I never saw much point in tattoos. I do remember bubble gum as a kid, where you’d get this piece of paper that you licked and placed on your arm, and it left a temporary tattoo. It might have been called Clown chewing gum, but that was way back in the 1960s. It’s just a vague memory now 😀. Around the same time, some boyfriend of a relative came to our house, and he had a permanent tattoo on his arm. I was a little fascinated, but I didn’t like the idea of having something that would be difficult to remove.
Tattoos go back a long way. In fact. they were forbidden in the Old Testament, presumably because they were associated with some pagan ritual.
Leviticus 19:28
“Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD.”
I don’t think that this was meant as an all-time ban on tattoos. The context is pagan mourning rituals. In spiritual terms, we are marked when we believe by the seal of the Holy Spirit. There are several references to that. And in the Book of Revelation, believers have God’s name on their foreheads (in contrast to 666, the mark of the beast).
Revelation 22:3-4
3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.
So, to answer today’s question, I don’t really want any tattoo. If I were forced to choose a tattoo, I might just place a written reminder to keep praying.
I see so much encouragement to pray in Scripture. Throughout my life, and particularly my 45 years as an evangelical Christian, I have prayed. But I would think that when I get to heaven and truly understand the value of prayer, I will wish I had done it more. If we’ll be perfectly happy in heaven, maybe we won’t feel frustrated or disappointed with ourselves, but I can think of a hypothetical moment when your eyes are truly opened. And before you settle down into eternal peace and joy, you’ll wish that you’d have given Jesus more of your life. There’s even an old song about that:
That hymn isn’t specifically about prayer, but given that Jesus, and so much more of the New Testament, encourages prayer, perhaps I would want to remind myself to keep praying. And I can effect so much in the world through prayer.
When I studied physics in college, I was astonished when our lecturer told us that if we jump, we have an affect on the earth. It’s a tiny effect, which can’t be measured, but you push the Earth downward with the same force. I sometimes think of prayer in the same way. I don’t know how much effect my prayer has, but I take Jesus at his word when he says it’s worth doing. It has a spiritual effect on the world.
Matthew 7:7-122
7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
And we also have the example of Jesus. He spent much time in prayer. Why did He need to pray if He Himself was God? He was God, but He was God become man. And as man, he serves as our example, our model. John 20 has two verses that touch on his humanity and his deity. Someone once said that He is man as if He were not God, and He is God as if He were not man. When I looked up who said that, I discovered that goes all the way back to Pope Leo the Great (5th century) – I thought it was a recent evangelical guy. Well done Leo!
Anyway, here’s a statement that emphasizes the humanity of the risen Jesus:
John 20:17
Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
And here’s one that emphasizes His deity:
John 20:27-28
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” 28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
In the New Testament, we are encouraged to pray to God the Father in Jesus name. And the Holy Spirit intercedes in our hearts, encourages us to pray, and has some effect on our prayers. Maybe it’s a little beyond our understanding how it all works, but our part is to simply keep praying.
Romans 8:26
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.
So, while it’s good to put our desires into words, words aren’t everything. God knows what you need even before you say anything. Just when Jesus was about to introduce the Lord’s Prayer (Our Father), here’s what He said:
Matthew 6:7-8
7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
And here are a few hymns about praying:
Hibernia Gospel 