Not having a Wi-Fi connection turns into a blessing in disguise. It becomes an opportunity for me to dig through my files offline. As I kept opening folders and reached the 6th folder, which is the library, the Rushdoony folder caught my attention. I forgot the date I downloaded the files in that folder. I thought that I would find time some day to read these files. So far, there are 10 subfolders in the library folder. Rushdoony's folder is the 9th. As I opened it, there were 8 ebooks, and two of them were his books on systematic theology.

As I browsed the content of his books, I found the topics unusual compared to more popular textbooks on the subject. In total, his two-volume book has 19 motifs or topics. The last chapter, which is about prayer, intrigued me, not only because such an extensive discussion on prayer is uncommon, but also because of the current state of my prayer life.

Rushdoony has a very "controversial" or unique view about prayer. Reading the first two sections, I find his content solid and could serve as a guide to evaluate the way we view and practice prayer today. What follows next are the insights I got from reading his reflection on prayer. All in all, he has 11 sections. I think I can complete reading them all in no time.

Initially, I thought I could write all the insights found in those 11 sections in one sitting. I think a more realistic approach is to focus on one section at a time. In this article, I just want to focus on section 1, which serves as the introduction to the whole discussion on prayer.

Rushdoony doesn't like how-to-pray books. It sounds artificial to him. However, he found its utility when it comes to formal public prayer.

Prayer for Rushdoony is life itself. It is as natural as breathing. Prayerlessness therefore indicates that something is wrong with a man's walk with God.

Nothing to Talk About

Have you been in a situation where you met someone familiar but you quickly ran out of conversation? This usually happens to couples with broken relationships. After staying in a marriage for decades and then living apart for several years, when they meet again, they usually feel awkward and struggle to find something to talk about. That tells a lot about the status of the relationship.

Source

Rushdoony Loves Talking to His Wife

To illustrate how natural prayer is to Christian life, Rushdoony describes his communication lifestyle with his wife:

No one ever had to teach me how to talk to my wife. When I fell in love with her, I most definitely wanted to talk to her! After all these years, when I am away from home, I call her nightly, and we find it difficult to end our conversation. At home, we talk all day long; we share our experiences, reactions, ideas, and feelings. Talking to my wife is as natural as breathing! (p. 750).

I love her, and talking to her is an aspect of the expression of our love. (ibid.).

I do not talk with my wife about serious and important matters only. I talk to her for the joy of communion with her. We tell each other of our love a dozen or more times daily. I enjoy the sound of her voice, and she mine. (p. 751).

Now, when I talk to my wife, I do not limit my conversation to the start of meals, or morning or evening, beginning by saying, “Dear Dorothy …” I talk to her al day long, going and coming. The more we talk, the more we enjoy talking to each other. (ibid.).

Observe that in the above quotes, Rushdoony describes his talk with his wife as something natural and as an expression of mutual love and delight. It covers even the trivial matters. What I find interesting is that delight increases the more they talk to each other.

I long to have such a marriage. Unfortunately, silence is the more appropriate description of my marriage. I mistakenly thought that it was healthy. I didn't realize that the lack of conversation in marriage is a symptom of a serious problem.

Your Prayer Life Tells a Lot About Your Relationship with God

If we are to learn something from Rushdoony's marital life in relation to our prayer life and relationship with God, I think if we are just honest with ourselves, many have to admit that our relationship with Him has grown awkward.

Have you found yourself in a chapel service or a group devotion wishing that you would not be called to lead in an opening prayer? If your relationship with God had not grown distant, you would consider it a privilege to lead in an opening prayer.

See if the following quotes below describe your prayer life and your relationship with God:

So too when we delight in the Lord, we talk to Him all day long (p. 751).

Talking to God all day long? Don't we find this practice strange in our time?

If I only talk to God when I am in church, at the dinner table, or in private devotions, my relationship to Him wil be cold, formal, and a bit awkward. If I talk to Him in the shower, at my desk as I work, while gardening, or walking, or whatever I am doing, I am much closer to Him and more familiar with Him. I have then a happy relationship in which talking to God comes easily (ibid.).

Do you find talking to God awkward or easy?

But, if we walk and talk with God every hour of every day, we can’t help but grow close to Him. We breathe easier and talk more easily and talk more around someone we love and delight in. Likewise, we pray more easily and are more alive when we maintain a continual conversation with the Lord-talking with Him and walking with Him all day long (pp. 751-752).

I think this is the problem. We no longer delight in God. Loving Him is alien to many of us.

Rushdoony mentioned one prayer practice that will help us talk to him throughout the day. This is the practice of "one-sentence prayers" (p. 750).

Grace and peace!

Reference:

Rushdoony, Rousas John. 1994. Systematic Theology Volume 2. Vallecito, California: Ross House Books.