What Tim Keller Taught Me About Prayer
Tim Davis
Why is prayer so difficult?
I don’t think I’m the only one who gets side-tracked in prayer. And if I’m honest, my dinner-time prayers are starting to blend together. I haven’t asked her yet, but imagine I catch my wife off guard any time my prayers extend beyond, “Thank you Lord for this day and for my wonderful family. Thank you for this food and give us a great night together. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
Clearly I’m not an exemplar prayer warrior—though I’d like to be known as one, some day. And I think Tim Keller’s wisdom will contribute toward that end.
Here’s what Tim Keller taught me about prayer.
WHAT IS PRAYER?
Tim Keller defines prayer as “a personal, communicative response to the knowledge of God.”[1] The word I want to draw your attention to is response. Prayer is a response.
I think many of us would define prayer as communication with God and Keller agrees. But his definition implies an additional point: God speaks first.
Let’s explore what this means and the implications it has for our prayer lives.
GOD SPEAKS THROUGH SCRIPTURE
Scripture testifies to its own significance. For example, God tells his people to write down events that take place (Ex 17:14); the word of the Lord comes to the prophets (Jer. 1:9-10); leaders are commanded to meditate on Scripture day and night (Josh 1:9); parents are exhorted to pass on the story of salvation to their children (Deut. 6:20-25).
When you read Scripture, you learn about God’s character, how he governs this world and what your relationship with him is supposed look like. It’s through the Scriptures that God speaks first. You get to know him through the written Word. Prayer, then, is a communicative response to the God who reveals himself in Scripture and speaks to us through Scripture.
So how do you begin?
LEARNING LIKE A CHILD
Keller draws our attention to children. Whether you have children or have been around toddlers, you know that parents speak to their children long before the child responds. And the same was true for you and me. All of us were spoken to before we responded with speech of our own.
Herein lies the application. If you want to mature in prayer, start by putting yourself in the shoes of an infant (metaphorically of course). Begin by listening. When you read Scripture, you’re being spoken to. This is how you learn about God, how he governs this world and what your relationship with him is supposed to look like. Then, like a child, respond with language you hear in Scripture—respond in prayer.
But what will your response look like?
PRAYER THAT’S VARIED
I bet you know an Informal Isabelle. You know the one. The gal who begins all her prayers with, “Hey God”. And don’t forget about Formal Frank— “Sovereign and mighty God, we humbly bow before you now, making our petitions known…”.
Well, the beauty is that we have something to learn from both Isabelle and Frank.
Keller contends that the more we immerse ourselves in Scripture, the more varied our prayer life will become. Why? Because God meets us in a variety of ways. It’s fitting to address him as our loving Father, Shepherd or Friend. And yet he’s also Monarch and King, the only Sovereign and Creator God.
Keller says, “Left to ourselves, to our cultures and natural temperaments, there are many kinds of language that we would never use.”[2]
If you want to feel the weight of this point, just open the psalms. You’ll find laments, complaints, requests and detailed arguments. The psalmists recount the story of salvation, offer thanksgivings and at times, explode in wonder. Left to our natural temperaments, our prayers—our responses to God—will only scratch the surface.
The variety and depth of prayer found in Scripture illustrates how anemic my dinner-time prayers have become. But Scripture also reveals the depth of conversation made available to me if I learn to listen and respond to God.
[1] Tim Keller in Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God, (pg. 45).
[2] Tim Keller in Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God, (pg. 59).