We have drive-through food and drive-through cleaners, we even have drive-through coffee huts. So why not drive-through prayer? A few years ago, a church in Phoenix pondered that question and decided to turn their parking lot into a giant drive-through prayer venue. For three hours one night, they waved signs that read, “Turn in here for prayer” and people turned in off the road and asked for prayer. The members stood by the cars and prayed one-on-one for each request.

Our society yearns for the impact of real prayer. Our needs are substantive. Our hurts are real. But for the most part, our ability to truly connect with Almighty God is poor at best.

I can think of several reasons for that spiritual disconnect. Certainly, focus is one issue. The monastics (300-600 AD) who hid themselves away in caves, probably prayed a great deal with a clear purpose, but their lack of interaction with people limited their effectiveness.

Today, the believer has much more interaction with others, but too often modern prayer warriors quickly utter their prayers with their mouths full (“Thank you for this food…”) or while tucking the kids in bed at night (“Thank you for this day…”).  Our spiritual conversation lacks depth and sincerity.

Sometimes, we are affected by the aesthetics of the moment. Too often if we are not kneeling or head bowed, we seem to think that other positions will negatively determine the outcome of our prayers. Or we are super conscious of how we sound. “Great prayers” often sound like we live in London during the 17^th century. We think our sentences should be structured with lots of “thees” and “thous.”

And our view of God has impacted our prayer life significantly. We tend to think of Him as a giant vending machine. We are hoping for the blessing found in window “E6,” so we pray for it fervently (maybe even selfishly). We are anticipating that our answer to that prayer will come clanging down from heaven like a candy bar through the machine.

But none of those things are true. Prayer can come from our heart, mind, or soul as we sit, stand, kneel or lie flat. The sentences can be short, long, compound, complex or one word. We can utter our thoughts in a well-known language or just communicate through some moans and groans.

It is the fervency that matters. James 5:16 tells us the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man (or woman) can accomplish much.

So, go find a quiet corner. Get in a comfortable position. Start speaking to Jesus just like you would a friend on the phone. Ask Him to invade your mind with thoughts of Him and His will for your life. Pray for others. Say thank you for your blessings. Ask for wisdom.

Now that is so much better than drive-through prayer!