Let your Requests be made Known to God

Philippians 4:4–7

[4] Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. [5] Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; [6] do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. [7] And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (ESV)

At a typical prayer meeting, what do we do? ... We share requests. We have request boxes. We make lists. We submit them to one another, share them through prayer chains, and ultimately lay them at the feet of God. This is precisely what we ought to do, according to this verse, but there is more here.  Why did Paul use so many different words to describe our prayer request list?

The first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day was, to have my soul happy in the Lord.

I have been reading the book Desiring God, by John Piper. This morning I came across a lengthy quote of George Mueller's that I feel compelled to share with you:

While I was staying at Nailsworth, it pleased the Lord to teach me a truth, irrespective of human instrumentality, as far as I know, the benefit of which I have not lost, though now... more than forty years have passed away.

Praying Biblically

I just found an article by David Powlison, a well-known Biblical Counselor.  The article deals with introducing Biblical Counseling in the local church.  He says he comes at it by adjusting how we take prayer requests in the church.  Though this article is about Counseling, I felt that the comments made about Biblical prayer were worth reading and sharing.

Here is a snippet of that blog post:

... the Bible’s prayers are rarely about health, travel mercies, finances, doing well on a test, finding a job, or the salvation of unsaved relatives. Of course, these are legitimate things to pray for, but they are a minor emphasis in Scripture. Even so, these topics typically dominate most church and small group prayer requests. They easily miss the real action of God’s dealings with his beloved people. 

In contrast, the driving focus of biblical prayer asks God to show himself, asks that we will know him, asks that we will love others. It names our troubles. It names our troublesome reactions and temptations. It names our holy desires. It names our God, his promises, and his will. When someone asks you, “How may I pray for you?,” imagine the impact of responding in a manner such as this: “I’ve had a lot on my mind lately, and have been inattentive and irritable to those nearest and dearest to me. Please pray for me, that I will awaken and turn from my preoccupation with work pressures, recreations, health problems, or money. God promises to help me pay attention to him. Ask him to help me remember and focus. Ask him to help me to take my family and other people to heart. Pray that I will take refuge in him when the pressure is on. The Lord is my refuge, but I’ve been taking refuge in TV and food.” This kind of prayer gets things that matter on the table—things that matter both immediately and eternally.

How true these thoughts are!  Most of my own requests are for people and things, and they aren't prayers for God to show Himself and make Himself real in my life.

Tonight at our mid-week prayer meeting at Edgewood, I will introduce some of these ideas.  Our church has shown some growth in numbers, but it is important that we remember that this is God's church and His work.  You can pray for us at Edgewood, that we will see God clearly, and that His Spirit will be poured out on the people who come to this small local Church.

The rest of the article is worth reading.  You can find it here: Prayer is a Great Place to Begin Biblical Counseling

This Will of Mine

I have been reading, on a weekly basis, The Hidden Life of Prayer by David McIntyre. I have also been sharing some of what I have been learning with my church on Wednesday night prayer meetings.

Near the end of Chapter 3, titled The Direction of the Mind, there was a poem that I felt.  Do you know what I mean by that?  I mean, really feeling a poem.  You feel it down deep because you have experienced what the author is describing.  I may not have actually written those exact words, but it felt like I did.

I don't know if the poem had a title or not.  I am also not really sure who actually wrote it.  It is simply sitting at the end of a section about honesty in prayer.  Not only being open and honest before God, but also willing to hear the honesty from God as He might bring things to mind while you are praying.  Things you might have to deal with.

I want to continue to give you the background to this bit of writing, but instead, I am just going to share it with you:

Lord, here I hold within my trembling hand,

This will of mine - a thing which seemeth small;

And only Thou, O Christ, canst understand

How, when I yield Thee this, I yield mine all. 

It hath been wet with tears, and stained with sighs

Clenched in my grasp till beauty hath it none;

Now, from Thy footstool where it prostrate lies

The prayer ascendeth, Let Thy will be done.

I've been there.  Had my will, my wants, my dreams, clenched firmly in my grip. I am sure to most, it wouldn't have seemed like much, but Christ knew.  He knew that to yield this to Him was yielding everything.  To finally release, lay it at His feet and say, "Lord, whatever you want.  Even that."  Those were hard words.

I urge you.  I plead with you, if you are reading this blog, to begin your prayers with a heart that is willing to give your all, to yield to the will of God.

Pray

I think God wants me to pray.

I could have known this when Jesus told the parable about how we "ought always to pray and never lose heart."  Or what about when Paul says that we should "pray without ceasing."

I could have picked it up from Paul as he was giving young Timothy some teaching about how we should be making all sorts of prayers for all sorts of people.  He later tells Timothy that the men (especially) should pray everywhere.

I could have learned it from any of those passages, or a dozen others like them, but I didn't.  I learn most everything the hard way.  Through trials.

