who has heard the prayers I've said? 

For example, if I am praying without ceasing for a dear Christian friend who has been experiencing sickness for some time, what would it look like to sometimes not necessarily be praying, but trusting/resting in my Father who hears and cares...rather than giving in to the easy tendency to just start praying when subconsciously thinking, "Surely if I pray again on this matter, God will answer this time."

A big practical reason behind my question is when I do pray a lot about a particular issue, I find myself praying basically the same thing each time I pray. I don't feel like I'm praying, thinking I'll be heard for my many words...but I just don't know what else to say when I pray again about the issue. And I know some of it can be that at times I'm not resting/trusting God in His care, answer, timing.

Thanks for the help in clearing up my confusion!


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## Jack K (Nov 15, 2010)

It does seem confusing, doesn't it? On the one hand, Paul says to pray without ceasing and Jesus tells parables about being very persistent in prayer. On the other hand, Jesus also warns against babbling on as if you'll be heard for your many words. The key to understanding it all is to remember that different pastoral situations require different instructions.

- To those who're tempted to give up, get lazy, trust themselves or doubt God... encouragement to pray without ceasing is called for.

- For those attempting to impress God, earn a favor or otherwise weasel some result out of him... a reminder not to pray that way is necessary.

For you, it simply means you need to search your heart and understand your sin tendencies so that you know which pastoral instruction to give yourself. Or if you're at all like me, you may need to correct tendencies in _both_ directions. 

It actually sounds like you've got a pretty good handle on the heart issues involved. You should have much faith that'll lead to much prayer, yet not get manipulative with God. Okay. Now you know what heart issues to work on.


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## nwink (Nov 16, 2010)

Thanks for your thoughts, Jack. You're right -- we definitely need to correct tendencies often in _both_ directions in prayer. And understanding the heart issues is so important. I think one of the hardest issues, as I pointed out, is to pray and then trust God...instead of praying constantly in a spirit of unbelief and helplessness...and the times it's hardest, for example, is when you may see a close friend you pray for dealing with sickness for a long time and when you are seeing them throughout that whole process, etc. (Not saying you just pray only once and that's it, but not praying constantly in a helpless, unbelieving spirit) So here comes the necessity to exercise faith in God through trial, and to pray in a believing spirit of prayer to our Father who loves His children, cares, and works all things for good for His Church.

A related question: if God hears my prayer and Christ is my intercessor in prayer, what is the difference between one Christian praying and a church body praying for some issue?


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## Jack K (Nov 16, 2010)

Well, we clearly find strength in praying with other believers. Jesus specifically says God listens to such prayers. And praying together can help our prayers and encourage our faith. We are a body, after all, joined by the Spirit and strenghtened by working together. What work is more basic than prayer? Where there's agreement among us, we're also more likely to be praying in line with God's will.

But I think your concern about guarding against a spirit of unbelief applies here, too. Sometimes I'm tempted to take Jesus' "if two or more of you argee..." instruction as a something of a magic formula, as if God wouldn't help me otherwise, but I can convince him to do something for me if I pray with more people, the right people, the right intensity, a good spiritual atmosphere in the room, etc... If that attitude is going on, then my desire to pray as a church body becomes a lot like the manipulative, endless pagan babbling Jesus warned against.


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