Naracoorte Presbyterian Church

Is it just in Australia where people just pray?  Or does it happen in other countries and in other languages too?

I am referring to the the use of the word just.

It is not uncommon to hear this little word used just repeated ad nausea in a prayers.  “We just come to You …”  “We just want to ask …”  We just want to pray for …” “We just want to thank You for …”

I wonder, why ‘just’? If someone new to the English language listened to us, they might hear us use ‘just’ repeatedly. They could wonder why we use ‘just’ so often.

The word can mean fair (the punishment is ‘just’). It can also mean merited (the reward is ‘just’). It can signify exactly or precisely (‘just‘ five meters). The word is used to mean recently (the phone ‘just’ rang). It can denote directly (‘just‘ next to the stove) or simply (‘just‘ so good). The word could mean only (‘just‘ last year). It might also mean perhaps (it ‘just‘ might work). Another meaning could be almost (my work is ‘just‘ about done).

The average person praying to God using just will not consider all these meanings. This happens when he or she is just asking or thanking God. But just what do we mean when we use this little word?  Especially when we use it over and over again.  I counted more than 20 times in a prayer of about two minutes.

For the person of reformed background there is nothing ‘just’ in himself to form any ground for his petitions. He merits nothing and just ask on the basis of God’s grace.

If ‘just ‘is used to describe any limits exactly (or precisely), we would need to think very carefully. Are there times when we are vague in what we pray for? We often fall back on just.  In these cases our ‘just‘ can actually mean ‘only‘, which unknowingly would pray and put limits on

God’s power to really answer our prayers.  “We ‘just’ pray for rain” can mean that’s the only thing we ask for. Isn’t it good that God ‘just’ not always answer our prayers the way we bring our petitions before Him? This means He answers with wisdom and understanding beyond our own.

I suspect just in most prayers might have the meaning of simply.  That’s good, because it reflects humility.  But maybe we should use the humbly, “We humbly ask… “

Next time we pray and just ask, lets keep this in mind:

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20–21, ESV)

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. (Colossians 1:9–10, ESV)

No restrictions, no perhaps, no only, no just.

As a matter of fact, nowhere in the Bible is just connected to a prayer request.