Prayer.
What is prayer? Prayer is to communicate with God.
Prayer is the bedrock of our relationship with God.
It primarily includes talking, out loud or in silence - through our thoughts. It also includes deep groans and cries from the heart (like we see in Isaiah) and singing spontaneous songs and we can also pray in tongues, which is a gift given by God.
The importance of prayer: My testimony
Last year my husband was in a terrible accident and almost lost his legs. It took 7 months for him to be able to walk again. It has not been an easy time, but for my relationship with God and being able to have conversations with the Creator and Keeper of all life.
One thing I am certain: suffering improves our prayer life. And an increased prayer life always ends in MORE peace, MORE trust and MORE of the move of God in our lives. When we pray, we can expect miracles to shine bright in the shadows of life.
The importance of prayer: what does the Bible say
"No one is greater than their prayer life. There is simply no way to abide in Christ and to grow in our relationship with Jesus, apart from earnest, regular times in prayer" Marc Driscoll.
And in Mark 9:17-29 Jesus' disciples are trying to cast out a demon but fail miserably (*what a relief to know even they were not perfect, right?!*) and Jesus answers them by saying that they need to pray in order to drive out the demon.
Jesus was basically saying that faith only works in the context of a relationship with God. We cannot abide in Christ and be filled with faith without prayer. We cannot enjoy the benefits of God's empowerment without prayer.
How to pray: With confidence, with the help of the Holy Spirit and by following Jesus' example.
1. With Confidence
Confidence is important when it comes to communicating well. We get all flustered when we feel overwhelmed by a big personality or by someone of importance. It is far easier to talk to our good friend than to the president, for example.
Jesus is our best friend. In Hebrews 4:15, it says that Jesus understands our sufferings. He gets us. He gets me. He gets you. Even when we mess up. He is perfect, but He was tempted in every way, just as we are tempted and he knows we are weak and frail and imperfect. He knows that we fail, but His hands and heart is always open, He eagerly waits to hear from us.
We approach a throne of grace and not a throne of judgement.
Hebrews 4:16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence,
so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
2. With the Holy Spirit
In Luke 10:21, it says, 'at that time Jesus, full of the joy of the Holy Spirit, said, "I praise you, Father..."
The Holy Spirit teaches and helps us to pray. Further on in Luke 11:1, the disciples ask Jesus to teach them how to pray and Jesus responds by praying a prayer, which we will look at in a moment, but the section ends where Jesus says that the Holy Spirit is the greatest gift. Jesus' answer to their question is only complete once He mentions that ultimately, the Holy Spirit will enable us to pray.
Before we were saved, we had no reason to pray nor did we have any desire to do so, but when we are saved, we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit as our helper. The Holy Spirit empowers us to live this new life in Christ and starts to change our desires.
And so, we can pray to God with confidence, knowing that He loves us and receives our prayers with an open heart, knowing that the Holy Spirit will teach us and help us to pray and to deepen our relationship with God.
3. Jesus' example (the ACTS method)
Jesus was practical. For His disciples, the concept of the Holy Spirit as helper was still very foreign. Jesus was teaching them of things to come. But He did, in the meantime, also prepare them and help them where they were at. And from Jesus' example, it is clear that we can practice prayer in this manner until we are comfortable in relying more and more on the Holy Spirit.
If Jesus taught His disciples how to pray, then we as parents, can teach our kids to pray too. Follow His example:
Luke 11:2 He said to them, “When you pray, say:
“‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 Forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation.’”
Teaching our kids to pray:
And it is from this prayer of Jesus that the ACTS method (dating back as far as the 1800's!) was derived:
A- Adoration - Honouring Jesus
C- Confession - Saying sorry for our sins
T- Thanksgiving - Telling Him what we are grateful for
S- Supplication - Our needs or something we need help with
ACTS of prayer. Have fun demonstrating this prayer to your kids. Keep it simple. For example: 'Jesus, I love you because you are the Creator of everything! Even dogs! I am sorry that I yelled at our dog. I am so grateful that we have a dog. Please help our dog not to dig out my roses.' I hope this made you smile ;-)
When to pray:
In letters that Brother Lawrence wrote, he says the following: "The time of business does not differ from the time of prayer; and in the noise and clutter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquillity as if I were upon my knees... there is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful, than that of a continual conversation with God."
Brother Lawrence never advanced beyond being a cook in a Paris monastery, but his continual communication with the Lord produced a spiritual change in him. Many people sought him out to learn how to practice the presence of God themselves.
There is no wrong time to pray. We can pray anywhere, anytime.
"Pray your way through the day", says Joyce Meyer. I concur.
A good suggestion is to have set times when we seek God's face in desperation for ourselves, others, our nation. And being intentional to have delightful discussions with our best friend, Jesus, during the day.
As parents, we can demonstrate prayer in action through having set times where we pray together, for instance, around the dining table or when driving the kids to school. See these as an opportunity to celebrate conversation with God.
Oh what privilege to raise prayer and praise warriors!
Helpful tips:
1. Make prayer part of your routine. At dinner time. Driving the kids to school.
2. Keep it a casual conversation. Use the words "Let's talk to God" interchangeably with "Let's pray". Be real & authentic when you pray.
3. Explain that we close our eyes, not because it is a law, but because it helps us to focus and not to be distracted by things around us. I remember when I was at school, a teacher reprimanded a child for opening his eyes during prayer and I was thinking to myself that the teacher's eyes also had to be open. The irony was not lost on me. We need to make sure that we understand the heart of what we teach our kids. Likewise, sometimes we bow our knees in prayer, not because it is a more holy pose but because it allows us to express our hearts of humility to God.
4th Note: Being part of a church community boosts our prayer life. I am so grateful for our friends who continually prayed for my husband during the time of his accident. We felt as if we were covered by God's grace - like a protective blanket - because of the prayers of others. We all need someone we trust that we can call when we are in a prayerless pit. In James 5:16 it speaks of confessing our inadequacy and even the sins we struggle with to others, so we may be helped and healed. Their prayers for us have great power to prevail!
5th Note: And lastly, even when we do not have the energy to utter a word, Jesus is always interceding on our behalf.
Much love, & have a great evening.
Resources: Spirit-Filled Jesus, March Driscoll (pg 212; 213) But read the whole book. Good read. And of course, the letters by Brother Lawrence, available as free download. God's Word, always.
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