Simplifying Our Lives
In 2009 results were released from a significant study on simplicity.[i] Father and son Thom and Art Rainer asked more than one thousand Americans about their pace, their schedules, and their quality of life. The Rainer’s found that a vast majority of us are longing for simpler lives. We long for more balance and less busyness, for increased flexibility and decreased complexity. We yearn for time to just enjoy life. We long for simplicity.
Specifically, the Rainer’s found that we seek simplicity in four areas:
- Schedules. We want a better balance in our schedules so that we have time for areas of life that really matter to us.
- Relationships. We long for better and closer relationships and friendship.
- Finances. We dream of a life free from past-due bills, diminishing income, or increasing debt.
- Spirituality. We are too busy for God and need a simpler life in order to get closer to him.
The authors write: “Busyness has consumed us. In our survey we were amazed to see that approximately 44 percent of respondents agreed that if their daily life continued at the current pace, they would probably have health problems…Of course, not just our physical health is suffering. Our families are also impacted…Some 57 percent of married survey respondents admitted that they rarely are able to go on a date with their spouses…We asked if their family members were able to relax and enjoy one another. Only 13 percent agreed strongly that they could…In our survey more than 45 percent of the respondents admitted that they did not have enough income for their lifestyles. For many of us, money is a ball and chain attached around the ankle, limiting our life’s movement. Nearly seven out of ten…said that they needed to spend more time on spiritual matters.
Many of us are seeking simplicity in our schedules, relationships, finances, and spirituality.
How about you? What do you wish were more simple about your life?
Simplifying Our Prayers
This same pursuit can be useful when applied to our prayers. An important component of our prayer life is to keep things simple. Jesus urged us to “not heap up empty phrases” when we pray “as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words” (Matt. 6:7).
Non Jews believed the gods could be/had to be manipulated through words. If the pray-er could find just the right word and/or say them in just the right way, the god would be obligated to grant the request. This made the gods begrudging givers and made prayer a labor and burden. Only “experts” could pray correctly and with desired results.
Have you ever struggled with feeling that only “experts” can pray in a way that is effective?
Jews, in a similar manner, were conditioned to believe that there were strict and specific guidelines to prayer. Frederick Dale Bruner quotes Adolph Schlatter:
What became the beautiful standard Jewish “Eighteen [Petition] Prayer” was first prayed twice daily, then three times a day, and represented a huge accomplishment. When combined with the twice daily She’ma Confessions, table prayers, and the doxologies at every opportunity, the people of God in Jesus’ time were confronted by Jesus not as a prayerless community but as a people overburdened with prayer.
In other words, prayer was a burden and a labor. It was always a formal affair.
Here is one version of the Amidah or “Eighteen Petition Prayer” (with a later-added 19th petition):
1. THE GOD OF HISTORY:Blessed are you, O Lord our God and God of our fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, the great, mighty and revered God, the Most High God who bestows lovingkindnesses, the creator of all things, who remembers the good deeds of the patriarchs and in love will bring a redeemer to their children’s children for his name’s sake. O king, helper, savior and shield. Blessed are you, O Lord, the shield of Abraham.
2. THE GOD OF NATURE:You, O Lord, are mighty forever, you revive the dead, you have the power to save. [From the end of Sukkot until the eve of Passover, insert: You cause the wind to blow and the rain to fall.] You sustain the living with lovingkindness, you revive the dead with great mercy, you support the falling, heal the sick, set free the bound and keep faith with those who sleep in the dust. Who is like you, O doer of mighty acts? Who resembles you, a king who puts to death and restores to life, and causes salvation to flourish? And you are certain to revive the dead. Blessed are you, O Lord, who revives the dead.
3. SANCTIFICATION OF GOD:[Reader] We will sanctify your name in this world just as it is sanctified in the highest heavens, as it is written by your prophet: “And they call out to one another and say: [Cong.] ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.'” [Isa. 6:3] [Reader] Those facing them praise God saying: [Cong.] “Blessed be the Presence of the LORD in his place.” [Ezek. 3:12] [Reader] And in your Holy Words it is written, saying, [Cong.] “The LORD reigns forever, your God, O Zion, throughout all generations. Hallelujah.” [Ps. 146:10] [Reader] Throughout all generations we will declare your greatness, and to all eternity we will proclaim your holiness. Your praise, O our God, shall never depart from our mouth, for you are a great and holy God and King. Blessed are you, O Lord, the holy God. You are holy, and your name is holy, and holy beings praise you daily. (Selah.) Blessed are you, O Lord, the holy God.
