|
Overview
the Issue
Incredible,
isn't it: to think that you and I have complete access to God, because
of the work of Jesus Christ, any time any place. We do not just come to
God as His servants, but also as His children. As our Father, He gladly
welcomes us in His presence. What an opportunity! In light of this great
opportunity we will:
-
Discover what true, biblical prayer is all about.
-
Discuss some of the common hindrances and helps in our prayer life.
-
Develop a personal prayer plan to help us be more faithful in this
significant habit.
Grasp
the Issue
"Devote
yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful."
-Colossians
4:2
Although
prayer is common in religious experience, you may not be able to define
or describe it quickly in a way that covers all aspects or dynamics of
prayer. As common as prayer is, many people find it quite difficult to
be faithful in prayer on a regular basis. Why is that? Consider your own
prayer life and your family's. Does prayer make a difference to God?
Does it change things? What role does prayer play in the Christian life?
What kinds of things should we pray for? Is there a biblical way to
pray?
Sound
Bites
(Sound
Bites are statements designed to get you thinking about the issue. They
may or may not reflect biblical wisdom.)
"Prayer is a beautiful way of getting in touch with your
highest inner feelings and desires."
"Prayer moves the hand that moves the world."
"We should pray about things that matter, but not about
close parking spaces and winning football games."
"The fewer the words, the better the prayer"
-Martin Luther.
"Prayer does not change God, but it changes him who prays"
-S.A. Kierkegaard.
"Nothing significant happens in God's kingdom without
faithful prayer offered by his people.'
"You should pray every morning when you wake, before each
meal, and every night before you go to bed."
"I can pray alone, but I can't pray out loud in a group. I
don't really know why."
Case
Studies
Dear
Spiritual Sue,
I used to pray all the time, but I don't see answers. Why should
I pray anyway? When my sister was sick with cancer, I prayed she would
be healed and she died six months later. What happened to my prayer? Did
God hear me? For now, I guess I'm not really praying much. In fact, I
haven't prayed that I can remember in the last two months. I need some
answers.
Prayerless and Clueless
What
is the central question or issue before us?
Study
the Scriptures
Matthew 6:5:13
5And
when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray
standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men.
I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your room,
close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then, your
Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7And
when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they
will be heard because of their many words. 8Do
not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask
him. 9This, then, is how you should
pray:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be
your name, 10your kingdom come, your will be
done on earth as it is in heaven. 11Give
us this day our daily bread. 12Forgive
us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors 13And lead us not into temptation but
deliver us from the evil one.
Ephesians 6:18,20
18And
pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and
requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep praying for all
the saints. 19Pray also for me, that whenever I
open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make
known the mystery of the gospel, 20for
which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it
fearlessly, as I should.
Matthew 6 forms the middle of Jesus'
"Sermon on the Mount," the longest sermon of Jesus recorded in
the Bible. In the sermon, He discusses how a righteous person conducts
himself, looking at many different areas of life. In His proclamation,
He rejects the teaching of the Pharisees, who had their own version of
how to conduct life in a righteous way. He also took issue with the
hypocrisy of the Pharisees, who emphasized outward signs of godliness
but did not have the internal character and sincerity to match their
outward devotion. So, when Jesus turns to the issue of prayer, He
rejects the Pharisees' ("hypocrites") way of prayer, and then
teaches how we should pray. Since Jesus is God, this passage on prayer
is very significant, for in it, God outlines how He would like us to
pray to Him.
The apostle Paul, along with the other
apostles of Christ, shared Jesus' devotion to prayer. Often in the
epistles, Paul mentions how he prays for the churches, and urges them to
pray for himself and others. In Ephesians 6, Paul is speaking of
spiritual warfare, Satan's efforts against our own spiritual growth and
progress. He mentions prayer as a must for standing firm against Satan
and growing despite his opposing efforts. Notice the words and phrases
that Paul uses to describe how they should pray, for they will help us
discern how to pray more effectively.
How does Jesus tell us NOT to pray in Matthew 6:5-8?
Look at Jesus' model prayer in Matt. 6:9-13. What are some of the
different elements of prayer, or types of prayer, that you can find
(e.g. confession of sin, petitioning God)?
List some of the phrases and words Paul uses in Ephesians 6:18:-20
to describe HOW we are to pray.
What does each of these passages contribute to the concept of
prayer?
