In Wayne Mack and Dave Swavely’s Life in the Father’s House: A Member’s Guide to the Local Church, the authors comment, “Many Christians today feel a…lack of confidence in their patterns of prayer. Very few of us could say that we need little or no improvement in this area of our lives” (p. 213). We understand the importance and privilege of prayer, don’t we? I think we do. “But despite its universally accepted status,” writes one author, “prayer remains for many Christians a difficult task, a duty without joy and sometimes seemingly without effect. Christians may waver between the poles of neglect and frustration when it comes to prayer” (What Is a Healthy Church Member, p. 105).
If you have ever or currently find yourself in this position, please understand you are not alone! See if these questions sound familiar:
1. What language do I use when praying—my own words or only Scripture?
2. How much time should I spend asking God to “fix” things, as contrasted with voicing how worthy of praise He is?
3. I want to pray Scripture, but how do I do it?
4. Why do I get so sidetracked when I pray?
5. How do I avoid rote praying or repetitious phraseology?
6. What are the differences between the categories of prayers? (For example, how does praise differ from thanksgiving?)
I'll be honest, these are questions I have struggled with many times over the years. There are plenty other questions to wrestle with, I'm sure, but these are a small number to get us thinking. And as we’re thinking, I don’t want to spend time unpacking a biblical theology of prayer, however fun and edifying that may be. (Remember, we already know the importance and privilege of prayer.) Rather, I want to present seven helpful tools (below) to assist in improving our prayer lives (and answer the above questions). My prayer is that these resources will deepen our understanding of the centrality of prayer for believers and invigorate a sense of delight in expressing God’s worth, fervently praying for others, and petitioning for ourselves those things that align with our growth in Christlikeness.
Tool #1: A Method for Prayer: Freedom in the Face of God, by Matthew Henry (book; FREE website content HERE)
Tool #2: A Guide to Prayer, by Isaac Watts (book)
Tool #3: The Valley of Vision, edited by Arthur Bennett (book)
Tool #4: At the Throne of Grace, by John MacArthur (book)
Tool #5: Praying the Bible, by Don Whitney (book)
Tool #6: Praying with Paul: A Call to Spiritual Reformation, by D.A. Carson (book)
Tool #7: A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World, by Paul Miller (book)
May God move us to truly pray without ceasing (1 Thess 5:17)!
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