4. PRAYER FOR UNDERSTANDING:You favor men with knowledge, and teach mortals understanding. O favor us with the knowledge, the understanding and the insight that come from you. Blessed are you, O Lord, the gracious giver of knowledge.
5. FOR REPENTANCE:Bring us back, O our father, to your Instruction; draw us near, O our King, to your service; and cause us to return to you in perfect repentance. Blessed are you, O Lord, who delights in repentance.
6. FOR FORGIVENESS:Forgive us, O our Father, for we have sinned; pardon us, O our King, for we have transgressed; for you pardon and forgive. Blessed are you, O Lord, who is merciful and always ready to forgive.
7. FOR DELIVERANCE FROM AFFLICTION:Look upon our affliction and plead our cause,and redeem us speedily for your name’s sake, for you are a mighty redeemer. Blessed are you, O Lord, the redeemer of Israel.
8. FOR HEALING:Heal us, O Lord, and we will be healed; save us and we will be saved, for you are our praise. O grant a perfect healing to all our ailments, for you, almighty King, are a faithful and merciful healer. Blessed are you, O Lord, the healer of the sick of his people Israel.
9. FOR DELIVERANCE FROM WANT:Bless this year for us, O Lord our God, together with all the varieties of its produce, for our welfare. Bestow ([from the 15th of Nissan insert:] dew and rain for) a blessing upon the face of the earth. O satisfy us with your goodness, and bless our year like the best of years. Blessed are you, O Lord, who blesses the years.
10. FOR GATHERING OF EXILES:Sound the great shofar for our freedom, raise the ensign to gather our exiles, and gather us from the four corners of the earth. Blessed are you, O Lord, who gathers the dispersed of his people Israel.
11. FOR THE RIGHTEOUS REIGN OF GOD:Restore our judges as in former times, and our counselors as at the beginning; and remove from us sorrow and sighing. Reign over us, you alone, O Lord, with lovingkindness and compassion, and clear us in judgment. Blessed are you, O Lord, the King who loves righteousness and justice.
12. FOR THE DESTRUCTION OF APOSTATES AND THE ENEMIES OF GOD:Let there be no hope for slanderers, and let all wickedness perish in an instant. May all your enemies quickly be cut down, and may you soon in our day uproot, crush, cast down and humble the dominion of arrogance. Blessed are you, O Lord, who smashes enemies and humbles the arrogant.
13. FOR THE RIGHTEOUS AND PROSELYTES:May your compassion be stirred, O Lord our God, towards the righteous, the pious, the elders of your people the house of Israel, the remnant of their scholars, towards proselytes, and towards us also. Grant a good reward to all who truly trust in your name. Set our lot with them forever so that we may never be put to shame, for we have put our trust in you. Blessed are you, O Lord, the support and stay of the righteous.
14. FOR THE REBUILDING OF JERUSALEM:Return in mercy to Jerusalem your city, and dwell in it as you have promised. Rebuild it soon in our day as an eternal structure, and quickly set up in it the throne of David. Blessed are you, O Lord, who rebuilds Jerusalem.
15. FOR THE MESSIANIC KING:Speedily cause the offspring of your servant David to flourish, and let him be exalted by your saving power, for we wait all day long for your salvation. Blessed are you, O Lord, who causes salvation to flourish.
16. FOR THE ANSWERING OF PRAYER:Hear our voice, O Lord our God; spare us and have pity on us. Accept our prayer in mercy and with favor, for you are a God who hears prayers and supplications. O our King, do not turn us away from your presence empty-handed, for you hear the prayers of your people Israel with compassion. Blessed are you, O Lord, who hears prayer.
17. FOR RESTORATION OF TEMPLE SERVICE:Be pleased, O Lord our God, with your people Israel and with their prayers. Restore the service to the inner sanctuary of your Temple, and receive in love and with favor both the fire-offerings of Israel and their prayers. May the worship of your people Israel always be acceptable to you. And let our eyes behold your return in mercy to Zion. Blessed are you, O Lord, who restores his divine presence to Zion.
