Whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward. But when you pray, go into your private room, shut your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. When you pray, don’t babble like the Gentiles, since they imagine they’ll be heard for their many words. Don’t be like them, because your Father knows the things you need before you ask him. [Matthew 6:5-8 (CSB)]
While creativity is encouraged in both cooking and prayer, there are certain procedures for both that should be followed to ensure good results. For example, before a cook even begins, his work surface, utensils, and hands should be clean. In prayer, instead of starting with clean bowls and spoons, we should start with a forgiving heart and wash off any resentment or anger.
Even the most creative chef knows there are some cooking rules that simply can’t be broken: egg yolks can’t get mixed in with whites in a meringue, fudge needs to be cooked only to the soft ball stage, and poultry should be cooked to 165 degrees. Prayer has rules, too. For example, a willing, obedient, and thankful heart is a necessity. In addition, just as leavening of some kind must be added to any bread recipe, we must have faith in God and the power of our prayers. Without leavening, no matter how delicious the rest of the ingredients, the bread won’t rise. Without faith, no matter what we’ve said or how nicely we’ve said it, our prayers won’t rise to God’s ears!
Just as some foods, like risotto or a 20-pound turkey, require patience and persistence, so do our prayers! The answers to our petitions aren’t like instant potatoes—they often take time. Just as pans should be greased so baked goods won’t stick, we need to lubricate our prayers with a large amount of humility if we want them to come out easily. Any good chef knows to use only fresh wholesome ingredients. Self-righteousness, hypocrisy, or pride are disgusting to God and they’ll spoil any prayer the same way rancid nuts spoil granola.
Sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami are the five taste elements that build our overall perception of flavor while praise, thanksgiving, confession, intercession, and petition are the elements of prayer. Balance is as important in prayer as it is in food. Just as sugar or honey can balance a sour or bitter flavor, thanksgiving and praise help keep a prayer from being too heavy on our personal needs and desires!
It’s said that “We eat with our eyes” and, in cooking competitions, presentation is judged. While points might be awarded for fondant flowers or a strawberry fan, God doesn’t score our prayers on their aesthetic appeal. He won’t award extra points for eloquence or number of words. If God evaluates our prayers at all, it would be on things like sincerity, motives, repentance, obedience, and willingness to submit to His will!
Finally, a good chef doesn’t offend a gastronome with bland or tasteless food; he honors him with bold flavors. A true connoisseur of prayers, God is awesome and capable of anything and everything. Let’s never insult Him with half-hearted, routine, insipid, or bland prayers. Like a gourmet chef, we must be bold with our offerings to the Lord. When cooking in God’s kitchen, let’s give Him everything we’ve got!
Martha, the elder sister of Lazarus and Mary, was chided by Jesus when she complained about her sister not helping with dinner preparations. Her fault, however, was in her fretfulness and reproach more than the work she was doing. She had more than a dozen hungry men to feed but, wanting to be the proper hostess, Martha’s preparations probably were more elaborate than necessary. Could it be that she’d become more interested in impressing her dinner guest than knowing Him? “Worried and upset by many things” that night, she lost sight of Jesus. Praiseworthy service must never obscure our view of the Lord!
After His resurrection, Jesus spent forty days with his disciples. On the fortieth day, He told them to remain in Jerusalem until they received the promised gift of the Holy Spirit. Then, with his followers watching, Jesus was taken up in a cloud and ascended into heaven.
Thinking we’d never be old enough to retire in Florida, we used to spend our winters in a Colorado mountain town and our days skiing on the slopes. The lift line crew at one lift often posted riddles or trivia questions on a board at the bottom of the hill. As we pondered the answer while riding up, we’d see the answer at the top as we skied off the lift. One day the question was, ”What is greater than God? The poor have it, the rich need it and, if you eat it, you will die!”
While anointing people seems a bit strange to us in the 21st century, in Jesus’ day it was a tradition among the Hebrews to anoint a guest with oil as a way of welcoming them into your home. Anointing them with perfume like nard, however, was a costly and significant act of devotion and honor—one saved for exceptional occasions. A major economic sacrifice, it signaled wholehearted commitment. That twelve ounces of nard used to anoint Jesus in Bethany represented a full year’s wages!
