We have seen that rather than being limited to that which is comfortable, sensible and predictable, our prayer life is a never ceasing conversation with the God of the universe, who delights to involve us in His work, to take note of what we have to say, and who makes our little prayers go a very long way!

Since he has had centuries of being clobbered by it, it is no wonder that the enemy is not keen on us praying. If he possibly can, he will try and convince us that we are no good at it, and that our prayers amount to no more than pious hand-wringing. If that fails to prevent or distract us from recognising the power of prayer, then he turns to persuasion, aiming to have us keep our sights very close to home, so that we forget altogether any thought of advancing the kingdom beyond our own immediate interests. (Cf 1 Cor. 10:23-24, Phil. 2:20-21) A grown-up version of ‘God bless Mummy and Daddy, and keep us all safe and sound’ is unlikely to cause any great damage to his kingdom.

Rental properties require landlords to take an inventory, and as we prepare to spend a few weeks exploring aspects of prayer in this new ARTIST series, and praying about various situations, it makes sense to spend some time reflecting on where our current prayer life is up to, and to what use we are putting the wonderful gift that the Lord has given us.

All the more so in the light of surveys that suggest that the average believer spends but three minutes a day in prayer. This surely says much not only about our priorities, but perhaps even more so by what it tells us about people’s lack of desire to be in His presence. Jesus is able to do ‘immeasurably more than all we can ask or think, according to the power at work within us,’ but are we giving Him the tools to do so through us? (Eph. 3:20 ESV)

The Lord loves to lead us when we are in action, but He loves to speak in the silence of the heart. As Mother Teresa used to say, listening, rather than petition, is often the best way to begin in prayer.

Great Expectations

I have sometimes asked congregations whether they believe that other people’s prayers are more effective than their own. Most hands shoot straight up in agreement! This may look like humility, but in reality it most probably owes more to condemnation, that deadly weapon that the devil shapes and brandishes against most people who seek to press in to know God’s heart. Where repeated setbacks and disappointments have taken their toll and left us despondent and inclined to settle for less, may we seek the Lord’s refreshing and renewing. Take heart: God loves to hear your voice! He would say to you what He says to the beloved in that stirring love canticle,

Let Me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely. (Song of Songs 2:14)

It is not wrong to aim high While we are not to be unrealistic – for there is a fine line between faith and presumption – let’s not forget that we are praying to the God who is able.

Lord God, as we grow in discernment, please teach us how to bring our expectations into balance. Keep us from getting carried away and straying into ungrounded flights of fancy that even You cannot answer. And keep us to from falling prey to unbelief or anything that would cause us to fall short of bringing everything to You in the prayers You want to hear from us.

Honing our cutting edge

Anyone who wants to learn, improve and hone some particular skill is well advised to spend time receiving from the wisdom of more experienced teachers and mentors. While I was ministering in Paris back in 1977, an astute pastor spoke to me after hearing me pray. “Great prayer, Robert,” he said, “but straight from your own big heart and not the Holy Spirit at all.”

Ouch!

While there was nothing theologically incorrect in what I had prayed, nor any blatant nonsense, such as claiming all Paris would be converted in consequence of it, he had discerned an element of presumption in the wording, and he was willing to challenge it.

Iron sharpens iron, and if we are willing to be corrected when we get things wrong, we will grow in wisdom and effectiveness by that sharpening. But it does require us to be meek, and willing and eager to learn, rather than thinking we know it all. I was blessed the other day to hear the leader of a prayer meeting ask the Lord to correct those present (including herself) if their prayers in any way strayed ‘out of the Spirit.’

So we say at the start of this series, ‘Lord, when and wherever I am in danger of not seeing straight but of going astray, follow me in and point it out!’

Press through!

To go deeper in life of prayer requires us to be both athlete and artist, and to exercise a measure of self-control that many would deem unnecessary or restrictive. But as Paul reminds us, we are to run ‘in such a way as to take the prize. Everyone who competes in the games trains with strict discipline. They do it for a crown that is perishable, but we do it for a crown that is imperishable.’ (1 Cor. 9:25)

There will be seasons when prayer is intense and we may sense the need and indeed the call to go without food or other comforts in order to focus on particular issues, and to expand our spiritual horizon. These occasions, like sojourns in a hospital, can do wonders to help us identify with those who are enduring measures of pain and trouble we cannot begin to imagine. Even the thought of having to engage with certain types of suffering might put some off. But while we must be sensible, and properly protect ourselves from information overload and spiritual ‘congestion,’ or even from going to excessive lengths to fast that God has not called us to, we should certainly not be content to ‘privatize’ our faith. It is about learning to be sensitive to the mode the Lord is in, and the mode of prayer that He would have participate in.

There will also be seasons when our prayer life is much less vigorous. Few of us can sustain a life of continual prayer any more than athletes can spend every moment of every day in training. Pursuing a hobby, and making time for stimulating input and company are important counterbalances to refresh and kindle weary and over wrought souls, and they will help keep our prayer life from becoming spiritually clogged.

Take time to share in the Lord’s delight of all that is creative and the beautiful. For me, that often involves reading a good novel; for you it might be gardening, playing sport, or any one (or more!) of a myriad other recreations. Refreshed by them, we are able to return to the spiritual fray with a renewed vigour, and an enriched and revived prayer life.

So here we are, resolutions made, artist’s brush in hand and ready to pray. Show us ways in which we can develop our praying, Lord, so that You may be honoured and blessed as we do so.