18. THANKSGIVING FOR GOD’S UNFAILING MERCIES:We give thanks to you that you are the Lord our God and the God of our fathers forever and ever. Through every generation you have been the rock of our lives, the shield of our salvation. We will give you thanks and declare your praise for our lives that are committed into your hands, for our souls that are entrusted to you, for your miracles that are daily with us, and for your wonders and your benefits that are with us at all times, evening, morning and noon. O beneficent one, your mercies never fail; O merciful one, your lovingkindnesses never cease. We have always put our hope in you. For all these acts may your name be blessed and exalted continually, O our King, forever and ever. Let every living thing give thanks to you and praise your name in truth, O God, our salvation and our help. (Selah.) Blessed are you, O Lord, whose Name is the Beneficent One, and to whom it is fitting to give thanks.
19. FOR PEACE:Grant peace, welfare, blessing, grace, lovingkindness and mercy to us and to all Israel your people. Bless us, O our Father, one and all, with the light of your countenance; for by the light of your countenance you have given us, O Lord our God, a Torah of life, lovingkindness and salvation, blessing, mercy, life and peace. May it please you to bless your people Israel at all times and in every hour with your peace. Blessed are you, O Lord, who blesses his people Israel with peace.
Imagine praying this prayer multiple times/day!
Bruner then quotes Eduard Schweizer: Jesus released his people “from having to make a special effort to guarantee access to God. He turns prayer once more into children’s conversation with their father.” For Jesus, prayer was essentially a child’s conversation with a father.
There is a mondern tendency to believe that prayer must use certain words (thus there is a sanctified prayer language) and must be done in a certain way (thus there are sanctified prayer postures and prayer places). This is reflected humorously in the film “Meet the Parents.” Greg, the future son-in-law is visiting his future in-laws and is asked to lead the prayer before dinner. Greg has clearly never lead a public prayer and likely does not pray at all in private. Thus, as he prays over the food, he reaches for the most exalted words and titles he can find to address God and to communicate what he wishes to say:
Oh, dear God, thank you, you are such a good God to us. A kind and gentle and accommodating God, and we thank you oh sweet, sweet lord of hosts for the smorgasbord you have so aptly laid at our table this day, and each day, by day, day by day, by day oh dear lord three things we pray to love thee more dearly, to see thee more clearly, to follow thee more nearly, day, by day, by day. Amen
Here’s the video: Greg prays in “Meet the Parents”
Overcoming this tendency, according to Richard Foster in his book Prayer is key to experiencing a full prayer life. Foster writes that something holds many of us back from prayer. That something is not busyness. It is, instead, “the notion…that we have to have everything ‘just right’ in order to pray.” (7) We must embrace the picture Jesus gives of prayer as a conversation between child and father. Foster writes, “In the same way that a small child cannot draw a bad picture so a child of God cannot offer a bad prayer.” (8) Foster calls this Simple Prayer.
Do you believe this–that a child of God cannot offer a bad prayer?
What is Simple Prayer? Foster writes:
In Simple Prayer we bring ourselves before God just as we are, warts and all. Like children before a loving father, we open our hearts and make our requests. We do not try to sort things out, the good from the bad. We simply and unpretentiously share our concerns and make our petitions (9)…In the most natural and simple way possible we learn to pray our experiences by taking up the ordinary events of everyday life and [give] them to God…We must never believe the lie that says that the details of our lives are not the proper content of prayer. (12)
There are times when we simply make prayer too complex. It can simply be us the children talking to God the father about anything and everything in our lives.
Oversimplifying Our Prayers?
Of course, it is possible to become too casual and too familiar in our prayers. A contemporary example of this is the “Baby Jesus Prayer” in the movie “Talladega Nights.” At one point Ricky Bobby, the Nascar driver, says grace. His approach, however, just crosses the line past familiarity to disrespect.
Here’s the video: Ricky Bobby prays to Baby Jesus
Perhaps this is why Jesus teaches us to address God in this way: “Our Father in heaven.” “Our Father” gives us permission to not use special prayer language but to use the ordinary and everyday language of life. “Our Father” gives us permission to not pray only about “holy” or “exalted” things but to also pray about ordinary and every day things of life. But “in heaven” reminds us that the one to whom we pray is greater than we are and is worth our highest respect and esteem.
How do you walk this fine line in your prayers?
[i] Thom S. Rainer & Art Rainer, Simple Life (B & H Publishing, 2009).
