Why I need to pray without ceasing

 

Yesterday’s devotions gave me much to think about my reasons for praying. While the reading said those who don’t pray miss out on God's promises, I know that is not true. If it was, then my salvation depends on me. Instead, regular prayer is evidence of trusting God. It also builds that relationship. The more I communicate with Him, the better I understand Him and the more He teaches me about myself.

A bit of research on the reason for prayer first said that perseverance in prayer, even when facing delays or silence, is often the way God uses to deepen faith, foster spiritual growth, and strengthen my relationship with God. 

The Bible agrees and so do I. Perseverance says “I trust You.” However, giving up suggests backsliding and a lack of dependence on God. Any time that I’ve been slack about prayer, my faith suffers, but if I am praying, my faith deepens. Part of it is feeling closer to God, just as communication with anyone draws two people closer to each other. 

Many assume that prayer is about asking for and receiving what we want or need. Jesus did say:

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! (Matthew 7:7–11)

Yet in these words, I see prayer being more about discovering God’s goodness and wisdom than it is about getting what I want. It is also about learning to trust His timing, and therefore developing perseverance, a quality that applies to most of life. Perseverance comes when I don’t get answers. James describes the process but adds another value in prayer:

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. (James 1:2–8)

While trials boost my prayer life, they also produce perseverance plus a desire for God’s wisdom. Thinking of the situations in the world that stress me, the closer I am to God in prayer, the more apt I am to be wise about what He is doing, rather than struck with horror at it all.

The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. (Deuteronomy 29:29)

Drawing near to God in prayer and listening to Him helps me respond to life because of what He tells me. It puts me in teachable mode. This is far better than not praying and being overcome with distress and fear, or remaining in ignorance.

The NT says, “Pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17) and be open to God’s will. I might not get what I expect, but staying close to Him in conversation helps me see He is good and that all He does is for my good and His glory. 

PRAY: Jesus, I cannot pray well using a keyboard, but it does push me in the right direction. This day brings new challenges and I need to hear from You to meet those challenges with faith and wisdom. Thank You for Your Word and for always being near to speak with me.

  

Why Pray?

One person describes prayer as a learning experience. He loved listening to an orchestra on the radio so he bought a violin with the intention of playing along with it. At first his ‘music’ was screechy and off key. However, with practice he was able to play in harmony with the music. He said prayer is like that; it is the way we learn the will of God. 

That said, some might argue why bother praying then, for the music will continue whether I pray for it or not. To me, this is missing the point. Prayer is conversation with the Lord and if I don’t pray, eventually I don’t hear the music. In other words, I do not sense what God is doing and may even not recognize that He is taking care of me. I become oblivious to His goodness.

A small example. In our new house there is a stairway with a midway landing. The wall on one side of it is high, but was a perfect place to hang a painting we own. No way could we put a ladder on the stair steps to do it and I did not pray for a solution. But God knew what to do. A window treatment sales person heard me wonder about that problem and said, “I am a fireman. I can do ladders and hang it for you.” And he did.

No doubt in my mind that was a God-thing. Just because I didn’t ask does not mean He ceased His music. However, because I do ask for many things, I know what He sounds like, at least for some things.

Piper thinks differently. He gives this example: Jesus promised with absolute certainty, that “this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations; and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14). In other words, the great commission will be completed. There is no doubt. Yet Jesus commanded us to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19) and to “pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers” (Matthew 9:38).

Piper says this means is that God appoints prayer as the means of finishing a mission that he has promised will certainly be finished. Therefore we pray, not because the outcome is uncertain, but because God has promised and cannot fail. Our prayers are the means God has appointed to do what he most certainly will do—finish the great commission and establish his kingdom. Then he says “Those who pray for the kingdom to come will receive the kingdom, but those who don’t love the kingdom and the appearing of the Lord probably will not bother themselves with this prayer. 

Piper goes on to Paul’s ominous words in 2 Timothy 4:8: ‘In the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.’ And he says to love the appearing of the Lord (that is, not to pray passionately, ‘Thy kingdom come’) means that some will not receive the crown of righteousness.”

If he means those who are saved will be praying, then I agree. That is, if a person never talks to God, then they are not in a saving relationship with Him. If he means our salvation depends on passionate prayer, then I disagree. I cannot earn it or keep it by my efforts. The NT descriptions of how Christians should live should not be used as threats. God saves me apart from works, and God works in me to do His will.

