Mini: Prayer Hacks and Hot Takes
258 | “Mildly Microwaved”
Pray with Freedom and Honesty
Welcome to our first-ever Bible Geeks Mini — a new, bite-sized episode for your busy week! We're kicking things off with a rapid-fire conversation on Prayer: Hacks and Hot Takes. First, we share practical tips to keep your prayer life fresh, from a simple app that helps you remember your prayer list to using the Lord's Prayer as a powerful daily template. Then, we serve up some "mildly microwaved" hot takes: Does your physical posture in prayer actually matter? And why do we really end every prayer with "in Jesus' name, amen"? (Spoiler: it's not a magic password).
Takeaways
The Big Idea: A healthy prayer life is less about following a rigid set of rules and more about finding a creative, honest rhythm of conversation with God.
This Week's Challenge: Pray through the Lord’s Prayer along with us.
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Introduction and Welcome
Bryan: You have so many hot takes I need a menu?
Ryan: I have so many hot takes, so many mildly microwaved 30-second takes
Bryan: Well, hello everyone and welcome to the Bible Geeks podcast. I'm Bryan Schiele
Ryan: I'm Ryan Joy.
Bryan: and thanks so much everyone for tuning in.
Bryan: On today's episode, we are talking about
prayer. It's absolutely essential, but sometimes, let's be honest, maybe it feels like a chore? Is that even possible?
Bible Geeks Mini: Hacks and Hot Takes
Ryan: Well, for our first ever Bible Geeks Mini, we're having a bite-sized Bible conversation about what's working in our prayer lives.
Bryan: Welcome to prayer. Hacks and hot takes. So each of us have brought a practical tip that's helped us and one slightly spicy opinion to work through together.
Ryan: All right, Bryan. So what is a Bible Geeks mini? What are we doing here?
Bryan: I don't know. I feel like we have, uh, we've been extending out the length of our episodes recently, and I love it. I love the longer conversations, but it kind of felt like, maybe we need something short and sweet and to the point. you know, something maybe like minutes would be fun to just rapid-fire go over some fun discussion.
And, uh, for today's first mini, the inaugural mini, I was kind of tapping into something we've been doing on recent episodes. You and I have been bringing hot takes to the show, and I'm totally here for it. I love it. It's very exciting. Anytime one of us comes with, like, some spicy take on a topic, although they haven't been overly spicy to this point.
Ryan: Measured takes. That's our... Yeah. Everybody... It gets social media going crazy when you have a carefully thought out reasonable take. No. That's... Nobody wants to... That's not even interesting, but we'll bring a little bit of heat
Discussion on Prayer Hacks
Bryan: So, let's start off with hacks.
when we're praying, of course, you know, surrounding this whole conversation, prayer is so important. It's so vital to our spiritual life. But sometimes, let's just be honest, prayer can get stale. It can maybe feel like a routine. And so do you hack prayer in some way to kind of keep it interesting or keep yourself engaged?
Ryan: Yeah. Like a life hack that helps you do something a little bit better. Just simple little things you can do.
Exploring Prayer Apps
Ryan: One thing that has really helped me here lately is I did a kind of a survey of all of the prayer apps that I could find that were popular prayer apps, and I found one that is really helping me out.
It's called PrayMinder,
and it's by this couple. It's free. They keep improving it, and it is basically just a prayer list, but it's a really well done prayer list.
Prayer lists in general just have so many different benefits. It's not just that it helps you remember. I think it helps us empty our hearts and our minds before God and just pour it out. And just anything you're worried about, anything--you know, you wake up in the middle of the night and you can't sleep because you've got all these things going, it as a list and make it a prayer list.
There's the benefit of just knowing that whenever you tell someone, "Hey, I'm going to pray for you," or somebody asks you to pray for them, it's not like, "Yeah, I really hope I remember to do that," which I had found myself doing before.
But it's like, "Okay, I know that I am not just going to pray for them once. I'm going to every day be praying for this person until I hear some change about it." There's just all kinds of things. And so PrayMinder is my recommended hack here. Have you messed around with prayer apps very
Bryan: No, not really. And, uh, I'm just now coming to realize that if you want to be good at anything or if you want something to improve, just putting some attention and thought behind it is- is a really helpful way of getting to that place. And so what- what's better than making a little bit of a list? And I- I think an app like this seems really cool.