Colossians 4:2-4
2 Thessalonians 3:1-2
Exodus 32:7-14
1 Thessalonians 5:17
James 5:16-19
Consult
Other Sources
"Discipline
of Prayer,"
by
R. Kent Hughes
E. M. Bounds said, "When the angel of
devotion has gone, the angel of prayer has lost its wings and it becomes
a deformed and loveless thing." Our previous study was about our
devotional wings (meditation, confession, adoration, and submission).
Now, wings formed and stretched in flight, we come to petition, the
offering of our requests to God. It is my hope this study will
instruct and motivate us to a soaring life of petitionary prayer which
will call down God's power upon our lives and church.
The scriptural setting for the classic text on
petitionary prayer could scarcely be more dramatic-it is a soldier
preparing for battle. His heart pounds ka-thump, ka-thump under his
metal breastplate. As he steadies himself, he hitches up his armor belt
and scuffs at the earth like a football player with his studded boots,
testing his traction. He repeatedly draws his great shield across his
body in anticipation of the fiery barrages to come. Reflexively, he
reaches up and repositions his helmet. He gingerly tests the edge of his
sword and slips it back into his scabbard. The enemy approaches.
Swords pulled from their scabbards ring in chilling symphony. The
warriors stand motionless, breathing in dreadful spasms. And then the
believing soldier does the most astounding thing. He falls to his knees
in deep, profound, petitionary prayer-for he has obeyed his divine
instructions to take up what John Bunyan referred to as "All-Prayer."
The Holy Scriptures themselves portray this
weapon:
"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions
with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and
always keep on praying for all the saints." -Ephesians 6:18
We are charged with five elements necessary to
fully experience the power of petitionary prayer.
In Spirited Prayer
"And pray in the spirit . . ."
begins Paul, giving us the first element of petition-inSpirited or
Spirit-directed prayer. How does prayer in the Spirit occur? Romans 8:26
and 27 eloquently tells us:
"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in
our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray, but the Spirit
Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express And He
who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit
intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will."
The indwelling Holy Spirit, through His superior
intimate knowledge, both prays for us and joins us in our praying,
infusing His prayers into ours so that we "pray in the Spirit."
Jude 20 challenges us to cultivate and experience this wonderful Spirit-wrought
phenomenon: "But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in
your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit."
Praying in the Spirit is the will of God, and what God wills He empowers
as we let Him.
Two supernatural things happen here:
First, the Holy Spirit tells us
what we ought to pray for. Apart from the Spirit's assistance, our
prayers are limited by our own reason and intuition. But with the Holy
Spirit's help they become informed by Heaven. As we seek the Spirit's
help, He will speak to us through His Word, which conveys His mind
regarding every matter of principle. Thus, in Spirit-directed prayer we
will think God's thoughts after Him. His desires will become our
desires, His motives our motives, His ends our ends.
Further, He shows our hearts which matters to
pray for, and gives us the absolute conviction they are God's will.
Oswald Sanders, former director of Overseas Missionary Fellowship
(formerly China Inland Mission), says in this regard:
"The
very fact that God lays a burden of prayer on our hearts and keeps us
praying is prima facie evidence that He purposes to grant the answer.
When asked if he really believed that two men for whose salvation he had
prayed for over fifty years would be converted, George Muller of Bristol
replied, "Do you think God would have kept me praying all these
years if He did not intend to save them?" Both men were
converted, one shortly before, the other after Muller's death."
Such confident direction in one's prayer life is
not unusual. I had a similar conviction regarding my brother, who came
to Christ after I had been praying for him for thirty years! When God's
people truly "pray in the Spirit," they receive similar
direction and conviction, not only about people, but about events and
projects and even whole nations.
The second benefit of "praying in the
Spirit" is that it supplies the energizing of the Holy Spirit for
prayer, infusing tired, even infirm, bodies and elevating the depressed
to pray with power and conviction for God's work. Men [Women], learn to
pray in the Spirit! To help myself do this, I have written "Pray in
the Spirit" at the top of my prayer list as a constant reminder to
patiently wait on the Lord, asking the Spirit to give me prayers. My
list contains numerous long-standing petitions for which I regularly
pray, but I also want to be consciously open to the Spirit, so that as
He wishes He will regularly invade my list with His direction and
energy. Says John Bunyan:
"Prayer is a sincere, sensible, affectionate
pouring out of the heart or soul to God, through Christ, in the strength
and assistance of the Holy Spirit, for such things as God has
promised, or according to the Word of God, for the good of the church,
with submission in faith to the will of God."
Let us learn to pray in-Spirited prayer using the
strength and assistance of the Holy Spirit.