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:12–13)
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:6)

PRAY: Jesus, knowing You care about even the little details of life convinces me that the bigger ones are also under Your care. Your promises cover almost everything I pray about, often specifically and sometimes as a surprise for a need that I didn’t pray about. Your mercy and grace show me that even when I fail to pray, You are at work. My actions or inactions cannot nullify or limit Your will, nor are You a puppet and I hold the strings. That would be terrible. As Psalm 16:2 says, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” Whether I am striking a triangle or playing a tuba, You are still the orchestra leader. 

Who is good?

 

I tease people who respond to “How are you?” with “I’m good” because good describes behavior. A better answer is “I am well.” Most chuckle and agree. Last week another person agreed when I added that Jesus said, “There is no one good but God.”

Today, I’m reading Charnock’s section on God’s goodness. Pilate said to Jesus, “What is truth?” Another question could have been, “What is good?” Charnock is just beginning to tell me and I am struck by two verses. The first says:

I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” (Psalm 16:2)

How true. He, through the power of the Holy Spirit and the circumstances of life, continually shows me that I’ve no goodness without Him. Yet there is a question in my mind; what is goodness? The dictionary uses words like desired, approved of, morally right, yet the Bible speaks of the sovereign God as good, totally and completely, even though He seems at times to ignore evil, or not answer prayer for desired and morally right things. Does that mean that God has a different definition than Oxford?

Charnock offers thought-provoking ideas. To summarize, he writes that God is no less all-good than He is almighty and all-knowing... He is so good that there is no mixture of anything which can be called not good in him… Nothing can be so evil as God is good… He is only good, without capacity of increase; He is all good, and unmixedly good; none good but God: a goodness, like the sun, that has all light and no darkness… He is the supreme and chief goodness… He can no more act contrary to this goodness in any of His actions, than He can un-God himself. It is not necessary that God should create a world; He was at his own choice whether He would create or no; but when He resolves to make a world, it is necessary that He should make it good, because He is goodness itself, and cannot act against His own nature.

Try to imagine what creation would look like if God were not good. The world would be filled with only  murderous, ravenous, injurious creatures, a bedlam and heap of confusion totally inconsistent to Divine goodness and wisdom. Not only that, any lack of goodness would ruin the possibility of Him being beneficial to His creatures, not that we would merit it, but would not have any hope to receive His grace and mercy or any other beneficial goodness. 

I would have no reason to acknowledge or praise Him if He created me to be a miserable, person even if I was innocent in action. There would be no provision for my needs, only the expectation that such a God could annihilate me and take away my life and any desires I might have.

Charnock’s logic is overwhelming (and much more developed than most who write about God). He offers Scripture as his source and this verse, while it does not define ‘good’ it does tell me what God wants my heart to say: “You are good and do good; teach me your statutes.” (Psalm 119:68) I don’t always see the goodness or understand how He can use ‘all things for my good’ but do know that I’m not good like God is good, and need Him to teach me. 

PRAY: You are often a mystery. The desires of my heart can seem good, yet when You have other ideas that are contrary to what seems good to me, Your Word challenges my ideas of good. This is a trust-test and reminds me of You asking Abraham to sacrifice his son. A good idea? Not in my mind, but the man obeyed and You bailed him out. My faith in Your goodness is being tested in several fronts. What can I say? I have no goodness AND no faith without You.

Wanting to be like Jesus?

Yesterday when I prayed about revival, I had to admit that I was not really wanting it. Why not? Because if it happened, all ‘normal’ life would cease. Reading stories about what happens during a revival made me tired. Since we moved six months ago, life has not been ‘normal’ and the stress of so many unexpected events has been difficult, even if the events have been mostly a blessing. I don’t think I’m ready for what a revival would be like and the demands it would make on my days. 

Piper writes in today’s devotional about his own pity-parties and how a story of a missionary helped him. The missionary lost his wife on the way to where he would work. Alone, he walked many miles to serve people. From the hardships this man experienced, Piper realized that his desires for life’s comfort did not match the call of Christ on his life.

Normally, I do not like to feel better by comparing myself with someone who is in a worse condition. It sounds too much like the words of the Pharisee who said: “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.” And Jesus response was, “…Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:11-14)

However, both these stories are helpful. So are the remarks Piper makes about feeling sorry for himself over an extra meeting, an ill-timed hospital call, and too many choices. For one thing, how can I feel sorry for me about something that has not even happened — yet?

