02/23/2024
We begin our prayers focused on certain desires, and thoughts, but as we continue on in our conversation with the Lord our minds often begin to wander, and we lose sight of the real reason we were praying in the first place. Sometimes we stop our prayer altogether, but many times we have heard something like a child coughing elsewhere in our house, the urgency of a passing siren on the street, or the sound of thunder off in the distance, and they take us into a different prayer and we seek another of God’s promises. Our prayers should include a request that our hearts and minds be guarded in Christ so that we will remain focused on the prayer at hand, and we will not be distracted.
“do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6-7 ESV
There are so many things that can distract us and send our thoughts off on a tangent, and when this happens we suddenly find ourselves praying for such things as healing, the Lord’s attention to some unknown accident, or for Him to protect us against a coming storm. We can find ourselves praying for these even though our initial reason for praying was for God’s relief from a famine and His provision for the starving people that were being affected by it. When distracted we can find that our original reason for praying can be left far behind.
“Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”
Romans 12:12 ESV
So today let’s think about those things that have personally distracted us during our prayers, and how we shouldn’t lose our focus as we are conversing with God. Wherever you are right now, I ask that you to join me as I spend the remainder of the day contemplating a couple of sentences that E.M. Bounds wrote on focusing our prayerful attention on the promise that our prayers will be heard, and answered:
"The promise is like the blessed rain falling in full showers. But prayer, like the pipes that direct the rain, focus these promises until they become direct and personal - until they bless, refresh, and fertilize."
E.M. Bounds
One day, while sitting in my prayer chair I could hear the rain outside as it was falling on the awning and occasionally I would hear a roll of thunder as well. As I sat there, I sank into Bounds' words and thought of the many promises I would like to lift up in prayer that day; each one of them requesting God's promises in a personal way, and the intercession of Christ in my prayer life and the lives of those surrounding me.
But as the rain fell steadily outside and God's promises lived within me as I sat in my chair, my attention was occasionally drawn away by the low rumbles of thunder. Their deep and often intimidating resonance reminded me that God is indeed powerful and working within His will, but the sound of the rolling thunder also triggered me to consider that as we pray for God's promises to be fulfilled, there can be a nagging doubt, or morsel of staleness, that will creep into us and distract us from the otherwise holy endeavor of our prayers... so I refocused on my thoughts of faith.
We give and get gifts at Christmas, and as the time draws near for us to open them we begin to wonder whether we will actually receive what we had hoped for. Those doubts are somewhat like the disquieting thunder of a warm summer rain storm; they distract us from the true joy of receiving the promise in our prayers. So as I mulled over these thoughts I was encouraged to faithfully hold to the promises of God and to prayerfully continue praising Him and believing that His word is true. I clung to the promises of prayer, and when the thunder shook the house I prayed all the more passionately for the rain of His promises, and my focus to be on them.
As we continue to breathe prayer this week I hope that the thunder doesn't cause us to catch our breath, but that it awakens our efforts, and causes us to offer our prayers with greater urgency and faith. I hope that the deep booming that reverberates within us will cause us to lean on the scriptural promises that accompanied our desires today...
“Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;”
Romans 12:12 KJV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your promise of hearing our prayers, and answering them. Thank you for the name of your Son Jesus that He directed us to pray in, and for your Holy Spirit who often helps us to pray. Father give us a clarity of thought, and a steadfast focus as we lift up our desires to you in prayer. Don’t let the distractions of the world, or even the issues of faith that Satan uses like a half-truth, lead us away from your will or cause us to lose sight of those things we have set about to pray for. Keep our minds fixed on you, and our words centered on those things that are important today.
Father, I pray that you keep and bless all of your children today as they pray, and that your thunder not distract them, but will serve to quicken them in their prayers, and that your promises will fall upon them like a nourishing summer rain. I ask this that you will be glorified in our prayers, and we will find peace, and joy in you forevermore.
Amen
Rich Forbes