BenCrowder.net

I can’t remember if I’ve mentioned this before, but I’ve stumbled across what seems to be an almost surefire way to pray sincerely, at least for me. And it’s so simple that I’m embarrassed it’s taken me this long to open my eyes to it: pray for other people.

But I don’t just mean reciting a long list of names. I’ve done that, and it feels flat and doesn’t do much of anything. The difference, I think, comes in slowing down to ponder about the person you’re praying for and what their needs might be. (And as C.S. Lewis says in The Screwtape Letters, we also have to honestly be ready to do something about it.)

When I pray that way — really, sincerely focused on someone else — it’s almost like a conduit opens straight into the heart of heaven. That’s when I feel closest to Christ in my prayers. It’s incredible.

The older I get, the more I find that so much in the gospel hinges on turning our focus outward. In the words of C. Terry Warner:

No matter how rigorous, a quest to be true when undertaken on one’s own behalf can never put to silence the disquieting voice that says, “You’re not honest, simple, solid, and true. You’re still in it for yourself. It’s your own agenda that you care most about.” Stubbornly setting out to be true cannot be glorious if I do not lift my focus higher than myself.

It’s an utter paradox, really — lose your life that you might find it. Focus on others in order to be true to yourself. Look outward so you can see inside. And yet it’s true. Not only is it one of the core principles of the gospel, but it’s the only way to really be happy, too.