Continual Prayer
The next ingredient of petitionary prayer is that
it is continuous-"on all occasions." This characterized the
practice of the Apostolic Church, as Acts 1:14 indicates: "They
all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary
the mother of Jesus, and his brothers" (cf. 2:42). Paul told
the Thessalonians to "pray continually" (1 Thess. 5:17), and
he recommended that the Philippians "in everything, by prayer
and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God"
(4:6).
Is continual prayer possible? Yes and no. It is,
of course, impossible to carry on a running dialogue while we are
working or at other times, but the prayer called for here is not so much
the articulation of words as the posture of the heart.
Thomas Kelly explains in his Testament of
Devotion:
There is a way of ordering our mental life on
more than one level at once. On one level we can be thinking,
discussing, seeing, calculating, meeting all the demands of external
affairs. But deep within, behind the scenes, at a more profound level,
we may also be in prayer and adoration, song and worship, and a gentle
receptiveness to divine breathing.
The irrepressible medieval monk Brother Lawrence
recorded his experience of continual prayer in the classic The
Practice of the Presence of God:
The time of business does not differ with me
from the time of prayer; and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen,
while several persons are at the same time calling for different things,
I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were on my knees.
This was also John Wesley's experience, who
modestly explained it in the third person:
"[His heart is ever lifted up to God at
all times and in all places. In this he is never hindered, much less
interrupted, by any person or thing. In retirement or company, in
leisure, business, or conversation, his heart is ever with the Lord.
Whether he lie down or rise up, God is in all his thoughts; he walks
with God continually, having the loving eye of his mind still fixed upon
Him, and everywhere 'seeing him that is invisible.'"
Thus we see that a life of continual prayer is
not only possible, but some actually live it out. Paul challenges us to
understand that this life is not meant just for some, or for a
spiritual elite, but for all of us. Continual prayer is God's will for
every Christian, no exceptions. I can do it; you can do it. Business
people, students, young parents-all can do it. We are to have a
perpetual inner dialogue with God. We must always be looking up, even
when driving to work or mowing the lawn.
Varied Prayer
The third aspect of the prayer life is that it is
varied-"with all kinds of prayers and requests." Later Paul
would similarly write to Timothy, "I urge, then, first of all, that
requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone .
. ." (1 Timothy 2:1). Varied prayer grows out of what we have just
seen about continual prayer, because if we pray continually, the various
situations we encounter will demand a variety of prayers. Think of the
variety appropriate to life's situations-prayer to resist temptation,
prayer for wisdom, for power, for self-restraint, for protection of
others, for growth, for conviction.
Floyd Pierson, a retired Africa Inland Mission
worker, was a man who literally prayed "on all occasions with all
kinds of prayers and requests." So habitual was this that in his
seventies, when he went to take a driver's test, he said to the
examiner, "I always pray before I drive-Let's bow our heads
together." The official likely wondered what kind of a ride he was
in for! We can imagine him checking his seat belt and setting his
perspiring hand on the door handle. Pierson passed!
Apart from the humor, there is something quite
beautiful here-the unaffected witness of a vibrant inner spiritual
reality which bubbles up "with all kinds of prayers and requests."
Persistent Prayer
The fourth aspect of effective prayer is
persistence-"With this in mind, be alert and always keep on
praying . . ."
Exodus 17 describes aged Moses standing atop a
hill, arms lifted up to Heaven, interceding for Israel, which was
engaged in a pitched battle with the Amalekites below. As long as his
arms were extended upward, Israel prevailed, but when in weariness they
began to fall, the Amalekites dominated. Poor Moses was in agony as
gravity drew his hands toward destruction. But then came Aaron and Hur,
who placed a stone under Moses and, standing on either side, held his
hands up to God until sunset and victory came (vv. 1-13). That story
graphically emphasizes that there is a mysterious efficacy to persistent
prayer. This is not to suggest that God regards prayer as a meritorious
work-so that when there are enough prayers, He answers. Rather, He
sovereignly chooses to encourage persistence in prayer and to answer it
to His everlasting glory.
In one of His prayer parables, the Lord
dramatized what He wants from all believers:
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to
show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: "In
a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about
men.
And there was a widow in that town who kept
coming to him with the plea, "Grant me justice against my
adversary." For some time he refused. But finally he said to
himself, "Even though I do not fear God or care about men, yet
because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice,
so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!" Luke 18:1-5).
