If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened;
but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer. (Ps. 66:18-19)

At the height of the Cold War, a Russian believer being held in a concentration camp for his faith, smuggled a message to the West on a scrap of toilet paper: “Yes, our main need is for prayer – but lead such lives that God can answer your prayers!”

That message which the Russian believer risked so much to send out is a powerful reminder and incentive that we cannot divorce our prayer life from the rest of our life.

The purer our heart’s leanings, and the more willing we are to commit all matters to the Lord, the more eager we will pray prayers that touch the Father’s heart and move His arm to bring about a breakthrough.

Which of us is not burdened by layers of unkindness and indifference within us, or bitterness of heart that shoots out of our mouth in an unguarded moment?

This is such an important point, because the Lord is witness to the consequences of our actions, and judges them by the measure of love and obedience He sees in them – or the lack of them. For Love must be at the very heart of our prayers, just as it is at the heart of His Kingdom. Love doesn’t demand a return – we pray out of loving concern because God is love. Like Paul, we are prepared to struggle and contend for people in prayer even though we may never meet them on Earth.

We read nowhere of angels praying: this is a privilege that is unique to us as human beings. Lord Jesus, help us to lead such lives that You can answer our prayers!

May we be rooted and grounded in love, and so offer up prayers that are pleasing to the Lord

Many popular songs celebrate the transformative power of love. Better these by far than songs of hatred and revenge, but love is only at its more pure when it is rooted and grounded in Christ’s love.

No, the Lord is not waiting for us to reach some standard of perfect love before He hears our slightest prayers. That really would be too much; but just as a musicians tune their instruments before playing, or artists don their aprons, there are some things it might be helpful to prepare ourselves in advance for. Firstly . . .

Principle: Don’t be put off by the mess

A friend was making paper snowflakes with her granddaughter one afternoon, and the resulting chaos of the kitchen told the story of their creativity in no uncertain terms! But my friend felt that the Lord told her not to focus on the mess, but on what was emerging out of it.

I love that image! Sometimes, it can feel as though our prayers for help and guidance seem to do no more than make things worse and even chaotic, as if there is absolutely no way out. But rest on His word for He is faithful. Mess is often a necessary part of the process, even when everything looks and feels more like a building site than a finished article. Or, as Corrie Ten Boom so memorably expressed it, as if we are looking at a tangled web of threads and colours, when what we are actually seeing is the reverse side of an intricate tapestry.

Prayer can appear messy and as if it goes unheard, but God is not bothered by that; He is weaving something lovely, and at the right time, He will reveal what it is He has been creating, and it will be ordered and perfect and fitting and beautiful. What He does is utterly worthwhile, and He invites us to help Him, just as my friend invited her young granddaughter to help her.

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Cor. 4:17-18)

Principle: Don’t depend on your feelings

Just as mess is no measure of God’s presence in a situation, neither are our feelings. We love to feel the touch of the Lord on our lives, and to be intensely aware of His loving presence – but such feelings are the blessings of His grace and have nothing whatsoever to do with His pleasure in us, nor the efficacy of our prayer life. Prayers prayed in arid times are worth every bit as much – if not more – than those prayed in a green and fruitful garden. He knows how precious our efforts are when we are having to dig deep to offer anything at all.

Principle: Linger Longer!

When you have reached the very edge of your strength and you feel like all you want to do is tumble into bed and sleep for a week – or, alternatively, you are racing to get going on a list of jobs as long as your arm, can you yet find the wherewithal to spend time with the Lord? If dentists tell us to make time to clean our teeth, rather than just showing them the toothpaste with minds otherwise occupied, shouldn’t we also be making time for prayer? It is so important to give God time. Even if He has already spoken and shown you something, don’t be in a rush to move on to the next thing. There may be more He wants to share with you.

There is an island off the Anglesey coast that a friend calls Linger Longer, because he finds it a place where he desires to remain quiet before the Lord, and listen. Take time to try and sense the Lord’s leading when you are at prayer. Are there more layers to a situation than you have yet caught sight of? Is there another angle? Do you need to home in on a particular aspect, or do you need to rattle off quick fire prayers one after another? Linger longer with the Lord.

Since the Lord is indeed more eager for us to seek Him than we are hungry and thirsty for His presence, let’s sing afresh Noel Richard’s song of desire to be with the Lord, and not rushing around without much thought of Him.

Photo by chris liu on Unsplash