Magic is nothing if not practical. It focuses on immediate, temporal concerns first and foremost.
Several archaeological discoveries have unearthed large collections of 
magical artifacts at the bottoms of ancient wells. For whatever reason, the chthonic deities (the spirits that dwelt below ground) were among the favorite patrons of magical practitioners, so it was common to throw magical artifacts into deep, dark places, like wells, that brought them into closer proximity with the appropriate spiritual powers.
This treasure trove of amulets, pottery shards, lead sheets, and other types of inscriptions afford some insight into the different sorts of problems motivating ancient people to consult their nearest magician.
Almost without exception, the incantations – or prayers, which is what they really were – concern requests for physical healing, business ventures, love interests, family needs, future plans, personal safety, travel, winning bets,
even cursing enemies.
In other words, the desired benefits of magic focused overwhelmingly on the material aspects of the hear and the now.
The widowed mother of a deathly ill son in John Chrysostom’s congregation (see post #1) was a stereotypical instance of the person most likely to bring prayer requests to the neighborhood witch, sorcerer, priestess or magician.
Which makes the public commendation by her famous pastor all the more significant. She provided a brilliant example of openly, counter-cultural discipleship.
This characteristic trait of ancient magic also provides the first contrast I want to outline between magical thinking and New Testament descriptions of prayer, for the focus of Christian prayer is radically different from magic.
When you read the numerous prayers recorded in the New Testament such immediate, temporal concerns as physical healing, financial worries, business success, love interests, etc. are most noticeable by their absence. The New Testament focus is overwhelmingly placed on the kingdom of God and the disciple’s transformation into a new creation.
Not that personal problems are explicitly excluded. Of course not. Paul tells the Philippians:
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. (4:6)
So, by all means, Christians are welcome to bring every issue, every 
personal problem to their Father in heaven, whatever it may be.
John Chrysostom’s elderly congregant was asking Jesus to heal her sick son. And she is praised for turning only to Jesus with her fellow believers, rather than resorting to a magician for a little extra help.
The apostle Paul also seems to have prayed for deliverance from a physical limitation in his life when he mentions his many prayers that Jesus remove a “thorn in his flesh” (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). But this passage also highlights the characteristic difference in Christian prayer even when it is for physical healing.
Paul’s request was not simply that “the thorn” be removed for the sake of improving his personal comfort or prolonging his life, but that its removal would somehow, he believed, allow him to become more effective in working for God’s kingdom.
Read through the many petitionary prayers recorded in the New Testament, especially in Paul’s letters. There are quite a few. I even went to the trouble of writing a book to help you with this assignment! (Ha! Aren’t I nice?)
You may be amazed at the consistent redirection of attention. New Testament prayer requests focus like a laser beam on items like growth in personal holiness, obedience to the Holy Spirit, remaining blameless until Judgement Day, and becoming mature disciples who look more and more like Jesus.
The following two examples are typical:
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:9-11)
May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones. (1 Thessalonians 3:12-13)
I suspect that many disciples could benefit from some personal reflection on this score.
A good many of the prayer groups I’ve been a part of over the years sounded a lot more like a collection of magicians than a community of serious disciples. And I include myself in that critique.
What is the primary focus of our prayer lives, both individually and collectively in the church?
Would an ancient eavesdropper to our prayers mark us out as practicing magicians or as devout followers of Jesus Christ?
