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I found this pretty funny. And I could probably just share this picture and leave the post “as is.” But I imagine the maker of this “prayer request generator” probably wanted to get us to think. So… let’s think.

This generator satirically rebukes a rather common approach to prayer that could be described as “superficial.”

Group prayer times can easily become a gossip time or a time to “one up” other individual’s prayer requests with a more “spiritual” request (often meaning a request loaded with more spiritual jargon) or with a request regarding a more traumatic situation. Our prayers themselves easily lean towards merely superficial concerns and often remain quite ambiguous (e.g., cliche laden) concerning what we expect God to do.

In contrast to this is the Bible’s testimony regarding prayer. The Bible provides us with instructions concerning what to pray, how to pray, models of prayer, and generally what to expect from God when we pray. If will learn from scripture, our prayers will become less and less cliche, more purposeful, more substantive, and shaped by God’s primary concerns.

We must strive towards prayers that reflect that character of the God to whom we pray.