It is through difficulties and challenges that I turn to God most diligently.  I wish it wasn't so... I really do, but I know that it is.

Life has been fairly smooth for awhile now, but God has recently allowed me to face a couple of minor challenges.  These things have left me realizing, more than ever, the necessity of prayer in the Christian's life.  It is so important that John Bunyan said, "If thou art not a praying man, thou art not a Christian."

So, I have been praying.  Praying more than ever.  Getting up early to pray. Turning my headphones off while I am running, so I can pray.  Praying on the bus in the morning.  Praying on my walk to school.  Praying during the day for the kids.

I have been reading books on prayer and prayer books.  Anything I can do to assist my growth in prayer.

This morning, after the bus dropped me off and I was heading to school, I was praying while I was walking.  It lasted for a few moments, then I started to get distracted.  Just as my mind was leaving that state of prayer, I looked up and saw this sight.

Like I said, I could have known the importance of prayer from many different sources.  In the end though, God is graciously bringing these reminders into my life.  And I praise him for it.

If you are not a praying person, then I challenge you to be.  Get on your knees this week.  Pray.  Cry out to God.  Pray for your family and your friends.  Get a prayer book and pray through those prayers.  Pray through the Psalms.  Write your own prayers. Just Pray.

Psalm 27 as a Prayer for my Church

This is a prayer for Edgewood Baptist Church, that was adapted from Psalm 27.  Feel free to pray this for us or for your own Church.

The Lord is our Light and our Salvation.
Who or what is there that we would fear?
The Lord is the Stronghold of Edgewood Baptist Church.
Is there anyone or anything that could cause us to be afraid?
When Satan tries to discourage us.
because of his desire to consume this Church,
He may bring all manner of enemy against us.
So much so that it will feel like an army in battle array against this Church.
But We will be confident!
And our hearts will not fear! 

There is one thing that we are asking of you, Lord.
Just one thing that we are seeking after.
Our desire is your presence in this Church.
We pray that this will truly be the house of the Lord,
That we may live in your presence, not just today, but every day.
We don’t want to miss your beauty
or the beauty of your Gospel!
May we come here to gaze upon it all the days of our lives. 

When days of trouble come, we know that safety is with You.
We run to you for shelter, comfort, and a firm place to stand.
Now Lord, we will lift up our heads to you.
Our sacrifice to you will be done with shouts of joy!
We will sing praises to you and mean it! 

Please hear us Lord as we pray... As we cry aloud!
In your grace, Lord, will you answer the prayers of this Church?
You have said, “Seek my face.” 

In obedience, We are answering this call.
Lord, Our heart is saying to you, “Your face, Lord, We will seek!
As we do this, Lord, do not hide your face from Edgewood Baptist Church. 

Maybe you've been angry with one or all of us.
Lord, Please don’t turn away from this Church in Anger.
You have been our help.
We have turned to you again and again.
Lord, Please do not cast This Church to the side.
Please don’t forsake us. 

David cries, “O God of my salvation!”
That is what you are to Edgewood. Our Salvation.
And we would seek salvation in no other!
There have been so many that have forsaken us.
But the Lord will absolutely take us in! 

Teach Edgewood your Way.
Show us the level path.
The Enemy would have us go astray
He will speak lies to us, discouraging us.
Help us to stay on the right path. 

We believe that we will look on the goodness of the Lord in the Land of the Living. 

We will wait for the Lord.
We will be strong.
Our hearts will be courageous.
And We will wait for the Lord.

Free Books on Prayer

Musician Andrew Case is offering three books on prayer for free.  There is one for husbands, one for wives, and one for children.  You can download them in kindle format or pdf.  He also offers the books in print, but as cheap as possible.  There is a pay-what-you-can policy in place on his site.

He also offers his music for free.  I'm going to be downloading some in a bit, I've heard of him before, and heard good things.  Plus, I like free music.

I wanted to share these free resources with you.  I know that I have been motivated to spend more time, and more meaningful time in prayer.  I'm hoping to get continued good advice/thoughts on this topic.

Here is a link to the free books.

Let's Pray About It

Here is an interesting post from Jay Adams:

Probably said thousands of times a week by Christians around the world when facing a problem or question without a present answer. Is it the right response? 

It’s not wrong to pray about a matter, of course.  But prayer is often used as a substitute for the hard work of studying God’s Word to discover the facts needed. Prayer doesn’t automatically “work” in solving problems. Christians need to learn this fact. 

Moreover, when God has already answered a question or given directions, why should we want to shortcut the process of discovering what that answer is by simply praying about it? Should we expect God to tell us individually the answer we seek, when He has already done so in His Word? 

But there is something “mystically” special to some people about prayer. They think of prayer as more spiritual than Bible study! There’s the heart of the matter. Is it superior? Both are from God each has its place, but prayer is no substitute for hard study to find out truth. 

