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How do you spend a whole day in prayer? I mean, what do you
do? Don’t you run out of things to pray about? Aren’t you bored?
The thought of spending such a long time in prayer is a bit
daunting for many Christians. Not only have some of them never
done it before, but they don’t know anyone else who has done it
either. In the final analysis, however, I suspect it is not so
much that they are unwilling to pray, but that they are not
convinced of the value of doing so, and wouldn’t know how to go
about it in any case.
On the other hand there are those who have grown up with a
church tradition of Wednesday night prayer meetings and half
nights of prayer who seem to evidence little or no desire to
pray. One has to ask why this is so. Is it because there is no
hunger for God and no passion for the lost, or is it that many
have come to see prayer as boring and unproductive? Perhaps it
is because we as pastors and leaders have been unhelpful models
of prayer and are uncertain about some of these issues
ourselves. Surely what should motivate us to pray is a hunger to
know God better and to see his kingdom extended, with the
conviction that spending time in prayer will make the
difference.
Most of us
want to attend healthy churches, but I wonder if we have thought
through the implications of that desire. Healthy churches are
made up of healthy Christians and none of us can be that without
a vital prayer life. Through our relationship with Jesus, God
has given us the immense privilege of enjoying fellowship with
him. We are told that because we have been sanctified in Christ,
and God has perfected his work of salvation within us, we have
access right into his presence (Heb
10:10-22). Think for a moment about what a great privilege that
is. God wants us to spend time with him so that we can deepen
our relationship. All of us need to intentionally commit to
learn how to develop our prayer lives as a part of the process
of our own spiritual growth and effective involvement with God
in his church.
One of the most fulfilling and refreshing things I do is to
periodically take time out to pray and evaluate my life and
ministry. For me, this means withdrawing from the busyness of
life, the demands of others and the pressures of my particular
role, and spending extended time with God. This is an
exceedingly rewarding exercise; it not only results in spiritual
refreshing, but also allows me to order my thinking about my
personal life and ministry in a way that few other situations
will allow. It is a time to reflect on my walk with God, my
relationships and my ministry. I evaluate my recent activities
past activities, and think through plans for the future and
strategies to achieve them. I also pray through issues on which
I need clarity and find direction for dealing with difficulties.
It seems to me that these benefits alone would be sufficient to
motivate us to want to plan uninterrupted time with God.
Learning from the giants of the faith
As
a young Christian I spent a lot of time reading the stories of
the great Christian leaders of the past. It was a stimulating
exercise. I was challenged by their passion and commitment and I
encourage you to read the biographies of the giants of the
faith. Common to all of them was their commitment to significant
peiods of prayer.
Most of us have heard the name of AW Tozer, well known for his
preaching ministry and his books that have influenced
generations of Christian leaders. I recall reading The Pursuit
of God and being impacted by his simple message and example. He
lived, preached and wrote out of long hours spent in prayer.
Another was Hudson Taylor—one of the great missionary leaders of
the last century. Believing that men were moved by God through
prayer, he spent long periods praying for people and seeing God
do great things as a result. Others like George Whitefield, John
and Charles Wesley, George Mueller, David Brainard and Andrew
Murray were all convinced that extended times in prayer were
vital for the growing Christian and the spiritual health of the
church.
There are also many biblical examples. Nehemiah
(Neh.1:4) in his grief over
Israel and the destruction of Jerusalem said, ‘When I heard
these things, I sat down and wept for some days and mourned and
fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.’ King Jehosephat,
when confronted by the invaders who threatened Jerusalem, called
the people to prayer and fasting (2 Chron.20:3). In the New
Testament we have the example of our Lord Jesus who often
withdrew to spend time with the Father for rest and recharging
(Matt.4:2). The New Testament church was said to be ‘devoted to
prayer’ (Acts 2:42).
For many of us, our prayer life consists of a 10
minute slot (or is that being generous?!) in our regular
devotions. This is a far cry from Paul’s evident commitment to
see vital prayer as an integral part of all that he did. This is
a constant theme of the Pauline Epistles and any study of Paul’s
own prayers will encourage us to be more committed to it. He
prayed for spiritual discernment and growth. He asked God to
enable the church to not only comprehend the truth, but to know
how to appropriate it. (Col.1:9-11; Eph.1:15-20).
