Prayer: Oh, What A Beautiful Morning

One upon a time, a fisherman who had no time or interest in anything related to God, was at sea. He was working hard reeling in the nets when a huge storm came up that threatened to sink the small boat.

The wind was horrendous. In all his travels he’d never seen the weather so tumultuous—waves were sweeping over the boat, and fear was real enough to cause him to seek Divine assistance.

“O God, I haven’t asked anything of you in fifteen years and if you bring me safely to land, I promise I won’t bother you again for another fifteen!”

We may smile, but his bargaining with God should be a sobering reminder of how often we use prayer as an escape mechanism rather than a way of life. Too many times we treat prayer as a transaction and not an opportunity to nurture our relationship with God.

Even though everything in our culture screams at us to be consumers, we should never treat prayer as a retail deal.

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

When we apply the truths of God’s Word revealed in the above passage from Philippians, we’ll be compelled to cultivate an Oh, What A Beautiful Morning attitude.

However, when we don’t seriously engage God’s Word in action, then we will embody one of those other song titles in the poll. Let’s consider again Paul’s words: Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

By way of reminder: When Paul of Tarsus advocated an Oh, What A Beautiful Morning attitude, he was a prisoner of the Roman empire. He had many reasons to be full of angst and restlessness. Yet his experiences had repeatedly proven to him that rejoicing and gratitude were the only healthy way to approach life.

To diminish or trash rejoicing and gratitude means to be anxious of one thing or another, and that anxiousness will rapidly become anxiety.

Anxiety breeds fear to take action; anxiety breeds cowardice to deal with difficult situations; anxiety breeds withdrawal from daily life; anxiety breeds depression, discouragement, distrust, and unbelief; anxiety breeds a defeatist attitude.

Anxiety gives birth to all of that and much more, yet anxiety is so unnecessary because it comes as a result of an improper evaluation of our situation. Too often we classify problems as situations in which we anticipate nail-biting, when in fact we should view them as opportunities to see God at work in our lives.

The simple fact is that there are times when we insist on carrying our difficulties in isolation. We refuse to share our problems with other members of our family—even more tragic we don’t hand them over to God.

When we choose to backpack our troubles is it any wonder why we are so overwhelmed by the stronghold of anxiety?

Holding onto anxiety does not eliminate tomorrow’s sorrow—holding onto anxiety does empty today of its strength. The reward for becoming glued to anxiety is an increase in anxiety.

The law of the harvest applies to all of life: We reap what we sow—we always reap more than we sow—we never reap until we sow.

Given that universal truth, who wants to sow anxiety only to know that we’re going to grow an even greater crop of anxiety? The only dividends anxiety pays is the emotional turmoil that robs us of all that God intends for us to be.

Anxiety shows a lack of faith and understanding of God. There is zero value in worry—worrying about the future is useless. Jesus expressed this completely: “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”

Jesus understood that worry begets anxiety. He also comprehended the totality of its destructive power—anxiety will consume us, damage our health, disrupt our lives, negatively affect the way we treat others, and reduce our ability to trust God.

We need to get it through our thick skulls that the same God who created us can be entrusted with the details of our lives—God doesn’t ignore those who depend on him.

Here’s a foundational reality: Prayer changes us—prayer changes our perspective—prayer changes our attitude.

In his great book, Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster wrote: “To pray is to change. Prayer is the central avenue God uses to transform us. If we are unwilling to change, we will abandon prayer as a noticeable characteristic of our lives. The closer we come to the heartbeat of God the more we see our need and the more we desire to be conformed to Christ.”

What never ceases to amaze me—in fact it boggles my mind—is when supposedly mature, growing Christians continue to treat prayer as a retail transaction. Prayer becomes nothing more than shopping lists, with petitions presented to God regarding their wants and desires.

They routinely ask God for a good parking spot at the mall or inquire if it’s God’s will for them to purchase a luxury item, and please Lord, let it be on sale.

As I understand Scripture, we live in a world of sorrows and injustice, so it’s extremely difficult to fathom that placating our culture’s obsession with materialism, convenience, and recreation rates high on God’s to-do list. Prayer is all about aligning my heart with God’s heart. That cannot occur if life is focused on me and mine.

Shopping list prayers reveal a real misunderstanding about who God is and what God desires to do in us and through us.

James, a leader of the first-century church in Jerusalem, wrote: “When you ask, you do not receive because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”

Right motives involve a transformation of our pleasures and desires. To ask rightly means total renewal.

In prayer—real prayer—we begin to desire the things God desires, to love the things God loves. In genuine prayer our perception is progressively transformed to God’s point of view.

Everything about the transformation of our hearts and minds is about changing our perspective from me-centered to God-centered.

Consider Paul’s encouraging admonition again:

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

The peace of God that transcends all understanding will eliminate anxiety when and only when we give concerns and burdens over to God in prayers seasoned by continual spoonfuls of gratitude.

Shopping list prayers will do nothing to diminish anxiety. However, prayers and petitions packaged in the language of gratitude will guard our hearts and minds with the peace of God.

What will we choose: Anxious about everything or thankful for everything—worry and anxiety or peace of mind? A Nobody Knows The Trouble I’ve Seen or an Oh, What A Beautiful Morning attitude?

Kind of a no-brainer, isn’t it? The choice is always up to us, so go make it an Oh, What A Beautiful Morning kind of day.