12/16/2021
Many ask me about prayer, and how they can go about praying so that their prayers might be more effective and powerful. In truth, they want their prayers to be answered, but the real question they should ask is one similar to what the disciples asked Jesus… the disciples asked Him to TEACH them to pray and so He taught them a prayer, but had they asked HOW they should pray He would have pointed to His life… in Him we learn to pray always, pray for prayer, affix ourselves in faith, pray the simple, humble, prayers of a child, and never give up on a prayer because in offering it our faith is becoming rooted. Effective prayer is more about the How, and less about the what; it is worship, and it is kneeling in the will of God. So, how do we pray? How do you pray?
“And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.”
Luke 2:36-37 ESV
Looking at the life of Jesus we see immediately that He never strays from the presence of God. Like Anna the prophetess He remains in the temple. Our bodies are our temple, but do we see the Lord there always too, or do we turn Him off and on, ignoring His presence when we want to walk into the seedy places of the world, or brush up against sin?
“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,”
1 Corinthians 6:19 ESV
Charles Spurgeon spoke similarly of the power of remaining in prayer. He spoke of many things regarding prayer like knowing who we are praying to, praying with humility, and other such things, but when it came to learning how to pray I loved these words…
“Pray for prayer — pray till you can pray; pray to be helped to pray, and give not up praying because thou canst not pray, for it is when thou thinkest thou canst not pray that thou are most praying; and sometimes when thou hast no sort of comfort in thy supplications, it is then that thy heart all broken and cast down is really wrestling and truly prevailing with the most high.” - Charles Spurgeon
Jesus taught us more about WHAT to pray when He gave us the Lord’s Prayer, but He taught us a great deal about HOW to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane. With drops of sweat like blood, with intensity so great that an angel had to be dispatched to strengthen Him, with a direct message and simple language welling up from His heart… then finally by bowing (worshiping) in absolute concession to the will of God.
“saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.””
Luke 22:42 ESV
As we are learning HOW to pray we should call on the Holy Spirit for help. When we do this He will pray for us; sometimes by giving us words, while at other times allowing our spirit to voice themselves in a way more powerful than that… groaning. If you have ever been heartbroken and trying to pray but had no words, only tears, and while struggling there in the midst of your sobs you heard yourself utter a moan from deep within you, then you have already encountered the Holy Spirit’s work.
“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”
Romans 8:26-27 ESV
You ask “How do I pray?”, and the answer comes quite simply… just begin speaking to God… simply pray until you can pray. There is no mystery, just relationship. We can speak easily, and clearly, when in conversation with those we know well, and are awkward with strangers, so get to know God by becoming familiar with Him… or in other words, pray to pray.
Prayer:
Father thank you for being with us whenever we pray to you. Thank you for hearing us even when we are stumbling about in the infancy of our prayers. Teach us what it means to be in your will as we pray, and then show us how to approach you humbly, simply, and fervently through the example we have in the prayer life of Christ. Help us to bare our hearts and souls to you as we remain in your temple. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who comes to us in the midst of every prayer and knows our deepest pains, and the most intimate desires of our hearts. Praised be your name for answering us, not because of our fine and ornate language, but in the sincerity of our faith, in conformance to your will, and the humble nature of our soul. Wash us in the blood of Jesus, forgive us our sins, and walk with us all this day, and night, as we speak with you and learn how to pray as we ought. Help us to please you, and to become worthy of eternity with you… praying with the familiarity of a child to its father.
Rich Forbes