The Cost of Prayer

This year I am reading through Oswald Chamber's Devotional Bible which includes selections from his writings inserted for each day of the year. His words on the cost of prayer were poignant.

"What makes prayer easy is not our wits or our understanding, but the tremendous agony of God in redemption. A thing is worth just what it costs. Prayer is not what is costs us, but what it cost God to enable us to pray. It cost God so much that a little child can pray. It cost God almighty so much that anyone can pray ... It cost God everything to make it possible for us to pray."

Oswald Chambers

 

How often do we really consider what it cost God to make it possible for us to come to Him in prayer?

 

Without the cross, without even the promise of the cross, we wouldn't have a prayer!

 

But this begs another question. How often do we devalue the cost of prayer by not praying?

 

Prayerlessness is one thing in the Gospels that awakened indignation in Jesus' heart—prayerlessness in His Father's house.

 

"And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”

Matthew 21:12-13

 

The other Gospels echo Matthew's story in Mark 11:15-17, Luke 19:45-46, and John 2:13. Given the context of these accounts, it is entirely possible that Jesus did this more than once. John's account, which possibly occurred at a different time than the incident the other Gospels write of, includes that Jesus used a "whip of cords." Now, that's a bit more than just tipping over tables.

 

But, considering that the money changers were using up the space meant for prayer, not only were they not praying, they were actually preventing others from praying. No wonder Jesus was filled with indignation!

 

Knowing the cost to God to enable us to pray, our prayerlessness cheapens "the tremendous agony of God in redemption." And prayerlessness goes further to reveal our desire for independence of Him and our preoccupation with other things.

 

In fact, failure to pray is counted as a sin against the Lord according to the prophet Samuel.

 

"Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and the right way."

1 Samuel 12:23 (ESV)

 

As priests in the Kingdom of God, we are called to pray and not just for ourselves. A priest is one who intercedes on behalf of others.

 

So, one last question to consider—what are we allowing to use up space meant for prayer?

 

May we follow Jesus' example whose living purpose is to always intercede for us. (Hebrews 7:25 ESV)