Discipline and delight

David Lee Martin likes to say "prayer is not something you HAVE to do - it's something you GET to do."

In other words, it's not a burden but a privilege.  You are meeting with God.

But like many Christians, I often find things to divert me from an extended time of prayer.  Occasional quick prayer darts to heaven during the day are not enough.

For people like me, Martin has some sage advice - you have to make a habit of praying alone every day at roughly the same time and the same place until you can't get enough of God.  You have to discipline yourself to set aside time with the Lord, no matter what is going on in your life.

The result in time is delight - delight in God.

Martin, author of Discovering and Developing a Secret Life of Prayer, speaks from experience.

"We begin by bringing our requests but soon realize that God answers with himself," writes Martin.  "His presence and knowing and walking in him is enough.  The focus soon shifts from things we want to add, to the satisfaction of seeking and finding greater depths of God to enjoy."

Martin has a loving relationship with God.  Sometimes he calls him Papa, a word which may seem disrespectful.  But it is a word - "Abba" - that Jesus used in Mark 14:36 just before his crucifixion and the apostle Paul used in several letters.  As one writer says, it is a word that expresses affection, confidence and trust.

Good fathers love their children and want a close relationship with them.  "God is more interested in you developing a deep, rich experience of himself than you are," says Martin.

There are many scriptures that speak of the benefits of prayer.  And there are plenty of biblical examples of powerful pray-ers: Moses, Daniel, David, Jesus, Paul and more.  All of these people made a habit of praying regularly and fervently to the Lord.

I especially love the picture of Moses and Joshua going out to the Tent of Meeting to spend a long time praying to God and seeking his direction in their lives and those of the Israelites (Exodus 33:7-11).  The tent was apart from the rest of the community and was intended for people who wished to pray to God in private.

Why such emphasis on private prayer?  Because that's where you can be yourself before God.  You can pour out your praise and your complaints without limit.  And you can listen for God's promptings in solitude.

Satan and our own appetites conspire to keep us from prayer.  So there is an initial hurdle we must leap in order to pray effectively.  We have to carve out a time and place in our schedule to pray.

Martin was just like many of us.  Decades ago, he had to make a decision to pray in the same place and at the same time despite all the diversions that popped into his mind.

His first prayer place was his bedroom, stripped of anything that might take his attention away from God.  Still, he often found it tough to pray for any length of time - sometimes appealing to God for help.

Over the years, he has set aside time in different places ranging from an abandoned warehouse to squeezing himself into his car to kneel on the floor and pray during lunch break at work.  He sought places where he would not be interrupted.

"Your secret place is in reality a place in the spirit realm where you engage in intimate communion and partnership with God," says Martin.

Once it becomes a habit, this kind of secret prayer time is "the flourishing oasis we flee to in an otherwise barren landscape".

Indeed, he says that this prayer habit "makes stepping between natural and supernatural almost seamless".  He no longer struggles with making a connection with God - it is almost instantaneous.

What an invitation to a prayer addiction!  One that I want.

Praying for the city

A conference in Ottawa last weekend highlighted the importance of Christians praying and working together to spread the love of Christ and the message of Christ in our cities.

The conference - Capitalyze - heard from speakers in Britain, the U.S. and India talk about how city-wide movements among Christians are helping transform their cities and others around the world.

These leaders stressed that prayer undergirds everything they do in their cities.

I'm excited by what is happening in other countries and in my own city.  I'm especially delighted that church leaders are turning to prayer to seek God's leading in reaching their cities.

Why should we pray for our cities?

A significant reason is that what goes on in our cities is close to the heart of God.

As one speaker pointed out, Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem on his last journey before the crucifixion.  He mourned because he knew what was going to happen to Jerusalem for rejecting the good news - destruction. (Luke 19:41-44).  The Romans destroyed the city in 70 AD.

Another reason is that God can work to bring peace and prosperity in our cities as we pray and actively seek to bring good to the people and neighbourhoods around us.

For instance, God urged Jewish exiles in Babylon: "Work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile.  Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare." (Jeremiah 29:7)

And the apostle Paul told his young disciple Timothy: "I urge, then, first of all that petitions, prayers intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people - for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness." (1 Timothy 2:1,2)

Still another reason is God provides healing and protection for our cities - and our fellow citizens - as we pray.

In Psalm 127:1, the psalmist writes: "Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good."

And God warns Solomon that Israel will suffer if the people reject the Lord.  However, he adds this memorable promise in 2 Chronicles 7:14: "If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land."

So, how can we pray for our city?

My city - Ottawa, Canada - has been organizing a week of prayer for our city every January.  Other cities do something similar.

Typically, this week of prayer involves churches organizing prayer services for the city - either separately or jointly with other churches.  There are also prayer points provided so that individual Christians can pray for such aspects as marriages, schools, churches, workplaces, police, firefighters, hospital workers,  city council members, city-wide ministries to the homeless, justice ministries and so on.

