Praying Naked
Last night, relaxing before bed, I was reading a selection from the Screwtape Letters.
In #4, the uncle demon warns his nephew nymph to distract the human to whom he’s assigned away from what he called the "real nakedness in prayer".
Unrelated to the context of the passage, my mind immediately flashed back to the original Garden God first placed man where man stood before God completely naked - and unashamed. When man first fell from his first estate, he attempted to hide his nakedness from God; for then he was ashamed!
Herein is the beauty of the reality of the power of the Gospel:
We are naturally ashamed because of our sin and thus afraid of true intimacy and transparency because of our shame, and therefore attempt to mask our shame with pride and we distance ourselves from God and others and try to hide the reality of our sin and failures; from others and even from God Himself!
Why? Because being made in the image of God, we have the law of God written on our hearts and thus know the standard of his moral law. We know when we do wrong, and iniquity is bound up in our hearts from the youngest age (just take a look at my 2 year old).
The inclination of man's heart is only evil continually from his youth. There is none good, none righteous. We all like sheep have turned to our own way. And we are shamed. But we mask that shame with pride and that pride prevents us from exposing our nakedness and left unchecked, our consciences become seared and even though that shame remains, the mask of pride grows and grows like a cancer taking over every cell of our being and we are then enslaved in bondage and begin to actually believe that this behavior is normal. We believe this is how a man is supposed to be.
But then one day that man is victimized by the grace of God. He is reminded of the truth and reality of his sin and his pride is destroyed by the revelation of the efficacy of the Cross of Christ. He sees his shame, but realizes this shame of his was borne by Jesus himself in his body when he hung upon that cursed tree and became a curse for all who believe - that they might become the very righteousness of God in Him. The wretched man now sees not only the weight of his rebellion, but simultaneously the weight of glory freely granted him by the Great Exchange. The doctrines of grace are no longer a mere intellectual ascent to be affirmed, but a reality of every sense - with unveiled face the glory is beheld, heralded, and held deeply dear.
He truly knows he is truly loved. Because while we were yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly.
Friend, I want to remind you that you are free to be naked and unashamed before God. You have nothing to hide because nothing can be hidden from Him. You are free to stop pretending.
Because Jesus shed his blood, died, was buried, rose again the third day, and now sits enthroned on high waiting for the appointed time to physically return and judge the world in righteousness; you are now free to remove your mask and draw near to God as he draws near to you.
You can now be naked and free to stand before God unashamed and lay everything before him, specifically in the vein of thought here; in prayer. Honest transparency, in fully naked prayer, is the most vulnerable and intimate position one can be, and it is the most glorious, gracious, and sanctifying experience one could have in this life. Laying yourself out before God in this way can be the most soul-cleansing practice in which you could be accustomed. It's the most spirit-freeing state you could walk in.
Furthermore, you are not only free to confess your sins to God, but you are also now free - because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross - to confess your sins to one another. It's ok to acknowledge you're not ok. Your brothers and sisters in Christ - who are no different than you (although the outworking of their inward sin may look different) - ought to be the most celebrating of your confession and repentance; because they have also shared in this reality that there is now, therefore, no condemnation for those who are in Christ who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit.
So, be at peace in the strength of God, beloved. And run freely in the race He has set you in.
