Nine Things I Learned About Prayer Last Year

Last year's Family Focus was A Passion for Prayer. Our desire was to learn more about prayer and cultivate a richer prayer life. We sung hymns, enjoyed readings, and memorized poetry about prayer. By God's grace, each resource was powerful and effective.

Little did I know, though, that God would teach me most about prayer by a means that wasn't listed anywhere on my planning sheet. God would teach me the most about prayer, not from other men's words, but from the fiery trials He ordained for me. From the death of my Dad to the death of Michele to my miscarriage to church struggles, it was in the midst of great pain that God gave me the sweetest teachings in the school of prayer.

1) Just do it: It's beneficial to read books about prayer. Spurgeon's sermons and words from E.M. Bounds encouraged and enlightened me this past year. But too often the temptation to read about something keeps us from ever doing that something. So we read books about prayer or books about Bible reading, but we never actually do either.  To have a deeper prayer life, you actually need to pray!

2) Get on your knees at least once a day: Nancy Leigh DeMoss shared that she prays at least once a day on her knees to remind her of who she is and who He is. It is a powerful position, bowing down before the Lord. From my suffering came an instinct to kneel before the LORD, whether it was with tears or gratitude or both.

3) Scripted prayers are a blessing. Once again, it's about the heart. The Valley of Vision and Matthew Henry's A Method for Prayer gave me words when my aching heart had no words, and all of these words were grounded in the truth of His Word. They also revealed to me how shallow and repetitive my own prayers have been. Yes, God is gracious to us regarding the inadequacy of our prayers, but it's more often true than not, that we can get lazy in our praying. Praying Scripture and these other prayers jolted me out of mindless repetition, infusing in me a desire to be more mindful and more Scriptural about my words.

4) There's a communion in prayer that is unique to suffering: This is a sweetness that I can't describe. I think each one of us has to know if for himself. But God has drawn me the closest to Him when I've suffered the most. I wouldn't trade any of that time for the highest mountain top experiences.


5) Sometimes all you can do is weep: There were many times when my tears were my words. What a comfort to know that the Holy Spirit was giving meaning to them.

6) We never stop growing in prayer: What a joy to know that we won't "arrive" at some perfect prayer life here on earth. Each day is an opportunity to cultivate a richer prayer life. How we cheat ourselves and fail to glorify God when we settle for  "Please help me have a good day. In Jesus' name, Amen" prayer habits.

7) "Thy Will Be Done" Terrified Me: It still does. But God showed me that my fear to pray those words showed how much I wanted my will to be His will instead of vice versa. It's ridiculous to think God is going to give me the hard thing just because I pray "Thy will be done," as though not praying it will keep all suffering and loss away. To have His will be mine. This is the true goal of prayer.

8) The Power of Ejaculatory Prayers: These are the prayers you lift up to the LORD throughout the day. When your two year old is most frustrating. When your children are bickering. When your mind is overwhelmed by discouraging thoughts. When you just want to sleep the day away because the heartache is too much. Whe you're overwhelmed by His goodness. I've offered up these types of prayers for years now, but I learned more about the value of them this year, and I've learned to stop and pray with my children more, too, in the middle of the striving and the stress.

9) I have no excuses: The suffering soul always finds time to pray. This is why we learn so much about prayer through our trials. It's my desire to be just as fervent and faithful in talking to the LORD whether I'm in the valley or walking on sunshine. May God in His mercy make it so.

"Therefore if you would be counted godly, be given to prayer. Prayer sanctifies your mercies (1 Tim. 4:5). Prayer weeds out sin and waters grace."
~Thomas Watson, The Godly Man's Picture

With love,
Trisha

The Silence That Makes Us Pray Even Harder

Christ taught his disciples that men ought always to pray and not lose heart  (Luke 18:1). The hypocrite is revealed here. He will meddle with this duty now and then, but grows weary of the work if he is made to wait a long time for an answer. Saul prayed to God, and because he did not hear from him, he went at last to seek the devil. Observe the effect that God's silence or seeming denial produces in your heart. Does it wear off the edge of your prayers, or sharpen them? Does it move you away from God's door or make you fall on it with more courage and rekindle your affection more firmly? If you find your effort increased, you may conclude that Christ and His graces will come to you. It is a great folly to lose heart in prayer. If mercy does not come in all haste, will you run from it by ceasing to pray?...God for reasons best known to himself stays a while before He comes to His tempted, distressed servants for their deliverance, but leaves orders for them to apply themselves to this duty of prayer until He comes. He assures us that He will come soon enough to save us. We must be at it until He comes, though it is no easy matter."
~William Gurnall
The Christian in Complete Armour
as quoted in Voices From the Past

You Can Count on This

"God's wondrous working in the past should deepen our confidence in Him and make us to seek at His hands blessings and mercies for the present. Since He so graciously provided such a Shepherd for the sheep, since He has been pacified toward us and not a frown now remains upon His face, since He has so gloriously displayed both His power and His righteousness in bringing back Christ from the dead, a continuance of His favor may be safely counted upon. We should expectantly look to Him day by day for all needed supplies of grace. The One who raised our Savior is well able to quicken us and make us fruitful to every good work. "
~A.W. Pink, Guide to Fervent Prayer

Expect Him to Answer

"We find a powerful reason for expecting prayer to be effectual in the fact that it is an institution of God. In God's Word we are over and over again commanded to pray. God's institutions are not folly. Can I believe that the infinitely wise God has ordained for me an exercise which is ineffectual, and is no more than child's play? Does He bid me pray, and yet has prayer no more result than if I whistled to the wind, or sang to a grove of trees? If there be no answer to prayer, prayer is a monstrous absurdity and God is the author of it; which it is blasphemy to assert."
~C.H. Spurgeon
"Prayer Certified of Success"