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!
When my eldest grand took advanced calculus, I could neither understand what she was doing nor the purpose in doing it (other than gaining entrance into a good university). The following year, she took something called discrete math. Since I was thinking “discreet,” I couldn’t understand how numbers could be cautious or prudent. Even when she explained “discrete” means “individually separate and distinct” and discrete math is the basis for much of computer science, statistics, and programming, I remained in the dark. Fortunately, I wasn’t the one taking SATs and making application to colleges, so I didn’t need to make sense of her difficult curriculum.
Following Jesus’ ascension into heaven, the apostles obediently and courageously returned to Jerusalem. They got down to business and selected a replacement for Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of Christ. With the addition of Matthias, there again were twelve apostles and about 120 believers/disciples and the entire group devoted themselves to prayer. Picture this diverse group of people. How did they keep the faith? Did they wonder what exactly they were waiting for and when it would happen? Where was this baptism with the Holy Spirit Jesus promised them? When would Jesus to return? Did they grow impatient or begin to doubt what they’d seen with their eyes?
“The Lord is my portion,” wrote the prophet Jeremiah. Throughout the Bible, a wide variety of metaphors are used to describe God— rock, refuge, shield, shepherd, fortress, potter, and light—but portion is one of my favorites. Portion refers to one’s share—be it of plunder, an inheritance, or food. Not being a soldier, I can’t relate to the spoils of war and I’ve seen way too many inheritances argued over or squandered to associate those meanings with God. Food, however, is something to which we all can relate.
Devotions of the Heart 