The cultivation of persistence was a recurring
motif in Jesus' teaching on prayer. In Gethsemane Jesus challenged His
disciples when they failed to persevere by saying, "Watch and
pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing,
but the body is weak." (Mark 14:38).
At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus
enjoined His followers to prayerful tenacity: "Ask and it will
be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be
opened to you" (Matthew 7:7). The language is unusually
compelling because the three verbs ("ask . . . seek . . . knock")
indicate an ascending intensity. "Ask" implies requesting
assistance for a conscious need. It also suggests humility, for the
Greek word here was commonly used by one approaching a superior. "Seek"
involves asking, but adds action. The idea is not just to express need,
but to get up and look around for help. "Knock" includes
asking, plus seeking, plus persevering-for example, one who keeps
pounding on a closed door. The stacking of these verbs is powerful, and
the fact that they are present imperatives gives them even more punch.
Jesus' words actually read: "Keep on asking, and it shall be given
to you; keep on seeking, and you will find; keep on knocking, and it
shall be opened to you."
Such tenacity is exactly what Paul has in mind in
his call to petitionary prayer when he says to "be alert and
always keep on praying . . ."
Men [Women], do we pray with scriptural
persistence for our families? For the church? Are there individuals,
groups, causes, souls for which we hold up our hands in prayer? There
ought to be, for God answers persistent prayer.
Intercessory Prayer
The fifth aspect of asking prayer is
intercessory prayer-"for all the saints." There are many
worthy petitions to make, but "saints"- believers in Jesus
Christ-are to have a large place in our prayers.
Notice that this call to pray "for all the
saints" occasions Paul's request for prayer for himself: "Pray
also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so
that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I
am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I
should." (vv. 19, 20). Paul knew what others' prayers could do
for him.
Petitionary prayers for others brings grace to
their lives. Few people know that the stupendous achievement of William
Carey in India was fueled by his bedridden sister who prayed for him for
over fifty years.
Tennyson beautifully gave verse to Paul's wisdom,
saying:
If
thou shouldest never see my face again,
Pray for my soul.
More
things are wrought by prayer Than this world dreams of
Wherefore,
let thy voice Rise like a fountain for me night and day.
For
what are men better than sheep or goats That nourish a blind life within
the brain?
If
knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer Both for themselves and those
who call them friend?
For
so the whole round earth is every way Bound by gold chains about the
feet of God.
How beautiful is the fivefold anatomy of
petitionary prayer: In-Spirited -prayer "in the
Spirit"; continual-prayer "on all occasions"; varied-"all
kinds of prayers and requests"; persistent-"be alert
and always keep on praying"; intercessory-"for all the
saints." Certainly we are challenged and motivated! But the
question is, how are we to pray in this way? Here we must turn to very
practical advice.
The
Practice of Petitionary Prayer
The Prayer List
Essential to our effective petitionary prayer is
a prayer list. I say this first because of my own repeated experiences.
For example, I may be praying for my mother, and as I pray for her I
see our old family home at 747 Edmaru Avenue. In front is parked my gray-primered
1941 Ford. It has racing slicks on the back, a hopped-up Õ48 Merc
engine, and on the side, custom pin-striping which reads "Swing
Low, Sweet Chariot." Suddenly I am seventeen, wearing my blue suede
leather jacket, sitting behind my gold steering wheel, and heading down
Beach Boulevard to Huntington Beach. I can smell the ocean and cocoa
butter. So much for my "prayers for Mother!"
This is why I need a prayer list. To be sure,
even using a list, my mind still wanders. But when it does, I always
have my list to bring me back. And when I am especially prone to
distraction I can place my index finger on her name and pray with my
eyes open-moving from name to name in this way.
Every Christian man [woman] should have a prayer
list which lists, among other things, the names of
family and, if married, spouse and children. Moreover, the list
ought to be detailed, featuring personal items under the names of those
closest to him. I have found that small "Post-its" placed
under headings help keep my list updated.
My daily prayer list carries the following
headings, each with several details under it:
Family
Staff, secretaries, & custodians
The ill
The grieving
Important events
Present problems
Ministries
Weekly worship
New believers
Missions list
In addition to my daily list, I have four other
lists which I try to go through once a week.
List 1
Ongoing ill
Personal request from others
Evangelism
Spiritual warfare
List 2
World
USA
Personal life
Needed personal qualities
List 3
Christian leaders
Pastors
Upcoming ministries & vision
List 4
Government leaders (federal, state, and local).
