Approaching Prayer in a New Way

“May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice. Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips.” (Psalm 141:2-3, NIV)

I don’t know about you, but my prayer life could use a refresh. Between my family, being pregnant again, work, and everything in between, I can slack in that department. Of course, I pray with my daughter and here and there, but sometimes, my prayers can be weak. They can become the same phrases, needs, and topics.

That’s common. I think if you polled a group of people and they were being really honest, most would say the same. So I know I’m not alone in saying that my prayers could most definitely be deeper. I don’t want the Lord to see me as someone who checks in briefly with the same, old, tired pleasantries and then moves on to the next thing.

Like David, I want my prayers to be like incense. I want my conversations with the Lord to be rich and precious. I want them to be like having a really awesome heart-to-heart with a trusted friend– where you feel refreshed and known afterwards. And on the other end, I want the Lord to be glorified and honored by my prayers. I want Him to take pleasure in them. 

Let’s really consider the verse above and how it addresses prayer. David asks God to make his prayers like incense, which was commonly burned as a sacrifice in the temple. David wanted his prayers to the Lord to be received the way offerings and sacrifices in the temple were made. He wanted them to hold weight. He wanted them to be reverent, and he wanted them to be the best and purest there was to offer. Nothing that was sacrificed before the Lord was cheap, average, or mindless. 

Just like the spotless lamb that we see sacrificed many times over in the Bible, anything that was offered before the Lord was of the highest quality and the best there was to give. 

So why do we approach our prayers with any less reverence? Why do we allow them to become bland and repetitive? And I know, mostly it’s because we’re human and our passions can ebb and flow, so maybe the better question is how can we keep our prayers deep and meaningful?

I think one good way is to do it often. That might feel counter-intuitive, since putting something into practice often can make some things lose their meaning or become ritualistic. But I think in this case, because prayer is more a case of talking to the Lord, rather than rehearsing an action, the more you do it, the better and more second-nature it becomes. So, if we daily remember to pray in a way that is sacrificial, and the best we have to give– if we approach each prayer with the attitude that it is an offering to the Lord, the way incense would be burned in a temple– then we could deepen our prayer life significantly.

Another way I see in this verse to help deepen our time with the Lord in prayer is to watch the way we speak. David asks God to make his prayer like incense and the lifting of His hands to the Lord a sacrifice, and in the next breath, he asks God to guard his mouth and keep watch over his speech. I don’t think that’s a coincidence. 

So many times, our words are linked with the health of our faith. And that’s because there is a lot of power in our words. They have weight and they reveal what is going on inside our hearts and minds. They divulge our doubts and give away our shortcomings. They are more than meaningless sentiments that disappear into thin air.

And if we’re trying to approach prayer from the point of view that it is a reverent offering to the Lord– believing that He is worthy of the very best we have to give– then the vessel with which we offer our prayers should be guarded and maintained. Just think: the priests in the temple didn’t burn their yard debris in the same burner they offered their incense sacrifices in. It should be the same premise for our prayer. 

The hard heart check is this: we need to clean up our act. We need to watch our mouths and keep them clean. We need to make sure our speech and language is honoring God outside of prayer. Whether that means we need to clean up our language and stop cursing; or that we need to put an end to our gossiping habits. Whether that means we need to stop lying, or control our wrath. Whatever it is, it’s time to confront it, and if that thing stands in the way of having a passionate and intimate prayer life with the Lord, then we need to prioritize getting a handle on it.

I know, I know. It’s January and everyone has a vision for this year and a resolution to accomplish. But no other personal goal or accomplishment should be more important than revitalizing your prayer life into something that is more than punching a time clock with God each day.

David knew he needed it. He knew that none of his other successes meant anything without the Lord and his desire to honor God. And the reverent prayer life we all claim to want but lack the self-control to mature within us is not going to just happen. It’s something we have to refine and make it a priority,

So let’s approach our prayer with the idea that it’s the most precious sacrifice we can offer the Lord. It doesn’t have to be eloquent or poetic or impressive. It can just be real-talk between you and Jesus. Tell Him how wonderful He is. Tell Him the most secret things in your heart. Tell Him any and everything and ask Him to continue to grow within you the desire to fan that flame. Let your prayer be your lifestyle and let it transform every word you say.