Besides that, it is easy to boast like the Pharisee or even like Peter who said, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You.” (Mark 10:28). Jesus was not impressed. He replied, 

“Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life” (Mark 10:29–30)

The kingdom of God includes losses. The goodness of God includes great replacements. I’ve experienced many of both. How can I think that the ‘replacements’ for any future losses that would come from God with anything but great and powerful joy-filled events and experiences? The missionary’s life was filled with hardship. But God blessed him with laughter and the deep conviction that he was where he needed to be — by God’s grace.

Piper speaks of his own passion to have the mind of Christ. The Bible expresses in many ways what that means:

And he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves. (Luke 22:25–27)
 . . . .  and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:27–28)
In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ” (Acts 20:35)

PRAY: It is easy enough to boast that I want to be like You, Jesus. It is much more challenging to consider and count the cost. I can easily be critical of others who are more interested in personal comfort than seeking Your will, but I am the same… even about the discomforts that are not happening. I’m okay with dying and going home but I’m not okay with staying here and losing everything to serve others? I want to be like You in saying and doing what blesses others, but without negatives that go with selflessness? Conclusion? You have much to do in my heart… 

Keep Praying

 

Yesterday morning God challenged me to pray for revival. I did. The devil didn’t like it. He spent the afternoon assaulting my thoughts to the point that I forgot what I’d been praying for. By the time I recognized this was a spiritual attack and connected to Satan attempting to thwart those prayers, I wondered how God could even listen to me over that barrage of unholy thinking. 

Today the Spirit took me to my books on prayer and I did a search on hindrances. The first discovered comment said, “The difficulties most often complained of as hindrances to prayer may be traced back to want of love.” I could see the connection to my battle, but also the answer. Remembering God loves me totally, relentlessly, without stopping or needing me to be lovable. Knowing this removes that hindrance and draws me into a deeper desire to pray, to talk with Him. Want of love can stop prayer, but knowing His love motivates it.

Other clues about hindrances to prayer also describe problems I’ve had that keep me from praying. One is this: “He who is too busy to pray will be too busy to live a holy life.” Being busy is almost a disease in the lives of many Christians. We joke about it, complain about it, yet as my hubby often points out, most of our busyness is by choice.

Even so, life’s duties can become pressing and crowd out prayer. One author says: “This way of hindering prayer becomes so natural, so easy, so innocent that it comes on us all unawares.” If we will allow our praying to be crowded out, it will always stop us from prayer. Satan rathers ‘we let the grass grow on the path to our prayer-chamber than anything else.’ 

Lack of prayer indicates a “Gone out of business” sign on my life. It can also mean I’m living for some other name than God’s and to somebody else’s glory, likely my own. In the early church, the apostles understood prayer as their most important business: 

And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” (Acts 6:2–4)

 For them, prayer was the priority, not an opening and closing remark whenever they met together. I’ve also realized how putting prayer first changes the day, yet doing it remains a challenge. Besides my own lax, that devious enemy works to stop me.

He didn’t stop Daniel. His enemies had a petition that meant death for praying, but “When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.” (Daniel 6:10) This got him tossed into the lion’s den, yet God delivered him. Little wonder the NT says this: 

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8) 

I need to be alert, but also persistent and obedient because many hindrances to prayer are related to disobedience. For instance:

Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered. (Proverbs 21:13)
If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination. (Proverbs 28:9)

The Bible also points to pious activity for personal gain (Isaiah 58:1-14, Matthew 5) and most of all, unconfessed sin (Isaiah 59:1-3, Zechariah 7:12-13, Psalm 66:18, many more)

For me, busyness, selfish desires, or feeling as if my prayers bounce off the ceiling because God doesn’t care about what I care about (lack of His love) are hindrances. I have dozens of books on prayer but reading them does not remove any obstruction. The only way to do it is by praying.

PRAY: Jesus, You are loud and clear. Protect me from the enemy’s lies and other obstacles as I go to prayer. . . .   

Time for Revival?

 

A friend says she strongly desires a sense of God’s presence. Others are deeply concerned, even fearful, of the spiritual vacuum in the world. More positive news is that many churches are overflowing with people seeking answers as our world gets messy with much sin and selfish attitudes and actions.

Today’s devotional reading is about one revival at the turn of the last century. It reminded me again that praying for revival is vital and needed, not only beginning with the people of God as some of them seem oblivious to that need, but for the millions who have ignored God and are suffering the consequences.

