Prayer: Pray Till You Pray

Prayer: Pray Till You Pray

Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving.—Colossians 4:2

Dr. Moody Stuart, a great praying man of a past generation, once drew up a set of rules to guide him in his prayers. Among these rules is this one: "Pray till you pray."...

The habit of breaking off our prayers before we have truly prayed is as common as it is unfortunate. Often the last 10 minutes may mean more to us than the first half hour, because we must spend a long time getting into the proper mood to pray effectively. We may need to struggle with our thoughts to draw them in from where they have been scattered through the multitude of distractions that result from the task of living in a disordered world....

If when we come to prayer our hearts feel dull and unspiritual, we should not try to argue ourselves out of it. Rather, we should admit it frankly and pray our way through. Some Christians smile at the thought of "praying through," but something of the same idea is found in the writings of practically every great praying saint from Daniel to the present day. We cannot afford to stop praying till we have actually prayed. This World: Playground or Battleground? pp. 69-70

"Oh Lord, what an important and needed challenge! It's so easy to rush into Your presence and 'check off' our Bible reading and prayer for the day—and so hard to wait in Your presence in unhurried meditation. I'll wait today and 'pray through.' Amen."

Prayer: Much Every Way

Prayer: Much Every Way

Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You. —Jeremiah 32:17

When Tennyson wrote "More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of," he probably uttered a truth of vaster significance than even he understood. While it is not always possible to trace an act of God to its prayer-cause, it is yet safe to say that prayer is back of everything that God does for the sons of men here upon earth. One would gather as much from a simple reading of the Scriptures.

What profit is there in prayer? "Much every way." Whatever God can do faith can do, and whatever faith can do prayer can do when it is offered in faith. An invitation to prayer is, therefore, an invitation to omnipotence, for prayer engages the Omnipotent God and brings Him into our human affairs. Nothing is impossible to the man who prays in faith, just as nothing is impossible with God. This generation has yet to prove all that prayer can do for believing men and women. The Set of the Sail, p. 33

"I don't begin to comprehend all the implications of this truth, Father, but I accept it and thank You and worship You for it. Amen."

Trials and Pain: He Knows

Trials and Pain: He Knows

For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.—Hebrews 4:15-16

Don't pity yourself. Don't be afraid to tell God your troubles. He knows all about your troubles. There is a little song that says, "Nobody knows the trouble I've seen," but there's Somebody who knows, all right. And our Fellow Sufferer still retains a fellow feeling for our pains and still remembers in the skies His tears, His agonies and cries, though he's now at the right hand of the Father Almighty, sitting crowned in glory, awaiting, of course, that great coronation day that yet is to come. But though He is there and though they cry all around Him, "Worthy is the Lamb" (Revelation 5:12), He hasn't forgotten us, and He hasn't forgotten the nails in His hands, the tears, the agonies and cries.

He knows everything about you. He knows! He knows when the doctor hates to tell you what's wrong with you and your friends come and try to be unnaturally encouraging. He knows!

With boldness, therefore, at the throne Let us make all our sorrows known And ask the aid of heavenly power To help us in the evil hour. The Attributes of God, pp. 94-95

"Thank You, Lord, for this encouragment. It's so hard to suffer alone, and in ministry it often seems we have no one with whom we can openly share. Thank You that You know and understand. Amen."
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by A.W. Tozer

The Power Of Praise

April 5, 2010

The Power Of Praise

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READ: Isaiah 61:1-3

The Lord has anointed Me . . . to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning. —Isaiah 61:1,3

Praise is powerful! When Scottish pastor Robert Murray McCheyne was troubled with a coldness of heart toward the things of the Lord, he would sing the praises of God until he felt revived in his spirit. Those in his household were often able to tell what hour he awoke because he began the day with a psalm of praise.

One day, while he was trying to prepare his heart for preaching, he wrote in his journal: “Is it the desire of my heart to be made altogether holy? . . . Lord, You know all things . . . . I’ve felt so much deadness and grief that I cannot grieve for this deadness. Toward evening I revived. Got a calm spirit through [singing psalms] and prayer.” McCheyne had been uplifted by praising God.

Perhaps you feel as if you are mired in what John Bunyan called the “slough of despond.” Lift a song of praise to the Lord. The psalmist said, “I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever” (89:1). When we do that, the praise will flow not only from our lips but also from our heart. The Lord delights to give “the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness” (Isa. 61:3).

Yes, “it is good to sing praises to our God”—at all times (Ps. 147:1).  — Paul Van Gorder

Praise, my soul, the King of heaven,
To His feet your tribute bring;
Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
Evermore His praises sing. —Lyte

If you find yourself wearing a spirit of heaviness, try on a garment of praise.

