Oboe Muscles, Prayer Muscles

I often wondered if I could have made it as a professional oboist. The saxophone was the first real musical instrument I learned that is not a piano, but it was through playing the oboe during high school that my potential to become a professional musician was recognized.  I entered high school not even knowing what an oboe looks or sounds like, but my band teacher took a chance on me, and offered to have me play the oboe in the orchestra, if I would audition for a scholarship with the saxophone, and use the money to pay for oboe lessons.  The convoluted plan came to fruition, and I soon understood the necessity for oboe lessons.  The oboe is generally regarded as the most difficult wind instrument to play, but my band teacher recognized something about me that fit the profile of an aspiring oboist.  His gamble paid off, and I became, over the course of three years, one of the better high school oboists in the state of California.

My band teacher’s dreams of my professional music career came to a halt when I chose to study biology in college, and my oboe playing ended after a one-year stint as a member of the school orchestra at UCLA.  I learned to play the guitar, and still managed to maintain my saxophone skills for a few years, but my oboe days were history.

I had frequently considered purchasing an used oboe since college, but waited until my mid-forties before yielding to the temptation. The vintage Linton oboe and reeds that I purchased online arrived in reasonable condition, and I was anxious to play it. The first few sounds were disconcerting – raspy, out of tune, and took every ounce of my breath and energy to produce, easy reminders of why the oboe is such a difficult wind instrument.  Weeks passed before squawking and squealing gave way to something that resembled musical tones, and it took a few more months before my playing improved to the point where my daughter, who was still in middle school, also became interested in the instrument.

Just as it takes practice to regain my “oboe muscles,” it takes time to develop “prayer muscles.”  Though never my strong suit, prayer was a significant part of my early Christian walk, and seeing God answering prayer in tangible ways reinforced my desire to pray regularly.  However, the cares of family and career took a hold on me, and my spiritual walk started to decline in regularity, frequency and vitality.  Prayer started to feel unnatural and uncomfortable.

It took several major crises in my mid-life years before I was shaken awake from my spiritual slumber, and I started to develop a renewed desire to study God’s word and know God.  My wife was involved in prayer ministry at church, and I felt drawn to participate in a prayer meeting for the first time in many years.  It felt awkward, as I was still not used to speaking with God, and was too self-conscious of what others thought about my prayers.  I claimed God as Lord of my life, but my claim was vacuous.  It took the passage of weeks for my “prayer muscles” to become strengthened, and conversation with God became less labored and more intimate.  I rediscovered that as a sinner redeemed by Christ, I am made to pray, just as I was made to play the oboe. It just takes practice, and with practice comes joy and freedom that is unfathomable to those who have not experienced them.

Prayer is not a spiritual gift given to only select members of the body of Christ – it is expected of each of us. Jesus instructed in the Sermon on the Mount and to His disciples, “When you pray...,” not “If you pray....” It is true that some are more “gifted” in prayer, particularly intercessory prayer; however, the person who diminishes the importance of prayer because he is not good at it is one who cuts himself off from the God who is the source of all existence, the God who gives us the privilege of participating in His divine ordained plan as instruments of His redemption and healing, of knowing His will, of worshiping with words of prayer that rises to His throne as fragrant incense. Prayer is spending time with God and communing with Him. Adam and Eve rejoiced in the presence of God until sin entered their lives, then they hid from Him. We no longer need to do so as Christians, but Satan will remind us of our sins not so that we will confess our sins, but so that we will flee from the face of God.

God does not need our prayer. He knows the end of the universe before it began, and he knows every thought in our hearts. But God wants us to pray, that we may align our wills with His, and that we can be active participants in His work. If we do not pray, He will use others for His glory while we atrophy into insignificance.  The apostle Paul knew a thing or two about prayer, and his command to the saints in Thessalonica included these simple words,

pray without ceasing, (1 Thessalonians 5:17)