Why bother?
I am always amazed when someone asks me why they
should bother doing this Perhaps behind their question is
‘What’s in it for me?’ There are a number of reasons why I spend
the extra time with God.
a)
To learn how to pray
I suspect that all of us are on a journey in
this realm, and praying more effectively is the goal of every
person with a heart to know God in a deeper and richer way.
Spending extended time with him is a learning process, not only
in working out how to spend that time, but in making it an
increasing part of our walk with him. One of the best ways to
learn to pray is by doing it! I encourage you to read through
Paul’s epistles and note every time he speaks of prayer. Try to
understand what he is teaching and ask the Holy Spirit to give
you the ability to grasp these truths and put them into
practice.
b) To practise the different kinds of prayer
In Ephesians
6:19 we are encouraged to ‘pray in the Spirit on all occasions
with all kinds of prayers and requests’. There are prayers of
worship, praise and thanksgiving. There are prayers of
confession, petition, supplication and intercession. All of
these are an important part of the Christian’s prayer life and
ministry.
In a short period of prayer the time factor
alone makes it difficult to fully engage in it. We are certainly
limited in our ability to really engage with God in ‘different
kinds of prayers’. We need to take time for praise and worship,
to catch something of the responsive heart of King David when he
wrote, ‘Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with
praise.’ The more time we spend with God and through his Word
grow in our understanding of his wonder and majesty, the more we
will comprehend his wonderful redemptive work, and the more our
hearts will be responsive in worship and adoration.
c) To discover the mind of God
The will of God for our lives is
primarily about what he is seeking to do in and through us and
is clearly revealed in his Word. We know for example that God’s
purpose for us as believers is that we grow to be like Jesus
(Rom.
8:28,29) and that we are called to be participating members of
the body of Christ (Eph. 4:11-16). We know that the heart of God
aches for the lost and that ours should too. Knowing the will of
God for these things is relatively easy. However, spending time
with him allows us to listen to what he is saying to us. He will
primarily speak through his Word and by his Spirit. He will
bring to us convictions about the issues we lay before him.
There are often times when we find
ourselves confused about what course of action to take. I
imagine the church at Antioch was a bit confused when its two
key ministry leaders suggested that perhaps it was time to leave
and take the gospel to the Gentiles, and so they spent an
extended time in prayer and fasting, seeking together the mind
of God on the matter (Acts 13:2). When Paul and Barnabas saw the
need to appoint elders in the newly established churches, they
spent extended time with God seeking his will (Acts
14:23). Peter was in prayer when God told him to take a new and
bold step, that of sharing the gospel with the Gentiles (Acts
10:9-23). James tells us that if we lack wisdom we are to ask
of God who will respond by giving us the capacity to know his
wisdom. John encourages us to have confidence in prayer when we
have discovered God’s will and pray accordingly (John 5:14).
I find in these extended periods of prayer that
lots of issues are clarified. As we follow the convictions he
gives, God works on our behalf. This is especially so in program
planning, seeking vision, strategy and wisdom for dealing with
difficult situations in our churches, and in crisis times when
we need to see real deliverance.
d) To exercise spiritual warfare
Sometimes
in the ministry of the church we become aware that there is more
to an issue than what is seen on the surface. There are times
when people seem to intentionally undermine the work or when
there is an underlying resistance to the message. At times the
resistance is obviously a spiritual attack on the work of God.
In our church there are a number of people from other faiths
like Hindus, Buddhists and so on. This year as some of them have
responded to the gospel there has been real spiritual
opposition. Of course this is not new or even unexpected, for we
are engaging in spiritual warfare. In Ephesians 6 we are clearly
told that it isn’t visible human opposition that we are to be
concerned with, but the rulers, the authorities, the powers of
this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil (Eph.
6:12).
We do not deal with this kind of opposition
through dependence on human wisdom, but through applying the
principles of spiritual warfare, and these include sustained
prayer for wisdom and insight, for the strengthening of God and
the exercising of his authority through prayer and the ministry
of his Word.
e) To be spiritually refreshed
Sometimes when the battle is raging and we are
intensively engaged, we feel emotionally rung out and physically
exhausted, but one of the great things about spending time with
God is that we become spiritually refreshed and renewed in
spirit, mind and body. This is the promise of Isaiah 40:31. We
pray in the enabling of God through the strength that he gives
(2 Cor. 9:8). Spending an extended period alone with God or in
the company of a group of likeminded people is an exceedingly
rewarding exercise.
