The Where and When of Prayer

The other day I posted about who should pray and what they should be praying for. I told you that the nest few blog posts will be focused around prayer, and that's what they are going to be about. Today, let's tackle the Where and When of Prayer.

The Where of Prayer:

1. Don't pray in front of others to impress them. Matthew 6:5-8 says, "When you pray, don't be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners in the synagogues where everyone can see them....But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private."

God doesn't want prayer to be something we do to impress others. That's what the Pharisees in Jesus's day did. They would pray these totally prideful prayers in front of everyone, thanking God that they weren't like the wicked sinners. But you know what God says about them? He doesn't say, "Look at my amazing servants. Look at all the great things they have done. Follow their example in prayer." No. Not at all. In fact, God calls them hypocrites. Christ gave us an example of prayer. He tells us that when we pray, rather than trying to impress others with how spiritual we are, go in private and pray to your Father there.

2. Don't be ashamed to pray. You have to admit, it's almost difficult sometimes to pray in front of others. Maybe when we are at the food court in the mall and we know we should pray before we eat, we just don't want to for fear of being watched and judged by the world around us. Or maybe we don't want to pray because we are afraid of being persecuted. Whatever the reason is, I know that I sometimes struggle with praying in front of unbelievers. I don't want to be made fun of, and I don't want people to think I'm a freak. That's wrong. Let's turn to a great example in the Bible, who was not ashamed to pray.

Daniel chapter six. King Darius had just signed a decree that no one could pray to anyone except him. Many people lived in fear of the punishment for praying--being thrown into the lion's den. But what did Daniel do? "Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime." -Daniel 6:10.

Daniel knew very well what his penalty would be if he prayed to his Father in Heaven. That didn't stop Daniel from doing what he knew was right. It's not like he hid in a small room with the windows and door closed, either. Daniel prayed three times a day, right in front of an open window for all of Jerusalem to see. Was that because Daniel was like the hypocrites-- praying in front of everyone so they can think he's some spiritual godly man? Nope. Daniel prayed in front of people because he wasn't ashamed to do what's right. God blessed him for that. Though Daniel was thrown into the lion's den, God rescued him out of the mouth of the lions.

It's not really about where we pray--it's about our prayer life in general. Is it frequent? Is our prayer life consistent? As we tackle the "when" of prayer, the "where" of prayer will also become clearer.

The When of Prayer:

Do you ever think, "How often should I pray? How much is enough?" Well, people used to tell me when I was younger, that I should pray at least three times a day. You know what? That may sound like a good number of times, but to that I say "bologna!" Haha Why am I not in agreement with that statement? Let's dive into what the Bible says about our prayer life some more.

*Colosians 4:2- "Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart."The definition of devote: (thefreedictionary.com) "To give or apply (one's time, attention, or self) entirely to a particular activity, pursuit, cause, or person." Note the word entirely.

*Ephesians 11:17- "...praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication."At all times. Is it possible to be praying every second of our lives? Of course not. How can we be on our knees every minute of every day? We wouldn't survive very long. But we need to be in a spirit of prayer. As in, when a problem arises, praying right away. When something good happens, thanking God right away. Talking to Him frequently and consistently throughout the day. I think that it's safe to say that if we only say a quick meal before we eat every day, then our prayer life is not where it should be.

We are told to pray without ceasing. We are told to pray always. I don't think that three times a day is enough to talk to our Creator.

What do you guys think? Any comments? How about verses to add to the where and when's of prayer? Make sure you head over to the previous post on prayer, if you haven't been there yet.