I just started looking it up and it apparently is just, you know, not a subscription app. So you don't have to, like, pay anything per month. And yeah, it's- it's got really good reviews on- on, uh, at least the iOS app, StoreSoft. Just check that out.
is very well done for me. You know, your mileage may vary. But what is your prayer hack? If you're not doing prayer apps, what would you recommend?
Using the Lord's Prayer as a Template
Bryan: I think recently I've been, addressing, something that got kind of thrown under the bus when I was a kid. I don't know. Did you ever feel like the Lord's Prayer felt in some places like it was not something that we should be praying regularly? Um,
Ryan: like it's a rote, kind of a Bain repetitions thing in some religions or something.
Bryan: And I've- I had grown up in the church kind of seeing or hearing that in some ways. And maybe that was my perception and it was wrong. But I've recently challenged myself to basically use the Lord's Prayer as a template for my own prayer. And to at least one prayer during the day really center in on that.
And for me, it's less- it's less rote. And actually, I'm starting to plumb the depths of this prayer in deeper ways. And, you know, going through and praying the Lord's Prayer and stopping along the way for more meditation, for more thoughtfulness, for more words, and, you know, bringing myself into those moments of Jesus' prayer and his model prayer there.
It does- it's just so- it's so short, but it's so deep. And, I don't know, that's been a recent hack, I suppose, for me to keep things fresh. And you almost might think, "Well, how could that be fresh if you're always praying the same routine prayer all the time?" But it's challenging myself with a constraint to follow Jesus' example.
That's gonna always be a good way to approach it. But it's challenging me with a constraint to see how I can pray for the Lord's Kingdom and his reign. How I can pray for the daily bread that he's provided me. How I can pray for forgiveness of my trespasses as I forgive other people. Just all the things we can do in this prayer, leading us into temptation and thinking about, you know, deliverance from evil.
I feel like this is- has been, at least recently for me, a helpful way of praying without having to do a lot of, like, planning and thinking and, you know, kind of like your prayer apps discussion. It's like having something there that presents itself to you so that I can really focus on the meaning of it, rather than having to, like, just see what comes out or see what comes up.
Ryan: That is really powerful. I've done that a little bit through the years, but not as a commitment of a daily practice. So challenge accepted. I'm in. It's meditating on Scripture at one level, but it's praying Scripture, and then it's praying exactly what Jesus told us to do. And that prayer is very clearly designed not just to be a request we make before God--it is that-- but to be a heart-transforming, heart-shaping prayer where it helps us to come be wanting the things and asking for the things that Jesus wants us to be shaped by.
Bryan: And it's aligning, obviously, here with focusing on God and then focusing on others. I mean, the prayer is so
clearly, you know, split between those two audiences, right? Focusing on the Lord, focusing on others. And even in "Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread," it's like, oh, the "us" there is doing a lot of work in that discussion.
You know, it's not just my daily bread, it's our daily bread. And how can I- I mean, it's just so cool to meditate on such a powerful passage that Jesus leaves us. So that's a few of our hacks, just a couple of our hacks, prayer apps and praying through the Lord's Prayer.
Hot Takes on Prayer Practices
Bryan: What about hot takes, Ryan? I know you've got some hot takes.
I'm sure you've got a bevy of hot takes ready to go.
Ryan: actually will give you a choice of a couple different topics for hot
Bryan: You have so many hot takes I
need a
menu
Ryan: I have so many hot takes, so many mildly microwaved 30-second takes that I am not sure where to go. So let me just give you two--prayer posture or in Jesus' name, amen. Which one should I talk about
Bryan: Well, I'm going to have you do prayer posture because I've got something to say about that last one, too.
Ryan: Oh, okay, look at that.
Bryan: Prayer
Debate on Prayer Posture
Ryan: well, so I guess my take is that we don't give enough attention. Most people, and I certainly growing up and for years, have not given enough attention to the physical posture that we take in prayer. That is a biblical aspect of prayer that all of us--most of us, I think, were taught a prayer posture, actually, when we were taught to pray.
We were taught to bow our heads and fold our hands or something like that, you know, or put your hands together. And that's actually not a posture that you find in the Bible, but that's okay. We know what it's expressing. Why are we teaching kids that? Because you are a spiritual being, and you are a being of--you're made of the breath of God and of dust.
