Harps are mentioned over 30 times in the Bible. Most typically as an instrument of praise and worship. For most (I think), the image that comes to mind when the word harp is used, is some sort of cherubic plinking with soothing, pastoral tones. Maybe more like a lute or a lyre. Don Carson on the other hand thinks Biblical harps ought to be thought of more like the banjos of their day. More suggestive of happy foot tapping than angelic strains. Whatever the truth, harps are stringed instruments. And stringed instruments, of all stripes, require frequent tuning. Think of a guitar or a banjo. They need to be tuned every time you pick them up to play.

‌So it is, I want to use this image of a stringed instrument needing to be regularly tuned in order to be played rightly and the melodies played undistorted – to the human soul, and the practice of prayer. Maybe better, to the inward posture of prayer.

‌Prayer. We all do it. We all know we should do it. Most of us never feel as though we’ve done it enough. Or perhaps not rightly.

‌For all of our talk about a prayer life, the truth is most of us feel inadequate in our prayer lives and somewhat uncomfortable about 3 things: How to pray? How much to pray? And How often to pray?

‌In the process, prayer often becomes a duty which is still quite shrouded in some mystery.

‌O, we all know the simple “just talk to God.” But that can devolve into something rote, perhaps even boring, artificial.

‌But since we ourselves are the prayer “instrument” – I want to argue that we need to get tuned both in and for prayer even as we pray. Getting all the strings to vibrate in proper relationship to each other. And then to strum and pick and play in a truly musical form of worship. And I think it might be useful to use Jesus’ own means to tune ourselves aright. What He outlined for us in Matthew 6 as a sort of six-string prayer tuning device. Prayer itself tunes the soul properly, so that we face all of life in the right frame. Which in fact, circularly, leads to more and better prayer.

‌Now we are all aware that Jesus is observed talking about this in more than one place. Matthew has Him outlining it in the midst of the Sermon on the Mount by prefacing it with: “Pray then like this.”

‌Luke has Him covering the same basic material in ch. 11 of his Gospel; but there, in response to the Disciple’s request that He teach them to pray “as John taught his disciples.” And this, as they had just been observing Jesus Himself praying.

‌Two things come to mind then.

‌1 – How is it that John’s and Jesus’ prayer lives were so different from what they were used to, as to elicit this sort of request?

‌2 – What are the things we need to glean from Jesus’ instructions in both places?

‌But before we begin to unpack all of this in more detail, I think it is worth noting that in both Luke and Matthew, prayer as addressed by Jesus does not appear to be couched in all sorts of religio-talk. His approach to prayer has nothing to do with technique or high sounding, specialized theological verbiage. The biggest 3-syllable word is temptation. We might say He taught prayer in the language of the common man. Do not let that get by you. Prayer is never about the mystical use of magical vocabulary.

‌I observe too that Jesus’ template (if we might call it that) is relatively brief.

‌While the concepts He sets forth have infinite depth in what they cover, Jesus is careful to keep us from thinking that some sort of verbal diarrhea is what is needed. He is after far more essential matters. Sometimes, “HELP!” can be the most eloquent prayer anyone can pray. Length of prayers is no more an indication of their efficacy or propriety than using Elizabethan English is. Prayer is not about cosmic arm twisting, so dunning Him with endless soliloquies is simply a waste of time. Yours and His.

‌As Thomas Aquinas once wrote: “It is clear that he does not pray, who, far from uplifting himself to God, requires that God shall lower Himself to him, and who resorts to prayer not to stir up the man in us to will what God wills, but only to persuade God to will what the man in us wills.”

‌As Jesus taught prayer, its very design is meant to bring our heart and soul and mind into such a frame of blessedness, that it truly becomes a joy, a refuge and a place of refreshing and renewing. Our sad neglect of what Jesus was after here has often led to prayer being just the opposite. When God gave the Sabbath to the Jews, He meant it for rest, renewal, rejoicing and restoration. They turned it into a burden to be scrupulously carried out. And I fear that we have followed suit with prayer. If that is our experience, we’re doing something wrong.

‌Lastly, it occurs to me that prayer is in fact the most supernatural activity we engage in in this life. As such, it does meet with opposition both from the remnants of our own inward fallenness, and the enemy of our souls. So there will always be an aspect of fight about it, even as it is attended with such joy and blessings. It is an odd paradox. We ought not to be too surprised by that.

‌John Piper is wont to remind us that joy is something we need to take seriously and fight for. And it is in prayer that that fight is primarily fought. On our knees.

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Reid Ferguson
A highly respected conference speaker, teacher and writer, Reid served for many years as Senior Pastor of the Evangelical Church of Fairport (ECF) in Fairport, NY. Throughout his many years in the faith he has made it his ambition to encourage God’s saints. Visit his blog at ResponsiveReiding.com.