For almost 37 years I have made my living behind a radio microphone. Except for about three of those years that I spent as a political talk show host; they have all been as a – to use a readily understandable term that I despise – disc jockey. Side note: I haven’t “jockeyed a disc” since I put in a digital audio automation system in 1995. Most of us prefer the term radio or media personality.
That said, I have provided for myself and my family by weaving my personal profundity, profanity, and perplexities in between songs. I’ve never been much of a “musicologist.” My friend, the late, great Steve Cooper, was. He knew every tidbit about every performer in every band since the dawn of time. That guy was a walking music trivia encyclopedia. Not me. My forte has always been making fun observations on the mundane and by relating my rather average life experiences to the Average Joe.
So, while I enjoy music, it’s not a monumental thing for me. If it’s on in the background, cool. If not, I’m fine inside my own head. I know for some, music is as essential in life as food and water. For these people, they grasp on to songs, FEEL their meaning, and intimately discuss musical intonations with friends. And while I am not normally that person, occasionally a song reaches out and grabs me.
I give you Thomas Rhett’s Beer with Jesus. It was released in September 2012 as the second single from his debut album, It Goes Like This. Rhett wrote the song with Rick Huckaby and Lance Miller. (Either I just channeled my inner Steve Cooper or I looked it up on Wikipedia. Probably the latter.) By Thomas Rhett’s standards, it flopped. Thomas has become rather used to the number one slot, but Beer with Jesus peaked at number 26.
In my initial “Jesus and the Average Joe” post, I spoke of those Mighty Men of God – the ones I wrongly measure my faith against. These guys have prayer closets. Prayer Chairs. Dens where they go spend time with Almighty God. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not mocking that. I admire it. I’m jealous of it! I long for it. And I’ve tried!
I make notes. I grab my Bible. I head to the spare bedroom that Julie and I call “a study,” and I open up a conversation with God. I start out strong. Then my thoughts drift. The next thing you know, my mind is on the day’s to-do list, pondering what happened to Tony when the screen faded to black, or, worse yet, I’ve fallen asleep! If I think Julie gets mad when I fall asleep on the couch while she’s talking, can you imagine what God thinks when I doze off during a convo with Him?!
My prayer life will win no awards and certainly pales in comparison to that of the Mighty Men of God. Instead, I fire up a lot of “arrow prayers.” You know the ones – “Jesus, please just help me make it through this meeting without throttling a guy.” “Jesus, please help Julie know how much I love her and help her have a good day.” “Jesus, please keep Jack safe and prevent him from lighting the house on fire.”
Arrow prayers – shot toward Heaven in a desperate hope that they strike a target.
So just how does Average Joe kibitz with the Keeper of the Stars?
The internet is replete with examples:
- 8 Keys to a More Powerful Prayer Life in 2019
- Developing a Life of Prayer
- Prayer for Beginners
- How to Develop a Dynamic Prayer Life
- How to Pray to God – 5 Tips for Powerful Prayers
- How to Develop a Powerful Prayer Life
- 7 Steps to Build Ip a Personal Prayer Life
- 10 Strategies to Creating a More Meaningful Prayer Life
- Ten Tips to Help Your Prayer Life
I’m sure they are all awesome. I didn’t read a single one, but I am sure any one of them will help!
Jesus taught us how to pray in the Sermon on the Mount. He gave us “The Lord’s Prayer.” Most of us learned “Our Father who art in Heaven…” as a kid. Matthew 6:9-13 is the classic prayer template: praise, submission to the will of God, reliance upon Him for daily sustenance (bread) and requests for forgiveness and deliverance.
What’s wild? Right before Jesus taught us how to pray in His Sermon on the Mount, he reminded us in Mathew 6:8 that “the Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
What?! So why pray?! If God knows what we need before we ask…
Let’s look at it this way. Before I became a father, I really struggled to know the heart of The Father. But when we adopted Jack, the change in my heart helped me understand His.
Jack is now 13. He’s a teen and he don’t need me. He’ll come storming into the house. “Hi, son, how was your day?” I get a grunt and then he’s up into his room or out the back door to play with a friend. But wait, the father longs to have a conversation with his son. (Hmmmmm)
Just as I long to talk with Jack, I believe God longs to speak with us. If only we weren’t so busy.
And then there’s those very rare times when Jack will sit down next to me on the couch. He’ll slide up next to me, more a little boy than an attitudinal teen. I’ll put my arm around him. He’ll chatter some. And the next thing you know, he’s asleep. And I am in bliss because I am holding my son and he is with me.
You know those aforementioned times when I fell asleep during prayer? I wonder if that’s how God feels when I fall asleep with Him? I’d like to think it is. It’s like I crawled up into the lap of The Father and took a nap. Bottom line: I think He just wants to spend time with us. I pray when I mow the lawn. I think that counts, I really do.
I think Jesus likes the Average Joe; mud and blood and guts and feathers and cuss words and all. I think He likes to hang with us. That’s why I love that Thomas Rhett song. I think Jesus would be down with having a beer with us. Wouldn’t it be cool if our conversations with Him could be that casual? I believe they can. And I believe He’d be cool with it.
