The "Reality" Prayer

I haven’t been a TV watcher since I was a teenager.  I still remember the day when I left an imaginary adventure show to let the dog out and discovered a real adventure just outside my door!  From that day on I decided to live my own real adventures rather than watch someone else live their imaginary ones.

When “Reality TV” became so popular, I was curious.  People kept telling me that these shows were of real adventures, not scripted, and therefore I would enjoy them.  I watched a few and was disappointed.  Maybe the last 15 years of TV watching has numbed their brains; those shows are not any more real than the others!  They may not be scripted, but they are certainly edited.  I can clearly see that it is all “set up” and arranged to make the audience feel as though it were spontaneous.  Yet people persist in believing that it is all real.  I guess they realize that the only value of Reality TV is that it is “real,” and to strip away the veneer leaves only a low budget TV show.

But I cannot criticize people for wanting to believe in their Reality TV, because I have seen my own foolishness for wanting to believe in my Reality Prayers!

How many times I have prayed... “Father in Heaven, thank you for this beautiful day.  Please be with me today.  Thank You for all that you have been doing for me.  I’m sorry for my sins and rebellion.  Please forgive me.  I love You very much.  In Jesus’ name, Amen”... and not a bit of that was reality!

I understood that the Bible teaches us to pray to the Father in Jesus’ name, so I did.  But what does that mean?  I asked God to be with me, but I would have been scared to death if He showed up.  I knew I should be thankful for each day (was it actually a beautiful one?  had I even been outside yet to find out?).  I felt I should be thankful for all that God was doing for me - whatever that was.  Sometimes I wasn’t able to even think of any sins or rebellion I was in at the moment; and what I did think of, I wasn’t particularly sorry about.  I always wanted forgiveness, of course, because everyone knows that without forgiveness we won’t “make it to Heaven.”  I knew I should love God very much, but I often thought about the handsome guy I “loved” more than I thought about loving God...  But still, I considered my “reality prayers” to be very real.

Probably the biggest reason we pray such “reality prayers” is that we don’t think we can afford to pray a real one.  Telling God what we really think might not be so “appropriate.” I used to think that I couldn’t question God; I couldn’t tell Him exactly how upset I was; I couldn’t complain, whine, cry, “let Him have it,” or say anything else that might hurt or upset Him.  I “walked on eggshells” and prayed like I should.  After all, I couldn’t afford to upset God!

But the Bible gives us examples of people who prayed real prayers and shows us how God reacted to them.

After Moses led the people out of Egypt, received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, and came down to find the people worshipping an idol, God told Moses to move on, to lead the people toward Canaan.  Moses had a real heart-to-heart talk with God about all this.  (see Exodus 33)

Moses said, “See, you say to me, ‘Bring up this people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me.  Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.’  Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now Your ways, that I may know You in order to find favor in Your sight.  Consider too that this nation is Your people.”

Moses says, You’ve given me this job to do and You say that You know me and I am special to You.  If I am so special to You, show me who You are - I need to know You too if I am going to be able to please You.  If you love me, You’ll take the responsibility of these people, not dump it all on me!

And God responded, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

Moses basically threatened God after this, “If Your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here...”  You’d better go with me, or forget the whole thing!

God patiently and lovingly replies, “This very thing you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in My sight, and I know you by name.”  Of course, it was God’s plan all along to go with Moses!  He doesn’t tell Moses how unnecessary it is to bring up this issue.  He doesn’t tell him to “Watch your mouth, boy!”  Rather, He assures Moses and tells Moses again that He knows him - his fears, his needs, his circumstances... and He loves him.

Moses is more at ease now, recognizing God’s goodness, as he humbly asks for his needs.  “Please show me your glory (character).”  Please God, reveal Yourself to me.  And God answers his request!  (see Exodus 34)

There are many other examples of people praying “real” and how God responded.  (check out Job 27-31 & 38-41; Psalm 13; Genesis 18:22-33; Genesis 15:1-6, 17:15-19, 21:1-7; Jeremiah 1:4-10; Jonah 3,4; Luke 10:40-42; Matthew 27:46)

David’s Psalms are full of real talk to God.  And despite all his rough edges, God refers to David as “a man after my own heart.”  God appreciated the open, honest relationship they had.

And David encourages us, “Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.”  Psalm 62:8

Have you been praying the “Reality Prayer”?  Why not have a real talk with God today?