Paul and prayer

Paul's power as a messenger of God was fuelled by prayer.

I need only look at the example of this great apostle to understand why my own prayer life - and my spiritual life - is so weak.

No one today questions the fact that Paul was one of the greatest Christian missionaries - and evangelists - that this world has ever seen.

Paul prayed constantly.  He prayed when things were going well and he prayed when he was being beaten, jailed and left for dead.

He prayed for everyone.

Here are a few quotes from his letters to young churches to illustrate his view of the importance of prayer:

• "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
• "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." (Philippians 4:6)
• "I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone . . . " (1 Timothy 2:1)
• "I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers . . . " (Ephesians 1:16)
• "I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus." (1 Corinthians 1:4)

I draw several lessons from these quotes and Paul's own life.

• Powerful prayer takes time.  Paul prayed continually.  That means I must be praying often during the day - continually bringing everything to God.
• God wants us to pray.  In the 1 Thessalonians passage, he declares that constant prayer and thanksgiving is God's will for us.  Clearly, God is not asking us to do something useless - God acts as we pray.
• Giving thanks should soak our prayer time.  Thanksgiving shows that we see God's hand in our affairs.  We thank him for his gifts and the fact that he is working all things to our good. (Romans 8:28)
• We must look outwards in our prayers - praying to God and thanking him for others.  Frequent intercession for others is an act of love that pleases God.  And it changes us, making us self-giving rather than self-centred.
• Prayer is action.  When we pray, we are doing something to meet the issues we are concerned about.  

Paul's praying life brought him close to the heart of God.  The Holy Spirit stopped him from going into the province of Asia and, through a vision, led him to enter Europe - a major step in the spread of Christianity.

Paul understood how essential prayer was to his mission and he sacrificed time to do it.

I must be willing to make the same sacrifice.