The Bible offers ways to pray for revival using God’s words to do it. One list (LINK) helps me and shows that revival begins in my own heart. These verses list how I can pray: 

Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! (Psalm 139:23-24)
As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my food day and night, while they say to me all the day long, “Where is your God?” These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God with glad shouts and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival. Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation… (Psalm 42:1–5)

Some verses need to be personalized by changing the pronouns as I pray, such as Psalm 51:1-10 for myself and Daniel 9 on behalf of all God’s people. Another passage is a lament for the state of my heart and for those who are experiencing sorrow and grief over the situations in their own lives and in their part of the world. It too can be paraphrased…

Father, I feel no peace and I’ve forgotten what it is to be joyful and prosperous. I feel as if all the goodness is gone from my life, everything I’d hoped to receive from You. I’ve been wandering and afflicted. I have experienced bitterness and pain. My soul is heavy and sad because of my sin and the sinful state of those around me. And yet, I know there is still hope. I know that Your love is so great, I won’t be overtaken by this fallen world. Your love never fails. Your compassion is new every day. Great is Your faithfulness! You are my portion in this life. I will wait humbly for Your deliverance, in the name of Jesus. Amen. (Lamentations 3:17-24)

Others are praying too, from well-known Christian leaders to unknown prayer warriors.Billy Graham prayed this way in 1997, a model for my prayers:

“Lord… remind us today that You have shown us what is good in what You require of us; to do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God. We ask that as a people, we may humble ourselves before You and seek Your will for our lives and for this great nation. Help us in our nation to work as never before to strengthen our families and to give our children hope and a moral foundation for the future. So may our desire be to serve You, and in so doing, serve one another. This we pray in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.”

I can pray simple yet bold prayers because of NT verses like this: “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16) I can also pray not just for my own heart but the revival need in my church and in all of God's people. I can also use song lyrics as prayer, hymns like “Spirit of God, Descend Upon My Heart” and “Revive Us, Again” and “Shine, Jesus, Shine.”

PRAY: Jesus, it is easier to talk/write about prayer than praying. That is only one revival need in my own heart. I’m leaving my desk to cry out to You about these things… 

Key to Joy

Yesterday was exhausting yet a total delight. The quilt guild I belong to held their show of over 200 incredible quilts, with venders, door prizes, a featured quilter, a memorial booth honoring those who have died, and the community outreach booth where I served for a couple hours. This is the division that receives donated materials and makes quilts for needy people.

In my first trip around the space (a well-lit curling rink) I met dozens of people that I’ve not seen for months, even years. We had joyful conversations and that alone was the most obvious reason that the Lord prompted me to attend and to serve in a small way. I thank Him for such a blessed experience.

Interesting that today’s devotional reading is about His zeal — He wants me to serve Him in gladness. John Piper says it and quotes examples from the Bible. One of them is a surprise. I have read it many times and didn’t realize the impact…

Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things, therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger and thirst, in nakedness, and lacking everything. And he will put a yoke of iron on your neck until he has destroyed you. (Deuteronomy 28:47–48)

This is loaded with meaning. Serving the Lord involves being filled with His Spirit. Many other passages verify that I cannot do the will of God unless I am abiding in Him and unless He is filling me with what I need to do it. Also, the fruit of the Spirit is joy — the indicator of being filled. I keep saying that if that joy is not there, I’ve taken over the control of my life. Joy is the mark of being Spirit-filled. The above verses tell the results… if I’m not joyful in serving God then I am serving something else. Not only that, without the blessing of the Holy Spirit, my life will be empty and my efforts for whatever I am doing will wear me out.

All of this is reflected in the words of Jesus. He calls those who fall away into joyless and tiresome work:

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28–30)

Of course the yoke is easy for when I take it. Joy comes with the burdens that God gives. I recall one time walking and praying and complaining about my responsibilities. I was feeling heavily laden and not happy about it. As I grumbled, the Lord whispered to me: “Get out of My to-do list” — and I burst out laughing. His words released me and instantly restored my joy.

This is not about being happy. Circumstances may not change and happiness is based on circumstances. Joy is different, supernatural. It is released from a trusting heart by the Spirit of God who lives there, regardless of the circumstances. Why is that so? In a passage about using spiritual gifts, the NT explains why:

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 4:10–11)

PRAY: Oh Lord, You are amazing. No other master, boss, god, or even my own self can rule my life and include joy as the main indicator that I’m serving the right or the best way — only You. Yesterday I went to the show because You put it on my heart to go, to serve, and it was a day of incredible joy in talking with others. The quilts were spectacular, yet that joy came from You and it involved serving people. My body became very tired in all the activity, but You made my heart sing. Thank You for the joy You give!