Effective, Fervent Prayer

THIS WEEK I've been learning a lot about prayer. Pastor Ryan spoke about it this Wednesday, and since then it has been on my mind.

I have a rather odd problem. Do you remember the Garden of Gethsemane? Jesus is pouring His heart out in prayer, sweating blood and groaning as He anticipates His arrest, and His weary disciples are sleeping! Well, that's what has been happening to me. Lately I have been falling asleep at night before I've really sought God in prayer. I understand that prayer is powerful and necessary, but I've gotten so tired at night that I've been shutting my eyes for just a few minutes, and slept without having really prayed. Never before have I seen how Jesus' words in that scene apply so well to me: v.46 "Then He said to them, 'Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation.'"

So this week Ive noticed God bringing to my attention several passages related to prayer, to encourage me to get better at this. We should be praying all through the day and with power and effectiveness, not just to get it out of the way.

Just this week God spoke to me twice through T-shirts that I saw. The first one referenced Psalm 130, which is a prayer asking for God's mercy. If you read it you will notice amazing humility and respect in the speaker's voice. That is how we are supposed to pray.

v.2-4 "[2] Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. [3] If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? [4] But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared."

When we pray, we should remember who it is we are talking to. We come into the presence of God Himself, who designed and created everything, whose power is not limited in any way. He is holy and worthy to be revered. When I remember that, it makes me more willing to fight my sleepiness and give Him my attention. Pastor Ryan pointed out that prayer is not just conversation. It is not just us talking to God. It is communion with Him, an opportunity to draw close to Him. We are supposed to praise Him, to ask for His will to be done, and to seek His guidance and help in all situations. We are to do these things humbly and with faith - solid and well-founded trust that He can and will come through.

The other T-shirt referenced 2 Chronicles 6:20. I do not spend a lot of time in 1 and 2 Chronicles. I am very glad I remembered this reference and found it. In 2 Chronicles 6, King Solomon is dedicating a temple to God. He prays in public on his knees and with his arms outsretched in reverence.

v.18-20 "[18] But will God indeed dwell with men on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built! [19] Yet regard the prayer of Your servant and his supplication, O Lord my God, and listen to the cry and prayer which Your servant is praying before You: [20] that Your eyes may be open toward this temple day and night, toward this place where You said You would put Your name, that You may hear the prayer which Your servant makes toward this place."

Solomon recognized that it was no use trying to accomplish anything truly great and worthwhile without the blessing of God. He wanted to honor God, not himself, with the temple, so he dedicated it to Him. That is what we should do with our lives. Life is about God, so we should pray that our will matches His and that He will send us to accomplish it, for His glory, not our own.

It's easy for a lot of us to wonder, "Why pray?" If God already knows what He's doing, what is the use of us asking Him to do anything? If He knows the future, what difference will prayer make? Actually, prayer does a lot.

James 5:16 says "Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much."

Prayer has a few difference purposes that make it an effective tool in battle. First, it draws us closer to God and trains us to hear His voice. We cannot have a real relationship with Him if we never communicate with Him.

Second, it is an opportunity to praise Him for His faithfulness and for everything He is doing. It is a chance to thank Him as He deserves to be thanked.

Third, it builds up our love for the people and causes we pray for, and makes brothers out of enemies. It also offers us a chance to affirm our faith to Him. God answers our requests when we pray in His will, believing in His power to keep His promises. He answers so that we will see that He is able to do what He says He will do, that our faith is not in vain when we trust in Him. So we should ask outrageous things with boldness, things that don't seem possible, things that He has promised to do, like breaking down high walls in hard hearts with His truth.

Prayer is worth staying awake for. It is a chance to communicate with God and to humble ourselves before Him. He loves to hear from us and answer. Sometimes all it takes is the faith to go ahead and ask.

In John 14:13-14, Jesus says "[13] And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the son. [14] If you ask anything in My name, I will do it."

Do you believe that God can and God will? Go ahead. Ask away.