Prayer: The great disappointment
Key verse(s)/quote(s):
“Prayer is the breath of faith. Prayer meetings are the lungs of the church.” - Charles H. Spurgeon
“Prayer is always the preface to blessing. It goes before the blessing as the blessing’s shadow. When the sunlight of God’s mercies rises upon our necessities, it casts the shadow of prayer far down upon the plain.” - Charles H. Spurgeon
“When we come to God in prayer, we do not come hypocritically like play actors seeking the applause of men, nor mechanically like pagan babblers, whose mind is not in their mutterings, but thoughtfully, humbly and trustfully like little children to their Father.” - John Stott
“The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. ” - Psalm 34:15
Key takeaway(s):
- There are a few items that can result in God turning His ear away from our prayers:
- Injustice
- Disobedience
- Selfishness
- Pride
- Sin
- Lack of faith
- Praying to an all-knowing (omniscient) God still makes sense as it benefits us in a number of ways
- Some quick prayer tips:
- Focus on God - not yourself
- Find a prayer partner
- Know His Word
- Ask the Spirit to help you
- Seek and serve His kingdom
Overview:
Prayer is arguably the most fundamental of Christian practices and yet it is rarely studied or correctly understood. It is also central to an individual’s walk with God as one seeks to discern God’s will for their life and yet we often lack clarity on some real questions that may cross our minds such as: Does sin hinder my prayer? Can I change God’s mind? What about prescribed prayers? If God is omniscient (all-knowing) and I can’t change His mind - why bother praying? And why does God have us pray in the first place?
Although each of these questions can be answered independently and exhaustively, I have endeavoured to address the principles behind these questions on a more cursory level to give us a foundation to begin to correctly understand prayer as a natural method of communication as we interface with our God. For a Christian, this desire to connect with our Creator and Father is a unique and cherished privilege that is fundamental to our spiritual maturity and relationship with God. In a marriage, if we don’t talk or listen or there are barriers that prevent us from openly and honestly approaching our partner, would we expect that marriage to be a successful one? So why would we expect our relationship with Christ to be any different? Prayer must be where we find ourselves as we begin and end our days and as such I hope the message below helps you draw closer to the Lord of All who loves you more than you love Him.
As Charles H. Spurgeon once declared, “A man scarcely needs to be reminded that he must breathe. It is essential to his very life that he should breathe. And it is essential to our spiritual life that we should pray. I never thought it necessary to prepare a discourse to exhort you to eat; neither ought it to be necessary to exhort Christians to pray. It should be to you an instinct of your new nature, as natural to your spiritual being as a good appetite is to a man in health. There should be a holy hunger and thirst to pray. And the soul never prays so well as when it is reminded, not by the hour of the day or night, but by its real needs, and when it resorts to its place of private prayer, not because it thinks it ought, but because it feels that it must, and shall, and will go there, and is delighted at the privilege of having communion with its God.”
Suggested Reading(s): B = Basic, M = Moderate, A = Academic
- Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion. (A)
- MacArthur, John F., Jr. Alone With God. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1995. (B)
- Torrey, R. A. How to Work for Christ a Compendium of Effective Methods. Chicago; New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1901. (M)
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If praying is like breathing… do you have any suggestions for praying daily? all the time?
Colossians 1:1-14
Under the inspiration of the Spirit, Paul prays that the Colossians would know the will of God and walk worthy of Him, that they would be fruitful and strengthened with His might, and that they would be patient and full of joy. Those are the important issues. Those are the issues of eternity. So if you want to know how to pray for your kids, grandchildren, parents, or husband — listen to Paul pray.
-Jon Courson’s Application Commentary, New Testament
“In his book, Practicing the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence talks about the possibility of constant prayer. He doesn’t mean that we verbalize prayers twenty-four hours a day, but it is possible, he says, to have an attitude all the time of “What’s next, Lord?” Whenever we get a phone call, before we answer we can pray, “Father, give me wisdom.” When we meet with a friend, we can ask “Lord, give me words of encouragement for her.” Whenever we change from one activity to another, we can pray, “Lord, I need you here.” Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to “pray continually.” This simply means to constantly try to be in a receptive, communicative position with God.”
-David Nasser, A Call To Die