Tag: prayer

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Chapter 3: On Prayer–Different Types of Prayer

In its simplest terms prayer is talking to God. There are many different kinds of prayer [1], and though this is by no means a treatise on the subject, I will touch on a couple types of prayer for my purposes here: Intercession and Personal Petition.

Intercessory Prayer

Thank you many times over for your prayers of faith for me, and Randy. Please don’t give up! (from my blog  http://jacquesjourney.blogspot.com/)

Intercessory prayer is praying for another person or group of people. It is coming to God on behalf of another.  Jesus, as our Great High Priest in heaven, has this ministry to us now, standing before our heavenly Father, speaking on our behalf, advocating for us (I Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 4:14, 15; 7: 24, 25). He is our perfect Advocate, like the very best courtroom lawyer. He lived here as a human and understands us perfectly, and because He always pleads for us according to God’s will, He is always heard[2].

The Spirit of God, who lives in those of us who trust Jesus for salvation, intercedes for us as well with groans that cannot be put into words (Romans 8:26). And of course, His intercession for us is done perfectly and according to the will of God because the Spirit of God knows what the will of God is (Romans 8:27).

So we, too, are told to intercede for others, praying to God on their behalf (I Timothy 2: 1-4; Ephesians 6:18, 19). In my mind I picture intercession this way: When I intercede for a friend I step between my friend and God and plead her cause, like a trial lawyer would do for his client before the judge. Of course, because my understanding is finite I must seek out the mind and will of God in the whole process. God’s knowledge is infinite; He knows what is best for my friend. Since my knowledge is limited I would just be guessing unless I ask the Lord for insight in how to pray for the very best outcome for my friend. Even in my uncertainty of how to pray for my friend, as I continue to seek His mind, I have the certainty that God will answer according to His will, for my friend’s good and His glory.

[1]  An excellent book on types of prayer is Richard J. Foster’s Prayer: finding the heart’s true home (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1992)

[2] Hebrews 5:7-10; 4:14-16

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Chapter 3: On Prayer–The First Communicator

The scriptures often refer to God as loving, listening to, and blessing those who fear the Lord[1], who hold him in reverence and seek to live by His word. He is and always will be God—holy—much “other” than us. He is Creator, we are His creation. We must always approach Him in humility and with reverential fear. As the prophet Micah, in 6:8, put it so well, “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?”

We walk (live) before Him in humility and approach Him in prayer (talk to Him) with the same humility. Pride can’t coexist with humility, or with God! Oswald Chambers said, “only a child gets his prayers answered” [2] , and referenced Matthew 11:25, where Jesus thanked His Father for revealing His truths to children, not the wise and learned of the world. The truths of God are made known to those who have faith in and walk humbly with Him, like a child.

But who started the conversation?

God.

He has been initiating communication with mankind since He first created us. He blessed Adam and Eve, our first parents, telling them to have children and populate the earth. He gave them meaningful work, instructing them to be the overseers and caretakers of His creation, in fact, to rule over it; and He gave them the authority and provision to carry it out (Genesis 1:27-30).

Remember when God came to the garden when He walked and talked with Adam and Eve, the wind in the trees announcing His arrival? God was involved in their daily lives. Even after they ran and hid from Him because they had rebelled against the one thing He told them not to do—eat from the tree in the midst of the garden— He called out to them. God initiated communication. He desired Adam and Eve’s companionship and He desires ours as well. He likes being with us[3].

God initiated communication with us. He wants us to reciprocate. One way we do that is through prayer, in its many different forms.

[1] “The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever …” (Psalm 19:9); “Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have prepared for those who trust in You in the presence of the sons of men!” (Psalm 31:19)

[2] Oswald Chambers, ed. James Reimann, My Utmost for His Highest, ( Grand Rapids: Discovery House Publishers, 1992), October 17 selection.

[3]   Deuteronomy 30: 8-10; Psalm 18:19; Psalm 105:43

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Chapter 3: On Prayer

(This section begins Chapter 3 of the book Brokenness to Beauty: Transforming Your Brokenness into a Beautiful Life. One of the most important elements, in my mind, in walking through the dark valley of trials and suffering and coming out the other side whole and stronger, is communication with God. Therefore, I have written this chapter on Prayer. Not an exhaustive study of prayer, mind you, but things shared from my heart and experience of prayer. Again, I’m blogging portions of the chapters I’ve written, not the entire book. Send me your helpful comments.)

Chapter Three–On Prayer

 

Speak to Him thou for He hears, and Spirit with

Spirit can meet–

Closer is He than breathing, and nearer than hands

and feet.[1]

 

Prayer is as integral a part of my life as breathing. I cannot imagine not being able to pray because prayer is communicating with God; talking to Him in the ordinary days of life, sometimes crying out to Him with tears in the trying times of life.

One morning, as my husband and I sat on our porch to pray together, we waited in silence, enjoying the beauty of the day. We are no strangers to silence; we are comfortable with it. We quiet our hearts and focus on God as we come into His presence. We do not feel we have to fill the silence with our words. When we feel like saying something to God aloud, we then speak. That day we ended up not praying a word out loud, but we enjoyed that beautiful time in company with God, praising Him for the beauty around us, communing with Him in our spirits as though He was sitting on our porch swing with us—for He was with us. Jesus said, “where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them” (Matthew 18: 20, NKJV).

