EMBEDDING PRAYER INTO OUR DAILY LIVES – Part 1 of 3

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”  (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV)

We can look for cues that embed prayer into our daily lives. In the Bible we are commanded to practice hospitality. In ancient times this usually involved hosting overnight visitors; now it might start with welcoming a telephone call that feels like an interruption. Out of habit I may find myself answering with a grudging spirit. What do you want? Make it fast. You’re bothering me.

But there is another way. Wil Derske, a Benedictine monk, writes about the monastic value of hospitality and says that to accept a phone call is an opportunity to receive a guest. We can pause a moment before answering, in order to change our inner attitude from irritation to welcome. Derske says he will say a prayer of blessing just before taking the call: Benedicamus Domino -- it might be the Lord! 

-- John Ortberg in “The Me I Want to Be”

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PRAYING FOR OTHERS

“And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.”  (Colossians 1:9-12 ESV)

The prayer of intercession means prayer for others. It is our faint echo of Christ’s everlasting intercession for us before the throne of God. It is love and concern for people lifted to the highest point, as we bring them before the throne of God in prayer. I do not know why God should need our prayers, or why God gives the unspeakable privilege of helping Him in His world; but I am sure God does. I am sure that human intercession adds something to the creative and redemptive energy even of God Himself. I am sure that the people God can most depend on are the pray-ers who lift up other people before Him, and hold them in prayer. 

-- Samuel M. Shoemaker in “We Believe in Prayer”

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A PRAYING CHURCH IN TODAY’S WORLD

“The heartfelt and persistent prayer of a righteous person (believer) can accomplish much [when put into action and made effective by God -- it is dynamic and can have tremendous power].”  (James 5:16b AMP)

It is reported that Mary, Queen of Scots, once said, “I fear the prayers of John Knox more that I fear all the armies on the face of the earth.” That was probably the last time anyone feared the prayers of the church.

The world does not fear the church – it barely tolerates it. Generally, the world perceives the church as no longer a player in world affairs, only an observer,… of a culture that has long since abandoned Christian presuppositions as a serious voice in shaping the values of modern society. The church is a quaint relic of the past that lends a certain charm to the neighborhood, a holdover from bygone days, big but harmless, like a beached whale.

For many, the crucial question facing the church is will it survive. I can answer that question. Yes, the church will survive. God has never left Himself without a witness, and His church will still be around when the curtain comes down on this [world]. It may not survive in its present form, but God help us if we’re interested only in surviving. Christ intends that His church do a lot more. 

-- Ronald Dunn in “Don’t Just Stand There, Pray Something: The Incredible Power of Intercessory Prayer”

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WHY BOTHER TO PRAY?

Why should we expend the energy to pray?

I found there are several reasons – but the first is all we really need to know.  God has told us to pray.  It is a commandment, and if we love Him, we obey His commands.

But there is a second reason: We pray because Jesus prayed.  Sometimes people will say the only reason for prayer is that we need to be changed.  Yes, we do need to change, but that's not the only reason to pray.  Jesus didn't need to be changed or be made more holy.  When He prayed He was communing with His Father.  He thanked God.  He praised Him.  He asked for things.  He requested power.  He prayed on behalf of others.  He asked that the devil be bridled.  He asked His Father to prevent what was about to take place.  He made clear His own will.  He prayed as though His petitions had a definite effect on God's design.

In light of God's clear commands and our Lord's unmistakable example, it's obvious we believers "should always pray and never give up" (Luke 18:1).  God does not want us to shrug our shoulders, shuffle our feet, and mutter, "Que sera, sera, whatever will be, will be."  On the contrary, Scripture makes it plain that we are involved with this life of ours -- and the lives of others as well.  Certain things simply will not happen… unless we pray.

-- Joni Earkeckson Tada in “Glorious Intruder”

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THE ARGUMENT FOR PRAYER

“One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When He finished, one of His disciples said to Him, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.’  Jesus said to them, ‘When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come…’”  (Luke 11:1-2 NIV)

Jesus never argued the validity of prayer any more than He argued for the existence of God. God was not something to be proved by argument; God was simply there, the beginning and the end of experience. Just so, prayer was not something to be proved by argument; prayer was there, the native breath of the soul. Prayer was mankind’s instinctive tendency, wrought into the very constitution of our nature. Its well-springs lay deep down beneath the region of argument; they lay in hearts which God has made for fellowship with Himself, which therefore (as Augustine at a later day expressed it) would always be restless until they found rest in Him. Hence Jesus never argued the matter.

But certainly there was a sense in which His own prayer life was the one unanswerable argument. Did any disciple -- Thomas, for example -- have doubts about prayer, genuine, honest doubts? Nothing was more likely to vanquish his doubts than the sight of Jesus upon His knees, for knowing Jesus and realizing what an utterly sure and reliable insight Jesus had into all the deepest things of life, such a disciple would feel it better to trust Jesus’ certainty rather than his own uncertainty. He would think it wise to attach more importance to Christ’s conviction than to his own doubts. In all matters of faith this is an enormously valuable principle, and certainly it carries weight here. Doubts are dispelled and dissolved before the shining prayer life of the Christ. The praying Christ is the supreme argument for prayer. 

-- James S. Stewart in “The Life and Teaching of Jesus Christ”

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PRAYER THAT CARES FOR OTHERS

“I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them.”  (1 Timothy 2:1 NLT) 

Many people tend to associate prayer with separation from others, but real prayer brings us closer to our fellow human beings. Prayer is the first and indispensable discipline of compassion precisely because prayer is also the first expression of human solidarity. Why is this so? Because the Spirit who prays in us is the Spirit by whom all human beings are brought together in unity and community. 

-- Henri J.M. Nouwen, as quoted in “Stories of Prayer for a Healthy Soul”

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PRAYER CAN CHANGE THE WORLD

“And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God…”  (Colossians 1:9-10 ESV)

I believe the greatest cry around the world today is “Pray for me.” All of us are here today because someone has prayed for us. I know I am indebted to so many people for their wonderful prayers. Martin Luther said that the shoemaker makes shoes, the tailor makes clothes, and the Christian prays. Prayer can change a person’s life; it can change the world. Prayer is a challenge to me. If I pray for someone, it challenges me to love and to help that person. 

-- James H. Davis, as quoted in “Stories of Prayer for a Healthy Soul”

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THE EFFICACY OF PRAYER

“For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of His holy people in the kingdom of light.”  (Colossians 1:9-12 NIV)

Can we believe that God ever really modifies His action in response to the suggestions of [humans]?  For infinite wisdom does not need telling what is best, and infinite goodness needs no urging to do it.  But neither does God need any of those things that are done by finite agents, whether living or inanimate.  He could, if He chose, repair our bodies miraculously without food; or give us food without the aid of farmers, bakers, and butchers, or knowledge without the aid of learned [men and women]; or convert the heathen without missionaries.  Instead, He allows soils and weather and animals and the muscles, minds, and wills of [human beings] to cooperate in the execution of His will...  It is not really stranger, nor less strange, that my prayers should affect the course of events than that my other actions should do so.  They have not advised or changed God's mind -- that is, His overall purpose.  But that purpose will be realized in different ways according to the actions, including the prayers, of His [people]. 

-- C. S. Lewis (1898-1963) in “The Efficacy of Prayer”

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PEOPLE OF PRAYER

"Be persistent in prayer, and keep alert as you pray, giving thanks to God.”  (Colossians 4:2 GNT)

What the Church needs today is not more technology or better, not new organizational models or more novel methods, but people whom the Holy Spirit can use -- people of prayer, people mighty in prayer.

-- E. M. Bounds, adapted

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