We’re all aware of those who devote themselves to prayer as a lifestyle, while many if not most believers struggle to engage in any regular, meaningful prayer. What is the "secret sauce," the decisive factor in leading someone to pray regularly, fervently, persistently, and expectantly?
I suggest an answer. Prayer warriors pray because their thoughts about God are thoroughly and exclusively biblical. That is, they believe everything the Bible says about God and only what the Bible says about God. Things like...
“God exists and is intimately involved with His creation.”
The first verse of the Bible assumes God’s existence (Gen 1:1). Every verse after assumes or details His close involvement with every detail of His creation. Indeed, the continued existence of all things depends upon His upholding word (Heb 1:3, Col 1:17). Scientific “laws” and “natural” phenomenon are nothing more or less than God’s work in His creation (Job 37:6-13; Psa 65:9-11; 135:6-7; 147:15-18; Isa 55:10-11). Human events also are guided by His hand (Isa 14:24-27; 46:8-11; Dan 4:34-35; Acts 17:24-27).
The existence of all things and the occurrence of all events depend upon God’s action. The prayer warrior therefore understands, "I need God." It makes perfect sense to pray to a God who by both nature and necessity is actively working in the world He created.
“God is powerful and able to do anything consistent with His character.”
This is a God so powerful that He speaks and things that formerly did not exist come into being (Gen 1; Rom 4:17). He opens seemingly impossibly closed wombs (Gen 18:14; 21:1-2; 1 Sam 1:20; Luke 1:34-38). He raises the dead to life (1 Kings 17:17-24; 2 Kings 4:18-37; 13:20-21; Matt 27:52-53; 28:1-10). Many of these instances of His giving life and overcoming death are answers to prayer.
He feeds His people with bread and meat from heaven (Exo 16:16-36; Num 11:18-23; John 6:1-15, 30-35). He gave His people water from a rock (Exo 17:6; Num 20:8-11; 1 Cor 10:4). He rescued His people from foreign oppressors (Exo 12:23; 14:30; Judges 2:16; 2 Kings 19:35; Luke 22:31-32; 1 Cor 15:26; Rev 20:7-10). These things also were frequently answers to prayer.
“God delights to hear, answer, and work through the prayers of His people.”
The bible directly teaches this (2 Chron 7:14; Psa 17:6; 22:3; Pro 15:8; Isa 30:19; Jer 29:12; 33:3; John 11:41-42; Jas 1:5; 5:13-16). The book of Psalms is largely composed of prayers. God uses the major (and minor!) figures of the Bible to demonstrate it, including Abraham (Gen 15:1-6; 21:1-2), Moses (Exo 15; 32:11-14), Joshua (Jos 10:12-14), Elijah (1 Kings 17:1; 18:20-45; Jas 5:17-18), David (2 Sam 21:1; 1 Chron 14:8-12; Psalm 22), Daniel (Dan 6; 9), Jesus (Matt 26:36; Matt 27:46; Mark 9:27-29; Luke 6:12; John 17), Peter (Acts 9:40; 10:9), and Paul (Acts 16:25-26; 28:8; 2 Cor 13:9; Col 1:9; 2 Thess 1:11; 3:1). The enthroned Son and the Holy Spirit pray, indicating the Father’s desire to hear and answer prayer (Rom 8:26-27, 34; Heb 7:25).
All these things move warriors not only to petition in prayer, but to praise, thanksgiving, and confession.
Further, prayer warriors reject ideas about God that are unbiblical. Some examples:
“Because God is sovereign, there is no reason to pray.”
Theological error frequently results from taking a legitimate biblical truth too far by holding it in isolation from other biblical teaching. The Bible certainly teaches that God is sovereign. All the above figures believed it. However, the Bible shows that God’s sovereignty prevented none of them from praying. Search the Scriptures and you’ll nowhere find the idea that because God is in control there is no use in praying. In fact, we should say that God’s sovereignty is the best reason to pray. He’s the one who is in control! He’s exactly the one to whom we should appeal!
“God isn’t concerned about the details of my life, so why pray about them.”
Certainly God is concerned with the big picture, but Jesus taught that God is concerned with the well-being of the birds and the beauty of the flowers (Matt 6:25-34). Because we are more valuable than these, Jesus deduces that God is more concerned about us. Psalm 139 teaches that God is intimately acquainted with every aspect of our lives, having even numbered our days. I suspect that He has numbered our days because the day of our homecoming is precious to Him (Psa 116:15). To believe that He is unconcerned and therefore holds Himself aloof from our prayers is to disbelieve the Bible.
“God isn’t interested in blessing me.”
This contradicts the whole storyline of the Bible. God created, not because He needed anything but that we might know Him (Acts 17:22-28). The very definition of life is knowing God and Christ (John 17:3), a gift which He gave His own Son to bestow (John 3:16). He is motivated to give us exclusively good things (Psa 119:68; Rom 8:32; Jas 1:17). He forces all things—pleasant and otherwise—to do us the great good of making us like Christ (Rom 8:28-29). Even His discipline is for our good (Heb 12:7-11).
Those who pray regularly, fervently, persistently, expectantly…what moves them to do so? The Bible. It tells us what to believe about God and rules out wrong thoughts about God. When our minds are conformed to the Bible’s teaching about the character and attributes of God, we pray. People who do not pray do not believe the Bible as they should. So, may our habits be born of minds and hearts saturated with the truth.
Comments