God (and mankind) lost the intimacy He intended to have and develop with His children when we rebelled against His reign (many call it “The Fall”). We simply lost the connection when our spirit died.
Thankfully, God has a plan and a way to restore all that was lost that fateful day. In fact, the restoration of intimacy with His people is one of God’s greatest purposes. We join God’s restorative work when we pursue intimacy with Him in prayer and worship. In this article, we turn our attention to God’s way for intimacy through prayer.
Throughout this series, we have looked to Scripture to understand God’s way for those things most important to Him and our relationship with Him (e.g., faith, salvation, planning, peace, glory). In this regard, there may be nothing more important than this matter of prayer.
One striking difference about prayer is the vast and varied prescriptions God provides in the Bible. Jesus instructed us in the Model Prayer (Matthew 6:5-15), and then modeled prayer for making important decisions (Luke 6:12-14), expressing thankfulness (Matthew 14:19), obtaining direction from His Father (Mark 1:35), glorifying the Father (John 12:27-29), receiving strength in the midst of crisis (Luke 22:39-44), and praying for those entrusted to His care (John 17).
Paul left instructions for us in his first letter to Timothy (vv. 2:1-3), and examples in his four “Apostolic Prayers” (Ephesians 1:15-23, Ephesians 3:14-21, Philippians 1:3-11, and Colossians 1:3-14). In the Old Testament, we have Moses’ many conversations with God from which to learn, and the Psalms and the Prophets are filled with exemplary and intimate conversations between God and His man.
We would be wise, and wiser still, to study these passages. They will stir our heart’s desire to know God in the most intimate way. The word of God is alive and powerful… a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). By them, we will learn the truth of God’s way for intimacy, and that truth will make us free (John 8:32).
Clearly, God’s prescriptions for prayer depend on the situation, and surely He has a way for every one of them. Remember, God has a way for everything.
The variety and vastness of God’s ways for prayer preclude a full presentation here. We will instead offer a collection of recommendations, guidelines, and encouragements. I pray one or more of them will help you further participate in God’s purpose to restore the intimacy lost in our rebellion.
Recommendations
Much has been written about prayer by theologians more studied and articulate than I. Here are three of my favorites:
- The PAPA Prayer (Larry Crabb, 2006) – Based on an acronym, Dr. Crabb encourages and provides a method for relational prayer: Present yourself to God, attend to how you are thinking of God, purge yourself of anything that blocks your relationship with God, and approach God as the “first thing” in your life.
- With Christ in the School of Prayer (Andrew Murray, 2007) – Writing in the late 19th Century, Mr. Murray provides an application of prayer to many areas of Christian life. In the book, you will find thirty-one lessons Jesus taught on prayer, with an example prayer for each lesson which invites you into an intimate relationship with our Savior and King.
- Destined for the Throne (Paul Billheimer, 1975) – Mr. Billheimer asserts that “Prayer is where the action is!” – that God uses prayer to train His people for their destiny with Him in the ages to come.
I’ve read each of these books at least twice, and will certainly read each one again. I highly recommend them to anyone seeking a more intimate relationship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Why is Prayer So Difficult?
You may recall the images from Iraq during the onset of Desert Storm. Having done their reconnaissance, American forces were bombing Bagdad, seemingly without mercy. The military commentator explained that we were trying to kill Saddam Hussein – which was unlikely – and/or destroy his command and communication centers. In other words, we were trying to separate the snake’s head and its body.
As it turns out, this is the strategy of every offensive force, in every war. Separate the commanders from the troops and you create a decided advantage for yourself and your allies. Consequently, threatened nations go to great length to protect their communication centers.
Regrettably, our enemies have made significant progress is cutting off the Western church from its High Command. Communication centers have been destroyed. Little effort is being made to rebuild and retrench. Consequently, we are separated from God and each other. Our efforts are disorganized, even divisive.
While it would be easy to blame the devil, those of us in leadership know better. In many respects, we are our own worst enemy. We have allowed the world to distract us and our carnal minds to deceive us into thinking we can get by with our own strategies, plans and programs.
Reestablishing communication is where we must start. Sacrifices will have to be made, but they will be worth every drop of blood, sweat and tears. God has all the grace we need to turn the tide in this war.
As hard a time as we seem to be having with prayer, prayer is not hard. The Father is standing by waiting on our attention. He loves speaking with His children.
Much has been said about the decline of prayer in the Western Church. We have simply lost site of the importance of personal and corporate communion with God. This is so obvious, it hardly seems worth the time and effort to say it again. Just how much encouragement is enough?
Fortunately, God has not given up on us. He is aware of our weaknesses in this area. We are not the first generation of His children who have needed an attitude (re)adjustment about prayer.
Destined for the Throne is particularly valuable in this regard for its encouragement towards the Body of Christ to fully leverage the opportunity and responsibility we have to wage war against our enemies in prayer. If you are looking for personal motivation to pray – or the same for your spheres of influence – this book is for you (and them).
Prayer Lists – Demands and Wishful Thinking?
Once we are motivated to pray, our next challenge is learning God’s way for prayer. As leaders, if we are not careful, we will raise up a bunch of demanding, bratty teenagers – congregants that pray to have their wants met. There will be little thanksgiving and less listening. Generally speaking, this is the current attitude about prayer in the Western church.
This is not to say that praying for our needs and the needs of others from a list is bad. Paul encouraged Timothy to prayer for the brethren, and he asked the brethren in Ephesus to pray for him. The issue with our current situation is the way we use our lists in prayer.
The PAPA Prayer reminds us that God is not Santa Claus standing behind a vending machine waiting for us to put in the right change and press the right buttons. God loves speaking with His children more than He enjoys answering their prayers. This is true in private and corporate settings.
The prayer list seems particularly popular in corporate prayer settings, and I think I know why. Rather than get personal with God in front of other Christians, we hide behind our prayer lists. Rather than wait on God in awkward silence, we spout forth the first thing that comes to our mind. We try to have faith in each request, but in many or most cases, our prayer list becomes nothing more than a wish list. One has to wonder if God wastes His time listening to children that are not interested in listening to Him.
Perhaps it is time to put down our lists, stop talking, and listen. There is no other God like ours, Who acts for the one who waits for Him (Isaiah 64:4).
Speaking of time, I taken enough of yours here. Next time we will introduce what is – in my humble opinion – the best way to pray regardless of the circumstance or need. For now, allow me to state the obvious: We cannot lead others where we are not willing to go ourselves.
We must commit to finding time to learn, teach, and practice prayer as the first battle in our war against the enemies of God. We must fight for the necessary time; not use the lack of it as an excuse. Those who would make excuses are accepting defeat – surrendering their position and responsibility to the enemies of God and His people.
Will you fight?
God bless you with grace to fight the good fight for your soul, your family, and those in your spheres of influence and responsibility.
Have a strong day in the Lord,
Rob
#iamjusthepen
Billheimer, B., 1975, Destined for the Throne, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, TN
Crabb, L., 2006, The PAPA Prayer, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, TN
Murray, A., 2007, With Christ in the School of Prayer, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA