praying in the middle voice
In his book “Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools,” Tyler Staton explores various types of prayer (adoration, confession, intercession, petition, etc.), why prayer matters, and how to pray like Jesus modeled and instructed us to pray as His disciples. In Chapter 7, Staton describes prayer as our active participation with God in actions that God initiates and our benefit from God’s action in our own lives. He calls this posture praying in the “middle voice” (a term coined by theologian Eugene Peterson).
These “middle voice” prayers are how Jesus prayed and what he modeled for His disciples, like in Matthew 6:9-13. In teaching the disciples how to pray, Jesus started with these requests: “Our Father in heaven, your name be honored as holy. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:9-10 (CSB))
In these three sentences, Jesus acknowledges both God’s sovereignty and implicitly invites our participation with Him as partners in this sovereignty. How might we honor God’s name as holy in our own lives and to those around us (which likely includes surrendering something to God, laying down our idols, as an act of reordering our affections toward God)? Where might we specifically invite God’s Kingdom to come and His will to be done in our lives and for those we love (for example, in our homes, neighborhoods, workplaces, schools, nation)? These are prayers in the middle voice.
Staton posits that instead of praying in the middle voice, we tend to pray in the active voice or passive voice (especially in our Western culture). “Active voice” prayers demand something of God. I’m initiating an action with God. I’m giving Him advice about what to do. If I can just get the “formula” correct (say the right words, evoke enough faith, etc.), then I can essentially bend God’s ear to my will and my plans.
Conversely, “passive voice” prayers reflect an apathy toward God and myself. Essentially, I let God be and let myself be. Instead of initiating action, I’m being acted upon. As Staton indicates, passive voice prayers are “acting out a part in a spiritual drama in which you don’t actually believe you have a consequential, participatory role.”
Jesus taught a better way to pray. Middle voice prayers free us from the anxiety that comes with grappling for control over our own plans (active voice prayers) or the apathy that accompanies the attitude that God is sovereign, so we have no role to play (passive voice prayers).
As Staton explains, praying in the middle voice restores our identity as partners with God, active participants in God’s re-creation and redemption. Middle voice prayers build resilience as we actively consent to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Instead of demanding something from God, I’m offering myself to Him, inviting His Word to change me, His will to be done in my life.
Middle voice prayers also produce fruit. Staton says, “God has a habit of employing us in response to our own prayers.” In being with God, we respond accordingly to His promptings. Intimacy with God leads to fruitfulness. As we spend time with God, we become more compassionate, more attuned to the injustices around us, and more desirous to join with God in His redemptive work.
At Wayfinders, we pattern our frameworks for whole-life purpose after this model of consenting participation in the redemptive work of God. As a team, we also try to live out this posture of prayer as participation with God in the work He’s already doing. Our mission is built around employing the saints in the work of God, empowering and equipping them to move where God is prompting.
Let’s start this week by practicing middle voice prayers - acknowledging that God is the primary actor, not us; that He is already working; that we are His servants to be used in His work; and asking Him to show us where He’s at work in our own lives and how we might further join Him in His redemptive work in our specific contexts.Subscribe to our blog and stay updated