Indeed, here is one to think about: Why would our words (prayer) be considered superior, more spiritual, etc., to God’s Word (in Scripture)? Isn’t what He says far more important than what you have to utter?

 (via the Institute for Nouthetic Studies)

Use your time to pray.

I wanted to add an extended quote from the book that I just finished reading titled, In Constant Prayer.  (Read my review here.)  This quote comes after the author discusses the loss of that tradition of seeking God through prayer.  Just prior to this quote he makes this statement,

"Sometimes it occurs to me that I am a member of the first generation of followers of Yahweh in six thousand years for whom the offering of daily fixed-hour worship and praise and prayer -- a tradition practiced and treasured and passed down to us from the Hebrews to the apostles to the early Christians to the fathers and mothers of the faith who sustained this church we now call home -- is no longer deemed a necessity or an obligation or a duty or even an opportunity."

In case you are unfamiliar with what he is talking about, he is referring to a tradition called the Daily Office.  According to this Lutheran website, the Daily Office is defined in this way:

Services of prayer offered at established times each day. Already at the time of Jesus, set times for prayer were customary (Acts 3:1). By the sixth century, eight services of prayer, which included psalms and readings from Scripture, were observed in the monasteries. Since the Reformation, this schedule has been simplified to three times of prayer: morning (Matins), afternoon/evening (Vespers), and close of the day (Compline).

To my understanding, and according to this book, this is a very good definition of the Daily Office.  The one idea that struck me, whether it was because I wasn't aware of this fact or because I thought that this was purely a monastic invention and ritual, was the heritage of this daily prayer.  This book has left me thinking about my own lack of prayer in all new ways.

Since I would like to share this dilemma of the conviction of my lacking prayer life, I share this quote with you.

We who will get up and walk, or even run miles in the mornings, not to mention those of us who are not willing to wait for there to be light to see the bottom of the flag or for the frost to go away before we tee off; we who will haul ourselves through our neighborhoods in the dark to make sure that we have the box scores as quick as we can -- for all kinds of reasons, including some good ones, I suppose, we will not, cannot, do not rise in the morning to greet the dawn with a song of praise on our lips, as did those who went before us. 

We who will stay up late to watch the televised version of the news that we heard on our drive home at six, who will TiVo enough must-see television that we have to stay up late to keep up, who will not go to sleep without reading a novel, who will burn a candle at both ends and in the middle if we can figure how to get it lit, will not end our days with praise and worship and confession and blessing. 

We will not do these things in the name of love or discipline, devotion or worship.  We will not even do it for selfish reasons, or even as a reliable way of self-actualization, to put it in its least favorable context -- which, in our Western American twenty-first-century, self-help, and consumer-driven culture, is astonishing.

There were some ideas in this book that I didn't agree with, but I have to say that this particular statement was right-on, and left me deeply convicted at the things that I am willing to sacrifice to do and the things that I have not sacrificed for that I should have.

In Constant Prayer - Book Review

In Constant Prayer (Ancient Practices Series) by Robert Benson is the first book that I received through BookSneeze.

I liked this book.

In Constant Prayer is one book in a series of books called The Ancient Practices that explores many of those ancient practices of the early Christians.  This book in the series, written by Robert Benson, is meant to be a study of the practice of praying the "daily office."

If I understand it correctly, the Daily Office is the practice of praying a set number of times each day.  This practice brings to mind certain monastic settings.  Images of  monks getting up to say their morning prayers, meeting together to say their afternoon prayers, and seeing each other again to say their evening prayers before they head off to their cells.

As far as the author is concerned, Robert Benson is really a very good writer.  As I read through this book I found each page to be enticing and entertaining, but also very personal.  He opened up his life, in small ways, to reveal his desire to pray, his encounters with the daily office, and his understanding of this ancient practice.  I felt compelled, as I continued through the book, to consider taking up this particular practice.

I did find the book lacking in two specific ways.  One was a lack of specific historical examples.  He would make comments concerning the historicity of this practice, but the actual examples to validate the claim seemed to be strangely lacking.  The second area where I found this book to be lacking was in its use of scripture.  Other than at the beginning of chapters, I don't recall one Biblical quote with a reference.  There were passages that were alluded to, but the only reason I knew that was because I recognized the scripture.  Frankly, without proper historical footnotes and scriptural references, this book falls into the category of opinion.  In no way is it improper to write (or read) a book of opinions, but to really sway this particular reader, I need some validation.

The Sovereignty of God in Evangelism and Prayer

Just watched this video from a blog called Finger Toe that is absolutely worth 8 minutes of your life.  If you need to, save it for Super Bowl Sunday and watch it instead of the commercials.  (Notice the new "watch later" button at the bottom of the video?)





He mentions a book titled Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God by J.I. Packer.  I read this little book a couple of years ago (during a summer vacation) and highly recommend it to anyone who has questions regarding God's sovereignty.