How can I improve my prayer life?
1 Peter 4:7
Along with consistent Bible intake, spiritually mature Christians must have a healthy prayer life. Bible reading is God speaking to us; prayer is us speaking to God. This dialogue is the essence of the spiritual journey of sanctification. Perhaps more books have been written about prayer than any other spiritual discipline, so there’s no need for me to go into great depth here. In this devotional I am urging a pattern of focused, concentrated, uninterrupted prayer: “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen” (Matthew 6:6). There is immense value to “praying without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17), weaving prayer throughout the day as needs arise. I think it’s fine to pray while driving to work, or while waiting for people to come for a meeting, etc. Jesus certainly wove prayer through his daily life, thanking God when the disciples returned after their fruitful mission trip (Luke 10:21), praying for God to raise Lazarus from the dead (John 11:41–42), etc.
But Jesus also withdrew to solitary places and did nothing but pray. So also, a mature Christian knows the value of times of concentrated prayer and doesn’t try to shortchange them. If anyone complains that their lives are too busy for extended times of prayer, they should consider the example of Daniel, who was the second most powerful man in the Medo-Persian Empire. He never neglected his duties but was diligent in everything he had to do. Yet he still prayed three times a day, down on his knees, thanking God and asking God for help (Daniel 6:10–11).
Prayer comes in various types. For years I have used the A.C.T.S. acronym to help me be thorough in my prayers: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. I have also made a prayer notebook, a three-ring binder with these four areas sectioned off. I have sheets for each area—an attribute sheet to help me praise God, a listing of various types of sins to help in my confession, a two-sided sheet of various blessings for which God deserves thanks, and a prayer list of people who need my prayers. I also have Paul’s prayers copied out so I can pray like he did for the disciples, based on Ephesians 1, Ephesians 3, Colossians 1, Philippians 1, and other sample passages. And I have blank sheets at the back of the notebook in which I can record specific prayer requests and keep a record of God’s faithfulness.
Prayer life is the barometer of the health of the Christian soul.
Prayer life is the barometer of the health of the Christian soul.Some years ago, I came across a sermon by Jonathan Edwards, and the title alone convicts me greatly: “Hypocrites Deficient in Private Prayer.” It challenges me to be faithful in my personal prayer life. Mature Christians are not“deficient in private prayer,” but sometimes I can be. It is a point of maturity for me to grow constantly in my prayer life. John Bunyan said something very profound about prayer: “Prayer will make a man cease from sin, or sin will entice a man to cease from prayer.” If we are not praying as we should, it could be that some area of sin has sapped our strength. And if we are cherishing some secret sin in our hearts, God will not hear our prayers (Isaiah 59:1–2).
Peter pointed out two things that could destroy our prayer lives:
1) “The end of all things is near. Therefore, be clear-minded and self-controlled so that you can pray” (1 Peter 4:7). If we are too wrapped up in the things of this world and have forgotten that the end is near, if we have given in to temptation or enjoyed lawful pleasures too much, we have lost our self-control. Our prayer life will suffer accordingly.
2) “Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers” (1 Peter 3:7). If I as a husband have forgotten to be loving and gentle with my wife and have not treated her with respect, our prayers will be hindered (both individually and together).
The apostle Paul also demonstrates the importance of praying for other believers. Paul’s life of intercessory prayer is exemplary and worthy of careful study. What we learn from such a study is how spiritually focused, consistent, and fervent were Paul’s prayers for the churches and for individual Christians. An example of this is found in Colossians 1:9-10,
“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.” We ought to pray for each other like that! Too often we fail to pray for each other, or when we do, our prayers are weak, sporadic, and focused too much on this world.
Paul clearly commanded all Christians to be faithful in prayer for each other: “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:18). Mature Christians make this a consistent part of their lives. A subset of this is praying for each other’s ministries, especially for those in strategic ministries of missions to unreached people groups.
After Paul has spoken to the Roman Christians about his plans for upcoming mission work in Spain, taking the gospel to those who’ve never heard of Christ, Paul says solemnly: “I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me” (Romans 15:30). Spiritual maturity means shouldering the burdens of the ministries of other choice servants in the Lord so that Christ’s kingdom can advance.
(excerpt from An Infinite Journey, by Andy Davis, pages 384-385, 374-375)
