Pray Personally!
This week’s devotions are based on Week 4 of Rooted – Grounded in Prayer (CLICK HERE)
Prayer is very personal.
We started this week reflecting on our relationship to God the Father and the blessing and privilege we have to pray to him because he has made us his dear children. Whenever we pray we engage this very personal relationship that the blood of Jesus has secured for us. It’s no wonder that the Second Commandment encourages us not to take God’s name in vain. Frivolous or thoughtless cries to God don’t communicate the blessing of the relationship, but rather the callous demands of a entitled person. Everytime we use the phrase “O my god” is calling on God’s name in vain, not a reflection of faith that trusts the child/father relationship. God is also not just a magic genie in a bottle that is “out there” to be tapped for favors and request. Prayer is a personal reflection of the relationship you know and trust with a heart that desires and yearns to be in communication with your heavenly Father. Every prayer is to be a very personal expression of this wonderful relationship.
Prayer is for you personally.
Child who has a solid relationship with their father and mother know that he or she has privileges that other children don’t. While growing up they may not always express appreciation for that relationship, but the personal connection with one’s parents allows for very personal conversations and requests to be made. Parents have this personal relationship with their children as well and will give to their children far more than they will give to other children.
So prayer is not only an expression of the personal relationship God has established with us, but is for us to use to have personal conversations with our heavenly Father. He desires us to share what’s on our hearts, both words of thanksgiving and challenge. He wants to be invited in to your personal challenges and the concerns that you carry. He invites us to put our burdens on him. He teaches us to ask for things for our personal spiritual, emotional and physical well being.
When Jesus taught the Lord’s prayer, it was intended to capture the very personal requests we need on a daily basis.
Matthew 6:9 “This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’’
Each one of these petitions is for a personal benefit, whether for body or soul. While the prayer is used by many and we often speak it together, it is intended to be the personal expression of your needs to your heavenly Father. Martin Luther captured the thought on the fourth petition:
Everything included in the necessities and nourishment for our bodies, such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, farm, fields, livestock, money, property, an upright spouse, upright children, upright members of the household, upright and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace, health, decency, honor, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like. *
So, while we certainly don’t want all our prayers to be self-centered in nature, never feel bad for presenting your personal requests to God. He loves you and always is ready to hear from you!
Apply: Here is a four-part outline to use as you pray that perhaps keeps a balance in your prayers:
A-Adoration – Reflecting on the person and work of God; praising him!
C – Confession – Sharing the sins of your thoughts, words and actions, seeking forgiveness and God’s faithfulness to forgive through Jesus.
T – Thanksgiving – Don’t forget to return and give thanks for all with which the Lord has blessed you!
S- Supplication – Ask for personal needs and pray on behalf of others.
Prayer: Lord thank you for making me your child and inviting and encouraging me to bring my requests to you. I am grateful for the personal nature of prayer and that I can use it personally. AMEN.
* Practical Advice on Prayer from Martin Luther by MARY JANE HAEMIG https://wordandworld.luthersem.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/35-1_Prayer/Practical%20Advice%20on%20Prayer%20from%20Martin%20Luther.pdf
Pray Persistently!
This week’s devotions are based on Week 4 of Rooted – Grounded in Prayer (CLICK HERE)
“Mom, can we go to the park today?”
“No, son, I am busy today.”
“Mom, can we go to the park today?”
“No, son, I told you I am busy today.”
“But mom, you promised yesterday that we would go today.”
“Hmm. You’re right son. I will finish my work and then we can go.”
Jesus put it this way:
Luke 11:5-13 Then he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6 because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.’
7 “Then the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man’s boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Pray persistently.
Praying persistently isn’t whining or babbling, but asking with firm confidence in a) the ability of the Lord to provide and b) in line with what the Lord has promised.
When we persist in prayer we don’t give up because we know that the answer is to come. We know with confidence that the Lord knows how to give what is best. We don’t give up because the Lord has promised that as we ask, he will answer. He desires that we ask and then trust that he will give as he determines what is best for his children.
If he says, “No”? It’s hard to take, but its the best answer. In fact, you may still persist in praying because the seeming “No.” today might simply be a “not yet.”
Persistence comes when I know God’s promises and his ability to provide what is best. Even though my prayer may not be answered in the way I prefer, I know that if I ask, I will receive what he knows is best for me.
Martin Luther wrote in “On Rogationtide Prayer and Procession” (1519) he admonished: [Y]our trust must not set a goal for God, not set a time and place, not specify the way or the means of his fulfilment, but it must entrust all of that to his will, wisdom, and omnipotence. Just wait cheerfully and undauntedly for the fulfilment without wanting to know how and where, how soon, how late, or by what means. His divine wisdom will find an immeasurably better way and method, time and place, then we can imagine.*
Don’t give up.
Keep praying
Pray persistently!