What do I need to do beforehand?
Be it a night of prayer, a few hours with a
small group or time alone for extended prayer, it is essential
that the time be well planned or it will be in danger of getting
bogged down. Those involved will pray longer prayers because
they feel responsible to keep it going. The sense of purpose
becomes easily lost and results in discouragement as the
participants begin to do their own thing. One reason people find
prayer hard work is that they find it difficult to maintain
focus and their minds begin to drift. Planning makes the
difference!
a) Plan the place
Choosing somewhere quiet where you will not be
interrupted or distracted is important. I love the Australian
bush. One of my friends goes to a quiet cabin on the beach. If
you are praying as a group, it is equally important to be sure
that the location is conducive.
b) Plan what you take
My usual list includes my Bible and notebook
with a pen and coloured pencils for marking my Bible. I plan
what I am going to read, usually a small section of no more than
ten chapters that I want to read through and meditate on. I also
take a book that I am working through. Taking food and drink
will depend on whether or not I intend to fast.
How do I go about it?
a) Focus on God
It’s helpful to divide the time into sections.
For me, spending time in worship, praise and thanksgiving is a
good place to start. This affirming what I know about the wonder
of God, his majesty, his character, his love and commitment to
humanity and to me personally. I want to affirm and identify
with his desire for the church and the lost world.
b) Read and ask God for insight
After a time of worship and listening to God I
ask him to open my eyes to his truth as I read the chosen
Scriptures. Then I read them with the expectation of discovery,
writing down what I have discovered and then meditate on it
through the day.
c) Take time to listen
In our prayer lives we don’t need to be talking
all the time! Take time to listen to God as he impresses upon
you his truth, his purpose and his love for you. Think of the
passages you have read. Other Scriptures will come to mind. Mull
them over and ask God to develop your understanding. Psalm 1
tells us that the blessed person meditates on God’s Word.
d) Ask God to help you in your praying
This time away is different from my normal
devotional life. Usually I have committed to this extended time
for a reason. It may be just to find spiritual refreshing or it
may be to help in developing vision. A big part of my role is
mentoring pastors, so I want to know how I should pray for them
and their families. It may be that there are issues in my church
or wider ministry in which I need to see God’s intervention, so
I ask him to lead and guide me in my prayers. This is a really
helpful thing to do if you are part of a group of people
committed to prayer. It helps the group depend upon God and
focus on specific prayers, rather than nebulous ones with no
obvious goal. The best way to do this is to make a list of what
you are asking God to do.
e) Pray through the list
Again it’s important to wait on God. Listen to
his encouragement as you pray, be open to new directions and new
vision. When praying for the church I sometimes read the prayers
of Paul and request the same for the churches I am working with.
f) Pray for your own spiritual growth
This means a time of evaluation and openness to
God. The Psalmist invited God to search him and know his heart!
Affirm your conviction that God is more committed to you than
you are to him. I have found it helpful to divide my life into
four areas and when I spend time away in prayer, I evaluate
each of them: my personal life and walk with God, my family
relationships, my relationships with the wider Christian and
non-Christian community, and my ministry. Evaluating these on a
regular basis is a very healthy and productive thing to do.
g) Spend time in thanksgiving
Paul
encourages us to pray with the anticipation that God will
answer. Philippians 4:6 simply says, ‘Do not be anxious about
anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with
thanksgiving, present your requests to God.’
If you have never spent an extended time in
prayer, don’t start with a whole day or night. Start with a
manageable time like an hour or two. When you find this is not
enough, add more time, but be sure to plan it well. Just a word
of caution: spending more time in prayer doesn’t prove you are a
more spiritual person! What is important is your motive to grow
in your walk with God and coming to grips with the ministry of
prayer being part of what should be normal to the people of God.
Take the plunge and plan some extended prayer time, either alone
or with a group of like-minded people. It will be an enjoyable
and productive experience!
©
Kel Willis ( 2006)
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