Not Sure How To Pray?
10/18/2017 ..
Only God could orchestrate the timing of this 40 Days of Prayer campaign. With all that is going on locally, regionally, nationally, and globally—we need to get on our knees in surrender—asking for God’s intervention in our own hearts and in the hearts of those around us. There are just some battles we cannot murmur-up enough strength on our own to defeat. We need God to battle for us—and he will!
But where’s a good starting point? Pastor Tom suggests we first take a fresh look at prayer, erasing old ideas, and replacing them with the view that prayer is a constant conversation with God.
Okay . . . but how often should we pray, and with what intensity and specificity? Pastor Tom tells us to pray frequently, earnestly, and specifically.
FREQUENTLY. To put it simply, we must pray a lot. According to Ephesians 6:18, we are to “pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.” Not just on Sundays and not only before a meal, but all throughout our day. This means talking to God in the car and in the bathroom, at the park and at the DMV. When we do this—when we share every moment of our day with God—everything becomes spiritual.
EARNESTLY. Do we pray with earnest—like we mean it? Convinced of no other way to pray, Abraham Lincoln once said, “I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.” And knowing we have a God “who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20), let’s be equally convinced.
SPECIFICALLY. This is a struggle for many of us. We think, “Does God care about the details? Can I really ask him to spark the romance in my marriage, to help my child with his homework, and to heal my cat?” Why, yes we can! We are to go “boldly to the throne of our gracious God” (Hebrews 4:16). And as God moves us to pray more and more, we’ll discover new ways to pray specifically, asking God to remove obstacles, increase love, and change hearts.
Preacher and author, A.B. Simpson, once said, "This is the deep mystery of prayer, that we can just pour out the fullness of our heart . . . and know that he hears, he loves, he understands, he receives; and he separates from our prayer all that is imperfect, ignorant, and wrong, and presents the rest, with the incense of the great High Priest, before the throne on high; and our prayer is heard, accepted, and answered in his name."
Now that we’re more confident our hopes, dreams, and desires are incapable of crushing God, let’s encourage each other to pray frequently, earnestly, and specifically. Let’s TOGETHER expect amazing and miraculous things to happen during these 40 days of prayer. God is going to break the chains of bondage; he is going to free us; he is going to bring healing, health, and restoration; he is going to bring people to come to know him; he is going to provide a glimpse of his tender love for each and every one of us.
Let’s close with Pastor Tom’s perfectly practical and to-the-point prayer, shall we?
“Lord, I want things to change—really change—in my prayer life. I pray from time to time, I want to learn to pray all of the time. Teach me to pray. I pray casually, I want to learn to pray earnestly. Teach me to pray. I pray for a change of my circumstances, but forget to pray for a change in my character. I pray for my needs to be met, but forget to pray for my love to increase. My prayers often stretch no further than tomorrow when I want them to reach towards eternity. Teach me to pray. In Jesus’s name, Amen.”
We would love to hear your stories of what God is doing in your life through this campaign. Email us at beths@saddleback.com