And so our bodies are a part of who we are and is connected to what we do. And so whenever we bow our heads or, as in the Scriptures, we lay down flat like a dead person on the ground on our stomachs, or we kneel down, or we lift our hands, or, you know, stand up, any of the things that the Bible talks about doing in prayer, that is kind of like the Lord's Prayer.
It cues us to a particular mindset.
But I've heard it, like, diminished as if to say, "The only thing that really matters is the posture of your heart." And that is certainly the most important thing. But the physical posture can help us to have that posture of the heart, and it expresses something just like we say prayers out loud, or we confess things out loud, or we do physical things, like taking the Lord's Supper, to help us have a spiritual thing that is happening where we're remembering Jesus.
And posture is just another aspect of that that is everywhere in the Bible.
Bryan: Dude, I'm like, I'm going to nerd out now about like folded hands versus open lifted hands. There are so many passages where it's talking about lifting holy hands or lifting up our hands. And in this posture of prayer, I've never thought about like, where did it start that we told people to fold their hands in prayer or, you know, that kind of thing.
And it's just such a part of my psyche, right? It's like burned into my brain that we fold our hands. And you wonder like, where did that start? And why did we begin doing that? I don't know the answer to that. And I don't think I've ever really thought about that. So I appreciate your hot take. It almost makes me wonder if like parents told their kids to fold their hands so that when they close their eyes, they didn't have to worry about their kids, you know, using their hands to do things they weren't supposed to.
I'd have no idea. But yeah,
Ryan: I bet--I wouldn't be shocked, but--yeah, I don't know. It also has, like, a plea. You know, whenever you're making a plea, "Oh, please." So that is appropriate. And I'm not--this wasn't meant-- The hot take isn't, "Bag on folding your hands," but that posture matters.
Bryan: that's a helpful clarification because I don't want us to get the sense that like we are bagging on anything here. It is good for us to just think about these things because for some reason we start doing something at one point and then it just becomes what we do.
And if we never think about it, what's going on? Which leads me to my hot take for this one. And of course you brought it up. So I'm just going to keep pulling on that thread.
Closing Prayers: In Jesus' Name
Bryan: Why is it that we close prayers, at least corporate prayers, prayers in public, prayers in our churches with that phrase in Jesus name?
Amen. And of course, as you start even thinking about that for five seconds, you go to John 14 verse 13 when Jesus says, whatever you ask in my name. And I think that's where that idea is coming from. Whatever you're asking for in the name of Jesus, God will answer you. He'll give to you. But I don't think that's the sense that Jesus is getting to in his discussion there.
I think he's talking about the authority of like going on behalf of a king or going, you know, with the signet ring of a king and bringing his authority with you somewhere. Like when we do things in a way that honors him and aligns with his character by his authority. But why is it that we close those prayers with in Jesus name?
Because I don't think you see an example of that anywhere in the New Testament. Do you?
Ryan: not really. No. Not, "In Jesus' name, amen." No, absolutely
Bryan: And it, you know, it becomes this way of closing prayers in some kind of formulaic expected way. not.
that that's a bad thing either. You know, you have to know when it's time to unfold your hands or lift up your head or whatever you're doing in your prayer posture. You have to know when it's time to stop praying.
So I don't think there's anything wrong with it. But at the same time, like, why did we ever start saying that? I don't. Do we have to say that? And as you start looking around, even at some of the examples of the early church as they would pray, and I'm thinking of like old writings from like the Didache and things like that.
I mean, old discussion about what that is. But some of the earliest recorded prayers of Christians in the first century, they closed it by saying "meranatha," like an Aramaic term meaning "Lord has come" or "Our Lord come quickly" or "Lord come." Like that's the idea that they would close their prayers with. And I don't know, like, why do we say that?
I'm not entirely sure I understand why.
Ryan: Right. Alternating hot take. I have a take on why we say it,
actually. So I agree with you. So one hot take that I'm with you on is that, "In Jesus' name" is not the secret password that gets our prayers into heaven, right? So I don't--I think if I--I'm about to have a car accident, and I say, "Father, help me," and then I crash, and he's like, "Ah, I didn't say, 'In Jesus' name,
Bryan: Okay, yeah, it's not that. Right,
I got what you're saying there. Yeah.
Ryan: But have you ever noticed how often when the apostles are doing miracles, they say,
Bryan: I adjure you by "
Ryan: In the name of Jesus, arise and heal." Arise and be--you know, stand up and walk, you know, or that kind of thing.
