Tag: prayer

Have We Forgotten How To Pray?

Published by Jeff Kennon on July 7, 2014

We have learned to organize, build institutions, publish books, insert ourselves into the media, develop evangelistic strategies, and administer discipleship programs, but we have forgotten how to pray.

Are we better at organizing than agonizing? Better at administering than interceding? Better at fellowship than fasting? Better at entertainment than worship? Better at theological articulation that spiritual adoration? Better–God help us!–at preaching than at praying?

-D.A. Carson, A Call To Spiritual Reformation

These are some pretty tough words by Dr. Carson. I know they are not meant to be an indictment on every believer or every church, but nonetheless, they should halt us in our tracks and cause us to reflect on whether or not we really are people of prayer.

I know we know to pray. But many times our understanding of knowing to do something does not necessarily translate into action. I have personally made more commitments to have a more vital prayer life than anyone I know.

So what do we do? As I began thinking about the need for believers and churches to continue strong in prayer, I came up with a few thoughts that might be of some help and encouragement.

1. We don’t pray to get God to love us!

Our times of prayer are about getting in touch with how much God loves us rather than times of earning his love. We approach the throne of God because the Father chose Christ “to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21). We don’t approach a God who is angry with us!!!

2. We must plan to pray.

When each day are you going to set aside a few minutes to pray? You must have a time and stick to it. Let nothing interrupt this time if at all possible. I know this can be a tough thing to do, but it is critical that you MAKE AN APPOINTMENT TO PRAY and that you KEEP THAT APPOINTMENT.

3. Know what to pray.

Do you have a prayer list or notebook? Are you praying for family, nonbelievers, etc…? You might consider praying through Scripture or allowing it to guide you as your pray. For example, as you read the command to “love your enemies,” pray for strength to do so.

4. Pray continually.

As you go throughout the day, make it a habit to pray for various people that come across your path or mind. Pray as you drive or walk from place to place.

5. Find a prayer partner.

When you find a partner to pray with weekly, it will not only encourage you, but also strengthen your commitment and desire to pray.

6. Don’t worry about being a “spiritual giant.”

So many times, especially for those who start afresh in praying, we worry that we don’t pray for hours like those of Martin Luther or George Mueller. Personally, I don’t think the goal in prayer should be about a length of time, but about communing with God. So don’t beat yourself up about only spending 10 or 20 minutes in prayer.

7. Read some good books on prayer.

Two good books are A Praying Life by Paul E. Miller and It Happens After Prayer by H.B. Charles Jr.

8. Most importantly, you learn to pray by praying.

All the things mentioned above, though helpful, are not meant to be rules. J.I. Packer writes: The only rules are, stay within biblical guidelines and within those guidelines, as John Chapman puts it, “pray as you can and don’t try to pray as you can’t” (quoted from A Call To Spiritual Reformation).

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Asking For Too Little For Wrong Reasons

Published by Jeff Kennon on July 2, 2014

When it comes to prayer, do we ask for too little for the wrong reasons? Do we petition God for small things for ourselves when we should ask for God-sized things for His glory?

The apostle Paul was not afraid to ask God for extravagant blessings on behalf of others. In his letter to the Ephesians, he writes of his praying for the Ephesian believers to be “filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Eph 3:19).

Peter O’Brien writes of this passage: “Has the apostle ‘gone over the top?'” Has he asked for too much? “No,” writes O’Brien, “for it is impossible to ask for too much since the Father’s giving exceeds their capacity for asking or even imagining” (see Eph. 3:20-21).

Paul wanted the Ephesian believers to experience God in his fullness for by doing so, he knew that God would be glorified as they delighted in knowing the depth of who He was. In addition, for God to answer such a prayer, it would show His goodness and mercy.

The key to Paul’s petitions to God were based upon God being known and glorified, not Paul’s personal will or comfort. In the New Testament letter written by James, we see the danger of asking God for things that are for our own selfish desires. James writes: You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions (James 4:3).

God not answering our selfish prayers is not a bad thing however. What would it be like if parents gave in to all the selfish requests of their children? We do not always know what is best for us. We should be thankful that God doesn’t always give us what we think we need or want.

We must understand, however, that God desires to give us good things and those good things revolve around His glory and His making Himself known in your life.

We must also realize that God is not stingy in giving. The reason why we sometimes think He is is because we ask for things for our own glory and passions which could lead to our downfall.

One story that I particularly like in showing that we might be insulting God with our small ambitions is one that is told and written by Tim Keller. It is a story (most likely apocryphal) about Alexander the Great, who had a general whose daughter was getting married.

Alexander valued this solder greatly and offered to pay for the wedding. When the general gave Alexander’s steward the bill, it was absolutely enormous. The steward came to Alexander and named the sum.

To his surprise Alexander smiled and said, “Pay it! Don’t you see–by asking me for such an enormous sum he does me great honor. He shows that he believes I am both rich and generous.”

Do we believe that God is rich and generous? Do we believe He wants to show Himself to those around us? Do we believe that He can send revival to your church and community? Let’s pray!

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Let Me Learn By Paradox

Published by Jeff Kennon on April 27, 2014

LORD, HIGH AND HOLY, MEEK AND LOWLY,

Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision,
where I live in the depths but see thee
in the heights;
hemmed in by mountains of sin
I behold thy glory.

Let me learn by paradox
that the way down is the way up,
that to be low is to be high,
that the broken heart is the healed heart,
that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,
that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
that to have nothing is to possess all,
that to bear the cross it to wear the crown,
that to give is to receive,
that the valley is the place of vision.

Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen
from the deepest wells,
and the deeper the wells
the brighter thy stars shine;
Let me find thy light in my darkness,
thy life in my death,
thy joy in my sorrow,
thy grace in my sin,
thy riches in my poverty,
thy glory in my valley.

taken from The Valley of Vision

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15 Ways To Pray

Published by Jeff Kennon on April 7, 2014

1. Pray for God to be exalted in your family, community, and church.

Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.” -Matthew 6:9

2. Pray to comprehend the love of Christ.

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father…that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:14, 18-20)

3. Pray that God will open your eyes to see wonderful things in His Word.

Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law. (Psalm 119:18)

4. Pray for yourself and other believers to know God more fully.

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. (Colossians 1:9-10)

5. Pray for endurance and patience as you faithfully follow the will of God.

May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy. (Colossians 1:11).

6. Pray to not fall into temptation.

Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. (Matthew 26:41)

7. Pray for greater faith for yourself and other believers.

Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24)

8. Pray for an overflow of love among believers.

And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you. (1 Thessalonians 3:12)

9. Pray for unity among believers.

I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. (John 17:20-21)

10. Pray for the desire to share the gospel with those who have never heard and for those who need to hear.

I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation. (Romans 15:20)

11. Pray for the salvation of others.

Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. (Romans 10:1)

12. Pray for activeness in sharing your faith.

I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ. (Philemon 7)

13. Pray for open doors to share the gospel.

At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison. (Colossians 4:3)

14. Pray for boldness to share the gospel.

And pray also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel. (Ephesians 6:19)

15. Pray for the rapid spread of the gospel in your community, state, nation and world.

Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you. (2 Thessalonians 3:1)

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21).

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A Prayer For Worship

Published by Jeff Kennon on March 30, 2014

Glorious God,
It is the flame of my life to worship thee,
the crown and glory of my soul to adore thee,
heavenly pleasure to approach thee.

Give me power by thy Spirit to help me worship now,
that I may forget the world,
be brought into fullness of life,
be refreshed, comforted, blessed.

Give me knowledge of thy goodness
that I might not be over-awed by thy greatness;
Give me Jesus, Son of Man, Son of God,
that I might not be terrified,
but be drawn near with filial love,
with holy boldness;
He is my Mediator, Brother, Interpreter,
Branch Daysman, Lamb;
him I glorify,
in him I am set on high.

Crowns to give I have none,
but what thou hast given I return,
content to feel that everything is mine when it is thine,
and the more fully mine when I have yielded it to thee.

Let me love wholly to my Saviour,
free from distractions,
from carking care,
from hindrances to the pursuit of the narrow way.

I am pardoned through the blood of Jesus –
give me a new sense of it,
continue to pardon me by it,
may I come every day to the fountain,
and every day be washed anew,
that I may worship thee always in spirit and truth.

-taken from Valley of Vision

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Is Anything Happening When We Pray?

Published by Jeff Kennon on March 21, 2014

Do you ever wonder if anything is happening when you pray? You pray for rain, but it doesn’t rain. You pray for healing, but healing doesn’t come. You pray for the salvation of a family member or friend, but they continue to be unresponsive. So what’s happening? What should you do?

Persevere

We live in an impatient society. We have fast-food restaurants, high-speed internet, and on-demand movies. We are not conditioned to wait for much of anything and unfortunately, this affects our prayer life.

Jesus, in Luke 18:1-8, tells a parable to the effect that they [Jesus’ disciples] ought always to pray and not lose heart. The parable concerns a widow and an unjust judge. Though the widow continually pleaded for justice against her adversary, the judge would not grant it. But though he refused, he afterward said to himself: Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming. Jesus then asks his disciples: Here what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night?

When we pray and nothing appears to happen, what do we usually do? Do we continue in prayer? Consider the words of George Mueller found in his diary:

I am now in 1864, waiting upon God for certain blessings, for which I have daily besought Him for 19 years and 6 months, without one days intermission.

Can you imagine praying for over 19 years for certain requests?

Remember

When we pray and the heavens do not part and the heavenly hosts fail to descend slaying evil and bringing revival to the land, do not think that your praying is ineffective. We must remember that God is at work though we cannot always see when, where, or how.

Though it might seem as though our prayers are bouncing off the ceiling, the truth is that cataclysmic activity is taking place (see Rev. 8:1-5). James writes that the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working (James 5:16). When we pray, the things that can transpire are beyond estimation.

John Piper writes:

Don’t neglect the amazing influence you have in the world for good through prayer. By prayer God calls us to join him in shaping history. By prayer we are to influence the wills of professors and writers and entertainers and editors and pastors and elders and missionaries. By prayer, we are to influence the wills of presidents and kings and senators and governors and mayors (1 Tim. 2:1). By prayer we are to influence the wills of our friends and enemies. We are to influence the wills of our children by prayer and our husbands and wives and mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers and neighbors and colleagues and fellow students. The amount of transforming good you can do by prayer is incalculable.

Trust

Once again, we must not think that nothing happens when we pray. Did not Jesus tell us to ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you (Matthew 7:7)? The trouble for us is our preconceived ideas regarding the method and the timing of God’s answering. Therefore, we must trust God.

Remember Job? Everything had been taken away from him, including his health. Job, as most of us would, wanted to know why. What was God’s response? He asked Job to trust Him. God’s purposes were bigger than Job could understand at the moment (Job 38:1-42:6). So Job, after seeing the grandeur of God, eventually trusts and submits to His sovereignty. (Job 42:1-6).

Not Alone

If you ever wonder whether anything is happening when you pray, you are not alone. There have been many throughout history who have questioned whether God was listening to them. Yet throughout those times, God was present. So therefore, the days you have doubts about whether prayer really does anything, remember the greatness of God, persevere in prayer, and trust that He is working.

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