Quite frankly, I could not get on at all without
a prayer list, not only because it tames my wandering mind, but also
because it insures that I will not neglect things that are important to
me, including the many requests for personal prayer which I receive.
Without a prayer list, my promises to "pray for you" would be
totally empty. In addition, a prayer list is perfect for keeping track
of answers to prayer.
If you do not have a prayer list, start small.
Simply list the relationships and matters most important to you on a 3 x
5 card, add a few specifics under the names, and put it in your wallet
for daily reference. I guarantee that if you use a prayer list, it will
greatly enhance your prayer life.
"Quiet" Time
Next you need some quiet. I am well aware that
quiet is a relative term in today's world where there is virtually no
silence. Many of us never experience silence during our waking hours. We
wake up to clock radio, shave to the news, drive through noisy traffic,
enter a noisy, busy office, return home listening to the rush-hour
reports, "relax" in front of the TV, and drift off to sleep as
the house pulsates with the thump, thump of the family stereo.
What is more, the occasional silence we do
encounter can be distracting because it heightens other distracting
noises. Trappist monk Thomas Merton tells how in the deep quietness of a
monastery, a cough repeated at predictable intervals can destroy every
possibility of collected thought. Silence is sometimes louder than the
noise you are trying to ignore! So you need to choose the situation that
works best for you. It may be dominated by road noise, but if that is
the atmosphere you need to concentrate, use it.
Place
Along with this you must find a place where you
will not be disturbed. Early in my ministry, my office was in a twenty-five
foot trailer. My part-time secretary was on the other side of a thin
plywood partition. I could hear everything! If that was not enough, the
whole trailer shook when the door opened.
My solutions were many, and all off the
premises-the beautiful old and always open and empty sanctuary of a
neighboring church, the park, the wonderful anonymity of my car parked
at a busy shopping center. Even today, though I now have a quiet office,
I often go to similar places for my devotions.
Time
I also try to give my best time to prayer-which
for me is never the time just before going to bed. One's last waking
moments should never be given to powerful intercessory prayer (except,
for students who have a final exam in the morning).
Here Jesus' habit is instructive: "Very
early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the
house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed" (Mark
1:35). The early bird gets the prime time. The real question for you is,
when is your best time? For some it may be at lunch or before dinner.
Posture
A certain man could not find the right posture
for prayer. He tried praying
on his knees, but that was not comfortable; besides, it wrinkled his
slacks. He tried praying standing, but soon his legs got tired. He tried
praying seated, but that did not seem reverent. Then one day as he was
walking through a field, he fell head first into an open
well. And did he ever pray!
Seriously, one's prayer posture can make a
difference. While the Scriptures mention numerous postures for prayer,
none is prescribed. What is important is that your posture
enhance reverent attention. Sometimes I kneel, sometimes I walk about
the room, often I sit at my desk with list in hand. There are times when
I lift my hands, and other times I have been on my face. Heart attitude
is the key factor.
Preparation
As to preparation for prayer, honest practicality
is of greatest importance. Sometimes a man needs a shower and a shave.
If you are into coffee like I am, a good cup of coffee is a divine
cordial. Again, it is not the physical details that are of prime
importance but the condition and stance of the heart. Whatever helps you
focus on the Lord, use it.
Length
Often the best prayers are short and passionate.
Luther himself said: "Look to it that you do not try to do all of
it, do not try to do too much, lest your spirit grow weary. Besides, a
good prayer mustn't be too long. Do not draw it out. Prayer ought to be
frequent and fervent." A legalistic commitment to duration can kill
one's prayer life.
The Discipline of Petitionary Prayer
The practice of prayer-the list, the quiet,
the place, the time, the posture, the preparation,
and the length-all suggest one thing- discipline.
Candidly, prayer is work; not a sport. It is not
something that you do if you like it, or devote your spare time to, or
do only if you are good at it. Prayer is the proper work of the soul
which loves Christ (Ephesians 6:18):
"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions
with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and
always keep on praying for all the saints."
This is a call to work! We must never wait until
we feel like praying-otherwise we may never pray, unless, perhaps, we
fall head first into an open well. The context of Paul's charge in
Ephesians 6 is spiritual warfare-and that is what prayer is! Christian
men [and women] face the world-and fall on their knees. Work and war;
war and work-these are the words we must keep before us if we are to
become men [and women] of prayer.
Measured Work
This understood, we must also understand that we
must not over commit ourselves, especially if we are just beginning. The
tendency, when truly challenged, is to say, "I'm committing myself
to two hours of daily prayer, I am going to read the Bible through twice
this year, and I'm going to practice every day the disciplines of
devotion (meditation, confession, adoration, submission) and also the
discipline of petition. I'm going to have a prayer list that is second
to none." That will last about three days-maybe!
