In 1997, Apple was in trouble. Facing declining market shares, they were on the brink of bankruptcy. So, they took a huge risk. Steve Jobs, Apple’s visionary founder, who had been ousted from the company in 1985, was brought back into the fold. One of the first things he did was to lead a new marketing initiative to reclaim a past that had been lost and change a future that was yet to be written. The ad campaign was known simply as “Think Different.” The original commercial is inspiring, innovative and worth watching. Here it is: THINK DIFFERENT
The full script is beautiful. Here it is:
“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things… they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the people who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.”
I want us to embody this ethos in our prayer life; I want to embody it in my life! I don’t just want to pray. I want to PRAY DIFFERENT! And I don’t think I’m alone. In fact, I think that the desire to pray differently is what led the disciples to ask Jesus to teach them to pray.
In the 11th chapter of his gospel, Luke records an audacious request that the disciples make. He writes, “Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray…”
In order to really grasp what is happening, we have to recognize that prayer was not unfamiliar to the disciples. It was a normal theological concept and a regular spiritual practice for these Jewish men. But there was something noticeably different about the way Jesus prayed. In other words, the disciples didn’t just want to learn how to pray. They wanted to learn how to pray like Jesus. They wanted to learn how to Pray Different! If we really want to carry the fire, we don’t just need to pray, we need to pray like Jesus.
Luke’s story continues as Jesus answers this request by giving his disciples what has become famously known as the Lord’s Prayer and a parable about persevering in prayer:
“Father, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread,
and forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And lead us not into temptation.”
[Then] he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; and he will answer from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything’? I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
This is undoubtedly a beautiful prayer and an engaging story, but it is not just a script. The Lord’s prayer is more than the right words to pray, it is the right way to pray. The Lord’s parable is not just an engaging story, it is a challenge to be accepted.
With these words, Jesus teaches us to pray differently by praying relationally, praying apocalyptically, praying practically, praying spiritually and praying relentlessly! So, let’s pray different today. Let’s pray to our Father in Heaven. Let’s pray for his kingdom, not ours. Let’s pray for the spiritual power to forgive and be forgiven. Let’s pray and let’s keep praying! Let’s Pray Different!
Jamie Caldwell serves as Send Network Director, director of church planting, for the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaward and teaching pastor at South Shore Church, Crownsville, Md.
