Somehow, I’m pretty sure people in the Ancient Near East (ANE) didn’t suffer from prayer fatigue. The point of difference here is epistemological. That is, it has to do with the differences in basic assumptions about life and reality in general. Those people were used to the idea of supplicating superiors for the necessities of life, based on the assumptions that the supplicant was only serving the superior’s agenda in the first place.
The core failure for us is our deep conditioning in favor of individualism. We have an instinct to wonder how God feels about things in terms of how we feel about them. Does God get bored as easily as we do? Such a question would never occur to someone in the ANE. For the ANE mind, it was all about the protocols of service. How you felt about things didn’t matter. The necessities of existing in a feudal universe trumped everything.
The ANE mind would start from the basic assumption of duty to the Sovereign. What did He say He wanted? “Call on me.” The core issue is the Sovereign’s reputation, the utter necessity of creating an awareness of His greatness (i.e. glory). Surely that simple command comes with a very expanded set of implications. The whole point is confessing and operating on the foundation of our dependence. This is anathema in the West, but was never questioned in the ANE. It simply would never occur to them that life independent of the Sovereign was even possible, and they would point to demonstrations to the contrary.
The only question was the identity of your sovereign.
Does God know what you need? Silly question; of course He does. He designed us and made us. Why does He still require us to call on Him for those things? It’s protocol. For our own sakes, we must renew in our minds our utter dependence on Him. Maybe you don’t need to present a detailed list of requests, but the fundamental truth of our dependence on Him must be emphasized over and over, all day long. No, it won’t hurt to mention the specific items that come to mind, if you can discern that it helps your flesh stay in submission to Him.
There will come those times when certain specifics do take a central place. In the context, it would be quite moving to remind ourselves that the issue of the moment is to trust Him for His promises. The emotions aren’t necessary; they should be a byproduct of faith. It’s all too easy to find examples of people whipping up emotion in the same way they put on the correct uniform for the occasion. I know I don’t worship that way; it strikes me as fakery because of my western background. I can’t change that, but at the same time, I know that ANE cultures would do this to some degree, simply putting on the appropriate expression for the context.
We cannot remake ourselves; only God can do that. This brings us to a final point: Prayer must follow convictions. I cannot make prayer real for you, especially in writing. Maybe if you stood next to me as I prayed aloud, you might catch something very real, but the whole point here is to help you explore things that might not occur to you. Yes, I do have a stage presence; that’s part of my calling. Still, a critical issue here is that you know your calling in Christ.
To pray for others is an act of mercy — even more so if they get to hear you offering prayers on their behalf. It’s powerful; it builds their faith, their sense of dependence. But it’s easy to get lost on the huge number of requests you might be handed. Yes, a lot of people are just playing a “me too” game. It turns out that lifting such people to God results in His glory, not necessarily their wishes coming true. I can’t change social habits with a wave of my hand.
On the one hand, I’ll suggest you keep a prayer list, whether on paper or electronically. On the other hand, your convictions will know when God says you can remove specific items from that list. It has little to do with the physical realities of whether the item has changed. It has everything to do with you obeying the leading of the Spirit in your own heart.
On the one hand, we would consider it rude to refuse a prayer request without having a prophetic word about the issue at hand. Yes, God can tell you right off He isn’t going to entertain intercession on some things. On the other hand, most such issues warrant only a single mention, and I’d suggest you pray about those things right then and there. Wait to see if the Lord brings it back to your mind. Some people have more time in their mission for praying over every little thing, while others get their praying in as they go throughout the day.
My prayer life is largely organic. Sometimes I feel a call to stop and concentrate on praying. Most of the day, I simply have an internal conversation with God that never stops. I sense His immediate Presence in a very real sense, as if He were sitting near me, walking by me, or even riding a bike beside me when I’m out training or traveling. I never lose the sense of Him being nearby. I depend on that for a sense of normalcy.
As with all things, the underlying rule is always a matter of conviction. This trumps all reality. This world is a lie; His Presence is the ultimate reality.
Your post here, what we talked about on today’s call, and I think something else in the last few days indicates to me that I need to start approach prayer a little different, and better. God is moving.