Having Patience in the Midst of Discouragement

September 3, 2009 Having Patience in the Midst of Discouragement by Rick Warren “You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while, ‘He who is coming will come and will not delay’” (Hebrews 10:36–37 NIV).

If you’re discouraged because of God’s delay in answering your prayers, understand the delay is not a denial. Just because the answer or the miracle hasn’t come—yet—that doesn’t mean God isn’t going to answer, or that he’s forgotten you, or that he doesn’t care about you. It simply means “not yet!” Spiritual maturity is knowing the difference between “No” and “Not yet,” between a denial and a delay. The Bible tells us, “He who is coming will come and will not delay” (Hebrews 10:37 NIV). The delay may be a test of your patience. Anybody can be patient once. And, anybody can be patient twice. And, just about anybody can be patient three times. So God tests you patience over and over and over. Why? To see how patient you are? No, he does it to show you how patient you are. So you’ll know what’s inside of you, and you’ll be able to know your level of commitment. God tests you so that you can know he is faithful, even if the answers you seek are delayed. If you’re discouraged, turn it around by remembering God teaches you patience during delay. Ask him to transform your discouragement into patience. You may be going through difficult times right now and feel like dropping off the planet. You’re discouraged because the situation you face seems unmanageable, unreasonable, or unfair. It may seem unbearable and inside you’re basically saying, “God, I can’t take it anymore. I just can’t take it anymore!” But you can. You can stay with it longer because God is with you. He’ll enable you to press on. Remember, you are never a failure until you quit. Don’t quit. Resist discouragement and finish the race God has set before you.

Praying on Behalf of Others

April 24, 2008

Praying on Behalf of Others

By Robert H. Schuller

"Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him." – Acts 12:5

I was taught in seminary, "Never assume that a person who is in a death coma is incapable of hearing. They probably just can't respond."

The call came that Stanley Reimer, a beloved friend and a beautiful elder on our church board, was on his way to the hospital with a heart attack. "He may not live until they get him to the hospital," I was told.

A fast drive to the hospital. "He's still alive," they told me when I arrived. "He's in intensive care."

As I stepped into Stanley's room, his doctor drew back from the bed, dropped his head and said, "He's alive – but probably not for long, Reverend Schuller." Without another word the doctor left.

"Stanley," I spoke softly, but strongly, my lips only inches from his ear. "Stanley, it's Dr. Schuller. I've come to ask God to save your life! Stanley, I telephoned the church. Countless prayers are being sent to God right now for you. Stanley, you had a twenty-minute cardiac arrest. You're hurt – badly. But you will recover, Stanley!"

Tears filled his eyes and rolled down his cheeks. He heard me! "I hear you, Stanley! Your tears are speaking when your lips cannot. You heard me!" More tears came – his and mine.

In a matter of hours, Stanley's eyes opened. Speech – slurred but understandable – returned! He recovered, not completely, but enough to live, laugh, talk, and pray joyful prayers for another ten years. And he never forgot that day when the miracle of new life was given by God in answer to others' prayers on his behalf.

Intercessory prayer is where our faith in a living, loving God grows and glows.

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Thank You, God, for the people in my life who have stood in the gap and prayed for me when I didn't even know I needed it. You have sustained and protected me through others' prayer. Use me to do the same. Amen.

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Why does God answer prayer?

Tozer Daily Devotional

April: Prayer

To pray successfully is the first lesson the preacher must learn if he is to preach fruitfully; yet prayer is the hardest thing he will ever be called upon to do and, being human, it is the one act he will be tempted to do less frequently than any other.

God Tells the Man Who Cares, 69.

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Read about A. W. Tozer

April 21

Prayer: If God Answers Prayer

So I said: "Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts." --Isaiah 6:5

Why does God answer prayer? Let's not imagine that it's because somebody was good. We Protestants think we don't believe in saints, but we do. We canonize them: we have Saint George Mueller, Saint C.H. Spurgeon, Saint D.L. Moody and Saint A.B. Simpson. We get the idea that God answered prayer for them because they were really good. They would deny that fervently if they were here.

Nobody ever got anything from God on the grounds that he deserved it. Having fallen, man deserves only punishment and death. So if God answers prayer it's because God is good. From His goodness, His lovingkindness, His good-natured benevolence, God does it! That's the source of everything. The Attributes of God, pp. 46-47

"Thank You, God, that You are indeed good, You are faithful, You are gracious, You are full of lovingkindness and benevolence. Thank You that You do in fact answer prayer! Amen."