In the old city of Jerusalem next to the traditional spot where Solomon’s Temple once stood stays a wall. The Western Wall is the closest Jews today get to their “meeting place” (a.k.a. temple) with God.
Writing within the wall
A contemporary custom when people visit this wall is to jot down a prayer on paper and place it within the crevice of the large stones. Doing that is considered offering your prayer to God to read and possibly answer.
Princes to popes to presidents have visited the wall to jot down down their prayers and lodge them in a crack as an offering to the Creator. Now Christians know that we needn’t travel to a special holy wall to supply prayers. Nor are we mandated to jot down our prayers down.
The Bible explains that because Christians have Jesus as their great High Priest, He is capable of take our prayers and present them before God. We don’t have any wall or curtain between us and God due to what Jesus has done. However, it does raise the query of, for those who were on the Western Wall and wanted to jot down one prayer to stay within the rocks, what wouldn’t it be?
Pray big
In his recent book, “Pray Big: Learn to hope like an Apostle“, Alistair Begg encourages us to re-examine our prayers and model them off the Apostle Paul.
Begg examines Paul’s prayers to the church in Ephesus and is struck on the spiritual enormity of his prayers. Paul’s prayers are big, and he encourages us to hope big Kingdom prayers.
He will not be saying small prayers are usually not relevant or unnecessary. However, he wants us to look at the Bible (particularly Paul’s letters) to find out how this could shape our prayers.
Tips
When Paul prays, he gets big and he gets specific. He doesn’t pray vague prayers, similar to, ‘God, be with Aunt Doris.’ Begg says that God already knows and is with Doris so why pray for Him to ‘be with’ her. Begg points to big specific prayers to shape our wording, similar to, ‘Lord, let Aunt Doris be full of your knowledge and wisdom. Let her be strengthened to proceed in her faith. And let her know the enjoyment of her salvation.’
Do you notice the prayers are big: they’re for Kingdom and everlasting matters related to Doris and her knowledge and experience of Jesus. They are also specific, asking for knowledge, strength and joy for Doris on this spiritual realm.
This doesn’t suggest we do not pray for Doris’ sick dog or her gamy knee. It does, nevertheless, mean we’d like to think big to the larger spiritual dimensions. The key, Begg argues, is to let Scripture shape the way in which we pray. Read Ephesians and let Paul’s inspired prayers model the way in which we also should pray.
Test
Try this test: does your church have public prayer? Many churches have removed prayer from the general public worship. This reflects the downgrading of prayer in modern Christianity.
Pastor Robert Murray M’Cheyne said, “What a person is on his knees before God, that he’s and nothing more.” The same may very well be said of a church. If they pray as a congregation they’re showing the worth and importance of prayer. They are also modelling what Paul explained whole churches must be doing – praying publicly.
Prayer is vital and never to be neglected. However, in case your church does pray, otherwise you hear someone praying, ask is the prayer a ‘small prayer’? For example, help for an exam or a job interview. Or does it also include the ‘big’ points that the Apostle Paul uses.
For example, praying that the scholar will do well within the exam but additionally that the exam shall be a tool that helps them grow of their trust of God. This makes it a selected and everlasting prayer. Begg’s small book is a paradigm shift back to a Biblical prayer that’s powerful since it taps into the Spirit’s everlasting vision.
Your prayer?
What would you write down as a prayer to place within the Western Wall? Would you travel all of the strategy to Israel, go to the wall and write down a small prayer? Many world leaders have written their requests to God on the wall asking for peace in Israel.
The Pope wrote the Lord’s Prayer on paper and put this writing within the wall.
A former US President wrote, “Protect my family and me. Forgive my sins and help me guard against pride and despair. Give me the wisdom to do what is true and just. And make me an instrument of your will.”
The Apostle Paul models for us a template for praying big Kingdom prayers which are specific to our spiritual growth. As these made it into the Bible as a part of inspired Scripture, they must be our primary guide to shape our own prayers.
