Prayers Do Not Die

"The [woman] who has done the most and the best praying is the most immortal, because prayers do not die. Perhaps the lips that uttered them closed in death, or the heart that felt them may have ceased to beat, but the prayers live before God, and God's heart is set on them. Prayers outlive the lives of those who uttered them-outlive a generation, outlive an age, outlive a world."

HT: Joshua Harris

Praying Without Ceasing

Paul calls us in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to pray without ceasing. Lloyd-Jones said, "That does not mean that you should be perpetually on your knees, but that you are always in a prayerful condition. As you are walking along a road, or while you are working in your study, you turn frequently to God in prayer… . Above all — and this regard as most important of all — always respond to every impulse to pray. The impulse to pray may come when you are reading, when you are battling with a text. I would make an absolute law of this—always obey such an impulse. Where does it come from? It is a work of the Holy Spirit … . So never resist, never postpone it, never push it aside because you are busy. Give yourself to it, yield to it, and you will find not only that you have not been wasting time with respect to the matter with which you are dealing, but that actually it has helped you greatly in that respect."

Going to Him in Prayer

Faith in the gospel leads the Christian to planned private prayer in at least 3 ways:

1. Because we trust in Jesus as our Lord and know he is for us, we gladly do what he tells us.
2. Because we trust in Jesus as our Treasure, we have tasted and seen that he is good, and so we are eager to get more of him.
3. Because we trust in Jesus as our Savior, we know that every true need we have has been purchased for us already, and so we don't come to him in prayer to purchase but to receive.

HT: Desiring God

The Easiest Thing About Prayer

The easiest thing about praying is quitting. Giving up seems so reasonable, so easy to justify. It’s always been that way, which is why Paul wrote in Colossians 4:2, “continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.” Persevering in prayer when no one seems to listen strikes many people as a sign of fanaticism, if not mental instability.

Read more.

HT: Sam Storms

I Dare You to Pray This By Francis Chan

HT: Francis Chan

Prayer Mirrors the Gospel

"The gospel, God's free gift of grace in Jesus, only works when we realize we don't have it all together. The same is true for prayer. The very thing we are allergic to-our helplessness-is what makes prayer work. It works because we are helpless. We can't do life on our own.

Prayer mirrors the gospel. In the gospel, the Father takes us as we are because of Jesus and gives us his gift of salvation. In prayer,the Father receives us as we are because of Jesus and gives us his gift of help. We look at the inadequacy of our praying and give up, thinking something is wrong with us. God looks as the adequacy of his Son and delights in our sloppy, meandering prayers."

-Paul Miller, APraying Life (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress 2009), 55

Most Pray Like a Calvinist

Have you ever noticed that Christians, regardless of which way they lean theologically, almost always pray like a Calvinist? Think about it. If you have non-Christian friend or family member that you have been praying would give their life to Christ, how do you do it? What do you say, or more to the point, how do you say it? Do you pray that the person would search for Christ? That they would choose God? Probably not. You probably pray that God would draw him or her to Himself. Or you pray that God would provide you an opportunity to share the gospel with them and that God would prepare their heart to receive that message. Or maybe you pray that God would use someone in his or her life, maybe even you, to open their eyes to their need for a Savior. Nearly all of us pray in a way that recognizes the sovereignty of God in all things, including salvation. We don't pray for those who don't know Christ as their King to better exercise their free will, make better choices, and begin seeking after God. No, we plead to God on behalf of our friends and family, praying that He would draw them to Him and open their eyes to their own sinfulness, repent of that sin, and receive a new life through Christ.

Expanding Our Concerns

Our prayers are often of a totally different character to the prayers of the Bible. For example, look at the prayers in the following passages:

* 2 Samuel 7:18-29
* Matthew 6:5-15
* Colossians 1:3-14

Note the concerns of these prayers: the grand purposes of God; the salvation of Israel through David's dynasty; the growth of the gospel and of believers; the coming of the Kingdom of God; the renown of God. In short, they are God-centered, not self-centered, prayers. They are full of thanks to God, rehearsing his holiness and saving power, and asking him to fulfill his plans to save the world.

Paul sets an agenda for prayer meetings in 1 Timothy 2:1-7. Read this now.

We are to pray for everyone, with the focus upon godly living and the salvation of all. Of course, we can bring our personal needs to God in prayer (see 1 Pet 5:7; Matt 6:25-34). By bringing all matters to God, even the minor details of our lives, we express faith in God's rule over all things. God has committed himself to provide and care for us.

HT: The Sola Panel

Make 2009 Your Best Year of Prayer

I had the fortunate and unexpected opportunity to visit John Piper’s church yesterday while in Minneapolis on a youth trip and I found his message inspiring (not surprising). He challenged the congregation to make 2009 the best year of prayer that they have ever had and he gave them three practical suggestions has we all move into the new year:

1. Set aside a time to pray and show up. Don’t leave it to chance. The devil defeats most of our efforts to pray by distracting us with things they may not seem bad, but still rob us of our time (like blogging).

2. Read scripture while you pray and then pray about what you’re reading in scripture.

3. Pray in concentric circles. Start with your own sin, your own struggles, etc., then move outward to your spouse, your children, your family, your church, your community, your country, and our world - or pray the other way, starting globally and ending with yourself.

Piper’s message was inspiring, funny, challenging, and I highly recommend that you take some time to listen to it when it’s available. There was so much more to his message than what I have summarized here, so check it out!

Update: The sermon is now online here.