Well, would it have been, "In the name of Jesus," if they didn't say it?
Bryan: Mmm.
Ryan: Because "In the name of Jesus," I agree with you, it's by the authority of Jesus. It's through Jesus as our intercessor. It's by his power, right, and following his way. And yeah, it could have been, but there's power in the name of Jesus.
Bryan: Yes.
Ryan: There's power before God in this mighty name. And so I think the problem is not that we say it, but that it's a formula we're not really saying to call on Jesus' power if we're just saying it as an empty close.
Like, I--so last Sunday night, we had a prayer service where we were all praying for different sick people and things that are real, that are happening, like people who really need help and need encouragement. And I started the prayer, "In the name of Jesus, I call on you to do your work, Lord, of healing this person."
And I still closed in Jesus--you know, again, we pray all of this in the name of Jesus. I just think it's good, and I think people have been doing it.
Even though you bring up that point about historically not every prayer has had that, it has a deep tradition. And I would say you might even look back to 2 Corinthians 1,
Bryan: Mmm.
Ryan: I just taught on this, and I was thinking about the way it says, "For all of the promises of God find their yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our amen to God."
Through Jesus, we utter our amen to God. Praying through Jesus, through Jesus' name, right? Through Jesus himself, we say amen. And that might be reflecting early prayers where they would close with that idea. Certainly, they knew they were praying in Jesus' name, as Jesus commanded. And praying through him to the Father, and that is how we have our amen, our "Yes, this is sure, this is solid, because we're praying through Jesus." Alternating hot takes a little bit, but I'm actually agreeing with you, but adding to it.
Bryan: Well, and I think it's helpful as we kind of started this out.
Ryan: Yeah.
Bryan: As he's telling them to pray, the very first thing he says, "And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases like the Gentiles do." So, kind of tying this all together in a bow, maybe that's what we're saying, is to be thoughtful about something. You can pray through the Lord's Prayer, repeating phrases, as long as you are meaning those things.
You know what they mean. You understand them. You've internalized them. You can pray in Jesus' name. Amen. As long as you understand and know and internalize what that means. I think the big problem is, when we start to get into, "Well, that's the way I've always done it," and we don't think about it, and it becomes the password, you know, like you talked about, that we think gets our prayers heard by God.
Not even remotely the case.
Ryan: and that's an interesting point, too, coming back to the Lord's Prayer. If you quote Jesus' prayer, "Pray like this," you don't end in Jesus' name. There is a manuscript variation where there's a "forever and ever amen," which is fine. But it doesn't have the "in Jesus' name" in there, which you can add. You can add to it, but you can also just pray it the way Jesus did.
[laughs]
Bryan: I love it. I think this has been maybe a helpful and somewhat confusing conversation. I appreciate it.
Ryan: Yeah, maybe we'll get some questions about it. I am not, by the way, saying that when I pray in the name of Jesus that I have the power of Peter. But the name, calling on the name of Jesus, Bryan knew that. But in case anybody else was listening and thought that I was saying, "Yeah, Ryan is doing apostolic miracles."
That's not what I mean, but God is still working through the name of Jesus.
Final Thoughts and Takeaways
Bryan: Our Bible Geeks minis will be full of asterisks and caveats, but what they should leave you with is this big idea that prayer is about freedom. It is about an honest relationship. It is not a rigid formula. And I think if we're getting anything from this discussion, I'm really walking away understanding this is not a rigid formula.
We need to be thoughtful and careful and circumspect and respectful and reverent, of course, when we come to the Lord in prayer, opening our eyes to what we're actually doing, because it is a conversation. And I love thinking about that in new and fresh ways. So, thanks, Bryan. This has been good.
Ryan: Amen, and I think my takeaway-- [laughs] I didn't even know what I was doing there.
Bryan: That was wonderful.
Ryan: [laughs] And my takeaway is going to be to take on a challenge. We didn't give a challenge, but I'm taking the challenge of the daily Lord's Prayer as one of the prayers I offer through the day. And maybe someone else wants to take that on, too.
But I love that. That's a big, helpful hack,
Bryan: All right.
Conclusion and Sign-Off
Bryan: Well, thanks so much, everyone, for tuning in to the Bible Geeks podcast. You can find us on our website at biblegeeks.fm. We've got a lot of resources there. And until next episode, everyone, may the Lord bless you and keep you.
Ryan: Shalom.