A Careless Word or a Faith Reflection?
The word just pops up often when it comes to prayers. Is it an idle word we say because we’ve heard others say it? Or does it reveal insight about how we view God? Regardless, we must be careful when we just pray.
We Need to Just Pray
Sometimes I hear people say, “Let’s just pray.” Though I know what they mean, I question the motivation behind their words.
Saying “just pray” could be an excuse to avoid action. It seems more spiritual to pray a problem will go away then to try to fix it.
Yes, our Lord wants us to pray about everything that concerns us. Yet sometimes prayer keeps us from doing what he’s equipped us to do to correct the situation.
Though we shouldn’t remove God from our everyday lives and try to live on our own, we shouldn’t ask God to supernaturally intervene if he’s already given us the opportunity or ability to take care of it ourselves.
The better solution is to pray as we work toward a solution. This is the wise move and a God-honoring approach.
Let’s Just Say a Short Prayer
How often do we say, “Let’s just say a short prayer”? It’s as if we’re trying to squeeze in a quick prayer before we move on to something more important. Or we could view it as a requisite step we feel we must take to prove we’re truly spiritual.
But what does God think when we slip in a quick prayer out of obligation?
Yes, sometimes a moment requires an immediate response and all we have time to do is breathe a succinct request to the Almighty.
Yet most of the time this isn’t the reason we say a short prayer. Often we may pray simply because we feel we’re supposed to. What’s God think about that?
Or we may pray only because others expect it. Though this may cause them to think highly of us, what does God think?
Just Get Me Through the Day
Other times the word just slips into our prayers. This reveals our perspective of God and what we believe he can accomplish. We may pray something like, “Just get me through the day” or “Just keep me out of trouble.”
Yes, we should turn to God to help us navigate our day or avoid difficulties, but we shouldn’t preference it with the qualification of just.
Just can refer to justice, but it can also indicate degree. It can mean by a narrow margin, barely enough, or merely. It’s as if we’re asking God for a minimal answer.
What does this say about our view of his power? Or does it reflect a timidness that we’re afraid to ask for more?
Don’t Just Pray
We’re probably in the habit of using the word just when we refer to prayer or having it slip into our prayers. This will be a hard habit to break. But we should try. God deserves us to do so.
But don’t just think about it.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront a status quo faith and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
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