I like to think of God with us like He was early on with Adam and Eve. “They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool [breeze, wind] of the day…” (Genesis 3:8, NKJV). Though in this verse Adam and Eve ran and hid themselves from God because they had sinned against Him, I’m sure, based on previous verses, that prior to that day they had gone companionably walking and talking with God when He came into the garden to meet with them. In my imagination I see them eager to share their day’s experiences with God and to hear what He had to say to them.

I love the concept of hearing the sound or voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the breeze of the cooling evening as the sun was setting. They heard the familiar rustle of the leaves of the trees and bushes and knew God was coming for a chat.

We, too, can have such a relationship with God.

[1] Alfred Tennyson, “The Higher Pantheism” from The Holy Grail and Other Poems, (London: Strahan, 1870)

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Chapter 2: Importance of the Bible–Self-pity or Trust?

Self-pity is nothing to trifle with; it is destructive and from the devil, that old deceiver. It must be dealt with immediately and ruthlessly.

Daily I set out for my thirty minute walk. When the weather was clear I could see the mountains—not always the case in southern California—and my heart would rejoice. Having the mountains, or a lake, or the ocean, or even a garden to look at was like refreshment to my soul. I would feel my spirit expand as I drank in the vista. Weights on my spirit seemed to fall off as I realized how big God is and how wonderful His world. I always talked with God as I walked, like we were on a walk together. One day I wrote in my blog:

Just this past week I was walking … and talking with the Lord and asking forgiveness for and strength against self-pity. That is one thing that is so terribly damaging and destructive. I want no part of it. So I have to resist it when it raises its ugly head. I realized that I need to raise my sights and look at God’s bigger world, (its) great needs and His heart of compassion for those suffering. So many are spiritually dead and need life only He can give. So many brothers and sisters in the faith are struggling and suffering terribly. I need to care more, pray more for them …. Perspective.

The Word of God lifts our eyes off ourselves and gives us that new perspective. It elevates our vision to the greater world around us, not the false world of just me.

When difficulties come into our lives we almost immediately want to ask “Why?”, or “Why me?”, or “Why this?” Scripture calls us to wait on (hope in) God and trust completely in Him, seeking His grace to move ahead through the situation.  There are hints in scripture of the “whys” of troubles in our lives, and that they will come, but our concern should be with how we deal with them. It goes back to the act of bowing to God’s Sovereignty, rather than demanding our own way. As much as I want to be in control, I am not, but God is. Getting to that point of trust in God is crucial to maintaining sanity, as I call it, in the midst of suffering.

Amy Carmichael, missionary to India in the early part of the last century, said, “Trust, I have learned, means: to lean on, to place the weight of my confidence upon (Young’s Analytical Concordance) …. And after this discovery, I’ve found many verses in the Psalms that provide great comfort when translated in this way. For instance, ‘I have trusted in (leaned on, placed my confidence in) your lovingkindness’ Psalm 13:5).”[1]

Lean all my weight, place all my confidence in the God who has proven Himself faithful and able to do the impossible. This is what I need to do, especially during the hard times of trouble in my life. Amy Carmichael lived that truth and spoke from the seat of one who suffered. I listen to her.

[1] Amy Carmichael, I Come quietly to Meet You, (Minneapolis: Bethany House, 2005), 15

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Chapter 2: Importance of the Bible–The Source of Hope

We have the idea we can pray for patience as though it is a commodity God gives us, like our daily food. But patience, or perseverance, is an attribute which is developed in us by choice and use, in the midst of difficulties. Like practicing to become proficient on a musical instrument, we must practice patience. We must persevere. It isn’t handed to us like a piece of toast, but when we choose to persevere God comes alongside us and helps us.

When we persevere through difficulties and gain encouragement from the scriptures, hope is produced in us. What do we say of someone who gives up, who quits, who doesn’t persevere? We say they have given up hope, they become hope-less. It is through hearing what God has to say through His Word that we are encouraged to go on, to persevere; hope is renewed.

Many people have commented on how strong I am and have been through all that has happened to me. Let me be the first to say, I am not strong.  But I thank God I know who is: Jesus Christ, the living son of God, my Savior. I cry out to him in prayer and listen to Him speak to me in the Bible and there is where I find strength and comfort, the encouragement I need to persevere. From this I gain hope. The source of hope is not within me; it is in communicating with the living God, reading His words and talking to Him in prayer, that I find grace and strength to help me get through each day. I wrote in my blog:

Today I begin chemotherapy. I am nervous, apprehensive, I do admit. Lord, take my fears and anxious thoughts. I need your peace now.

“I am in pain and distress, may your salvation, O God, protect me.

I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.

This will please the LORD more than an ox, more than a bull with its horns and hoofs.

The poor will see and be glad—you who seek God, may your hearts live!

The LORD hears the needy and does not despise his captive people.” (Psalm 69:29-33)

 

And God gave me peace.