Others may choose to prayer-walk their neighbourhoods, go out to coffee shops with friends to pray for people as they come into the shop, or pray with fellow workers for their workplaces.

Of course, I realize that praying for our city should be a year-round activity.  

After all, prayer makes a difference.

The leaders who spoke at the weekend conference I attended would say: "Amen!"

Instrument of mercy

Ask to be used as an "instrument of God's mercy" and you're sure to get a "Yes" answer fast, says Anthony DeStefano.

That's because God wants you to touch others with his love and mercy, writes DeStefano, author of Ten Prayers God Always Says Yes To.

Indeed, DeStefano says: "Mark my words, after you say this prayer, someone in need is going to practically show up on your doorstep - and he or she is going to be in dire straits."

That may be alarming if you already have a few burdens of your own.  But the rewards are great - in this life and the next - for those who pray this prayer with sincerity, the author says.

God has been using people like us throughout history.  The Bible is really a story of how God works through ordinary people to carry out his plans.

And one of the things he wants us to do is to "love your neighbour as yourself".  This love is a self-giving love - just as Jesus gave his life for us on the cross.

So praying to be an instrument of the Lord's is "really praying for God himself to come into our lives and act through us".

As we pray to be an instrument of mercy, we are offering to help reduce suffering in the world.  And "we are also helping to make ourselves into the kind of creatures God wants us to be - by loving others as he does".

By doing this, we are helping the Lord "pull good out of bad".

When we pray this prayer, God steers people in our direction.  And then, it is up to us to decide how to help them.

"If God sends you someone to assist, he is also going to give you the time, the resources, and the wherewithal to do it," says DeStefano.  "He's not about to answer such a wonderfully selfless prayer and then leave you stranded."

But many of us might feel we can't take on any more problems.  If that stops us, then we may miss out on some great benefits from being an instrument of mercy, declares the author.

He points to Jesus' startling statement in Matthew 10:39: "Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."

The Lord was saying that there is a strong personal benefit to giving ourselves to others for Christ.

"Happiness is the thing God is going to give you in return for selflessness," DeStefano says.

Indeed, it is good psychology to look outside ourselves and help others when we are going through tough times.  It helps us develop a more positive outlook.

Spiritually, as we rely on God to help others, we become more closely united with him.  And the result is greater spiritual and emotional health.  We will feel fulfilled.

"As long as you try your best to assist the people God sends to you, you are going to know that you are achieving something immensely important in life."

From time to time, the Lord will show us what kind of an impact our acts of love and kindness have had on the lives of others.

As well, we will see that God is working in our lives to deal with the problems we have.

"The result is that your life is going to change for the better - you are going to change for the better," says DeStefano.  " . . . In order to be a channel of God's grace, you are going to necessarily have to grow in grace yourself."

What a refreshing look at suffering, God's love and prayer!

Praying from God's throne

As Christians, we can pray from God's throne.

If you think about it, that is a great claim.  It gives us an even greater view of the power and privilege of prayer.

I take this claim from the apostle Paul's statement in Ephesians 2:6 that God "seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus".  So, because I have faith in Jesus, I am united with him and am sitting with him in heaven.

And Jesus is constantly interceding for me and all believers before the Father (Hebrews 7:25).

Now, I realize I am still on earth and have a lot of faults.  But, at the same time, I am in Jesus and Jesus is in heaven, praying for his people.

I believe I can pray what Jesus prays - if I surrender what I want and seek what he wants.  The apostle John says as much in 1 John 5:14-15.

Being seated with Jesus in heaven is a great honour.  Of course, we aren't there because of our perfect lives - we are there because God placed us in his family as a result of Jesus' sacrifice for us.

Still, it is a real privilege because God considers us as co-workers or partners in carrying out his plan on earth (2 Corinthians 6:1).

I draw several conclusions from this:

• I have an intimate relationship with Jesus;
• Jesus loves me and wants me to become more like him;
• Jesus is praying for me and other believers before the Father;
• I am a partner with Christ - in prayer and in other ways - in carrying out God's will; and
• Through prayer, I can help assure God's plan is carried out if my prayers are aligned with Jesus' prayers.

So, my vision as a prayer warrior can be as wide as the world.  Prayer warriors throughout history have prayed from great distances with dramatic results.

Is it possible to know what Jesus is praying for?  I believe it is.

The scriptures give us insight into what Jesus wants.  And the Holy Spirit prompts us.

In Psalm 37:5, David writes: "Commit everything you do to the Lord.  Trust him and he will help you."

Brother Lawrence, a French monk, said centuries ago that he did everything - even picking up a stick - for the love of God.  He "practiced the presence of God", conversing with the Lord and listening to his guidance during his everyday tasks.

He found that God guided him constantly, so that he could handle well even the tasks he hated.

I am convinced that kind of relationship with God is the key to powerful prayer - praying like Jesus.

It's up to me to live that kind of life.

The eternal benefits of praying like Jesus are immense.