Some years ago Peggy and I had the pleasure of being in a small Bible study/prayer group that we greatly enjoyed.  One of the members that we enjoyed spending time with was a delightful woman who loved the Lord greatly who had a very straightforward approach to the world.  She was the “Nathaniel” of our group, there was no guile in her, what she was thinking was what she said. 

One evening during a round of prayer, this woman I will call Mary, made an impassioned prayer for several people during her time of prayer and then closed with an “Amen.”  It seemed fine to me and I was blessed by her prayer.  But as the next person prayed I could hear that she was quite agitated.  She mumbled “I need to pray again.” And we could all hear her distress.  She was given an opportunity to pray and added the following:  “Dear God, I am so sorry I forgot to say ‘in Jesus’ name” in my prayer.  So I want to change the way I closed my prayer to ‘in Jesus’ name’, Amen.”

Poor Mary had somehow become convinced that the prayer was invalid or not God-honoring if she had left out that phrase.  The closing of prayers with the phrase “in Jesus’ name, Amen” is something many of us have grown used to.  And as it more or less comes straight from Jesus (“Whatever you pray in my name…”) it seems like a good idea.  But Mary had turned a concept into a formula and was in agony over her “failure.”  In reality, her heartfelt prayer to a faithful God was much more in Jesus’ name than a flowery masterpiece given by rote using all the correct phraseology.  I’ve often observed that the best prayers are the ones that sound like they are spoken as if God was in the chair next to them.

If we are honest with ourselves, we often turn aspects of our Christian walk into formulas rather than concepts or principles.  For example, take daily Bible reading.  This is a great habit to get into and an excellent foundation for a God-honoring life.  But it is a principle, not a formula.  Are we sinning if circumstances cause us to miss a day?  Of course not.  God is honored more by a person who returns after a day’s absence hungry to spend time with Him than by a person who, out of a sense of duty, squeezed in a twenty minute quiet time.  And yet you will hear over and over of the importance of having a daily devotional time.  Again, it is a great idea and a great habit.  But it is not a formula.

Walk through a Christian bookstore sometime and read the titles in the “Christian Growth” section.  Almost without exception they are giving formulas.  They can be summarized as “If you do this and this, then God will bless you.”  Rarely if ever is their advice bad.  It only becomes a problem when we turn it into a duty or formula, convinced we must follow those steps exactly.

God knows our hearts better than we do.  No amount of formula-following can impress Him.  But the good news is that His grace covers us.  It covers us when we stumble, and even when we are following a formula.  He wants to spend time with us and delights when we want to spend time with Him.

Are there aspects of your walk with God that have become simply formulas you follow?