Better to commit yourself to a total of fifteen
minutes and maintain it-with perhaps five minutes of Bible reading, five
minutes of meditation, and five minutes of disciplined prayer. A regular
time of devotion and prayer will become a habit, and the habit of prayer
will give wings to your spiritual life.
In this respect, Dr. J. Sidlow Baxter once shared
a page from his own pastoral diary with a group of pastors who had
inquired about the discipline of prayer. He began by telling how in 1928
he entered the ministry determined he would be the "most Methodist-Baptist"
of pastors, a real man of prayer. However, it was not long before his
increasing pastoral responsibilities and administrative duties and the
subtle subterfuges of pastoral life began to crowd prayer out. Moreover,
he began to get used to it, making excuses for himself.
Then one morning it all came to a head as he
stood over his workstrewn desk and looked at his watch. The voice of
the Spirit was calling him to pray. At the same time another velvety
little voice was telling him to be practical and get his letters
answered, and that he ought to face up to the fact that he was not one
of the "spiritual sort"- only a few people could be like that.
"That last remark," says Baxter, "hurt like a dagger
blade. I could not bear to think it was true." He was horrified by
his ability to rationalize away the very ground of his ministerial
vitality and power.
That morning Sidlow Baxter took a good look into
his heart, and found there was a part of him which did not want to pray
and a part which did. The part which did not was his emotions; the part
which did was his intellect and will. This analysis paved the way
to victory. In Dr. Baxter's own inimitable words:
"As never before, my will and I stood
face to face. I asked my will the straight question, Will, are you ready
for an hour of prayer?" Will answered, "Here I am, and I'm
quite ready, if you are." So Will and I linked arms and turned to
go for our time of prayer.
At once all the emotions began pulling the other
way and protesting, "We are not coming." I saw Will stagger
just a bit, so I asked, "Can you stick it out, Will?" and Will
replied, "Yes, if you can." So Will went, and we got down to
prayer, dragging those wriggling, obstreperous emotions with us.
It was a struggle all the way through. At one
point, when Will and I were in the middle of an earnest intercession, I
suddenly found one of those traitorous emotions had snared my
imagination and had run off to the golf course; and it was all I could
do to drag the wicked rascal back. A bit later I found another of the
emotions had sneaked away with some offguard thoughts and was in the
pulpit, two days ahead of schedule, preaching a sermon that I had not
yet finished preparing!
At the end of that hour, if you had asked me,
"Have you had a 'good time'?" I would have had to reply,
"No, it has been a wearying wrestle with contrary emotions and a
truant imagination from beginning to end." What is more, that
battle with the emotions continued for between two and three weeks, and
if you asked me at the end of that period, "Have you had a 'good
time' in your daily praying?" I would have had to confess, "No,
at times it has seemed as though the heavens were brass, God too distant
to hear, the Lord Jesus strangely aloof and prayer accomplished nothing."
Yet something was happening.
For one thing, Will and I really taught the
emotions that we were completely independent of them. Also, one morning,
about two weeks after the contest began, just when Will and I were going
for another time of prayer, I overheard one of the emotions whisper to
the other, "Come on, you guys, it is no use wasting any more time
resisting: they'll go just the same." That morning, for the first
time, even though the emotions were still suddenly uncooperative, they
were at least quiescent, which allowed Will and me to get on with prayer
undistracted.
Then, another couple of weeks later, what do you
think happened? During one of our prayer times, when Will and I were no
more thinking of the emotions than of the man-in-the-moon, one of the
most vigorous of the emotions unexpectedly sprang up and shouted, "Hallelujah!"
at which all the other emotions exclaimed, "Amen!" And for the
first time the whole of my being-intellect, will, and emotions-was
united in one coordinated prayer-operation.
Revise
Your Response
How
has the discussion changed your original thinking and belief about this
issue? Summarize your thoughts on this issue in the space provided
below.
The
gaining of wisdom is a lifelong learning process.
Write out what you will do to learn more about this issue and
continue to pursue understanding.
Take
Steps to Obey
1.
What do you sense God leading you to do in response to what you
have learned?
2.
How do you plan to carry this out (when, who, where, etc.)?
3.
Establish accountability: The
goal is for you to establish faith goals related to the subject and
communicate these to your group and/or facilitator.
With God's help I will:
|