Apply: Do you give up too soon? Or simply don’t ask at all? Persist in prayer with a confidence that the Lord will hear and answer what is best for you.
Prayer: Father, thank you for hearing my prayers and answering according to your promises and your divine will. AMEN.
- Practical Advice on Prayer from Martin Luther by MARY JANE HAEMIG https://wordandworld.luthersem.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/35-1_Prayer/Practical%20Advice%20on%20Prayer%20from%20Martin%20Luther.pdf
Pray consistently!
This week’s devotions are based on Week 4 of Rooted – Grounded in Prayer (CLICK HERE)
1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, “Pray continually.”
Does that mean that you can get nothing else done in your day, but from the moment you wake up to the moment you go to bed you have to be in prayer?
No.
But it reminds us of two things.
Prayer is available any time of the day.
As a child growing up, you knew that your parents were available pretty much 24/7. When you were little, they were in proximity at all times. As you went to school and did some things on your own, you knew they were just a phone call or text away. While you maybe didn’t think of your parents 24/7, you knew they were available for conversation, help, and even late night bad dreams.
Our heavenly Father desires that we have such a close relationship with him that we can and do talk to him on an ongoing basis in our day. There is not a time where God sleeps and is not available. There is not an issue that comes up unexpectedly in our day that he is not interested in. There is not a situation that he is not interested in hearing about. We can call out to the Lord in praise and thanks or worry and concern anytime during our day.
Prayer is important at set times of the day.
While we can and want to be in ongoing communication with our heavenly Father, setting some deliberate times in our day for prayer is also a beneficial discipline. Probably the best example of this was Daniel. Daniel actually had such a regular prayer life that his enemies were able to convict him of prayer because they knew when and where he would be praying. Even under threat of the lions’ den, Daniel maintained his routine and set time for prayer.
Daniel 6:10 Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. 11 Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. 12 So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree: “Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human being except to you, Your Majesty, would be thrown into the lions’ den?” The king answered, “The decree stands—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.”
God spared Daniel from the lions’ den. Daniel was unphased by the external circumstances of his life because he had a strong and ongoing connection to the Lord almighty.
Here’s a couple thoughts and encouragements from Martin Luther on praying consistently:
In 1535, Luther wrote a book for his barber containing practical advice on prayer. In A Simple Way to Pray, Luther recommended that prayer be the first business of the morning and the last at night.
Guard yourself carefully against those false, deluding ideas which tell you, “Wait a little while. I will pray in an hour; first I must attend to this or that.” Such thoughts get you away from prayer into other affairs which so hold your attention and involve you that nothing comes of prayer for that day.
This echoes the advice given in his Small Catechism (1529) where Luther provided content and structure for a blessing or prayer “in the morning, as soon as you get out of bed” as well as an evening blessing “in the evening, when you go to bed.” He also provided prayers for before and after meals. Luther knew that set times and habits of prayer could be helpful to the Christian. Luther advocated daily prayer, as he wrote in the Large Catechism (1529):
Therefore from youth on we should form the habit of praying daily for our needs, whenever we are aware of anything that affects us or other people around us, such as preachers, magistrates, neighbors, and servants; and, as I have said, we should always remind God of his commandment and promise.…This I say because I would like to see people learn to pray properly and not act so crudely and coldly that they daily become more inept in praying. This is just what the devil wants.*
Apply: Set at least one time in your day which you will spend 3-5 minutes in prayer. Add or increase your time as you begin to realize the blessing of spending that time with the Lord!
Prayer: Lord forgive us for hurrying about our day without awareness of you or set times to speak with you. Give us your spirit of discipline to, like Daniel, make prayer a regular and set part of our days. AMEN.
* Practical Advice on Prayer from Martin Luther by MARY JANE HAEMIG https://wordandworld.luthersem.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/35-1_Prayer/Practical%20Advice%20on%20Prayer%20from%20Martin%20Luther.pd*
Pray confidently!
This week’s devotions are based on Week 4 of Rooted – Grounded in Prayer (CLICK HERE)
Prayer is initiated out of a relationship.
Every parent has had their day interrupted by a piercing, “Mom!” or “Dad!” Their child has some need that they are unable (maybe sometimes unwilling?) to resolve and are calling out to you as a parent for help. At times the need is simply squishing a spider that wandered onto their bedroom wall or help on a math problem. At other times it may be an injury or some other predicament they can’t get themselves out of.
When our children call out to us for whatever need they have, they do so because they are confident of the following:
- You as their parent will hear them.
- You as their parent will listen to them.
- You as their parent will respond to them.
- You as their parent will do what’s best for them.
They trust you as their parent to help, and so they cry out with confidence.
What about in our prayer life?
Do we carry a similar approach to our heavenly Father?
Do we turn to him with confidence or a bit of a caution? Is praying to our heavenly Father a first resort or a last resort? Do we have faith he will help or skeptical he will do anything?
Where is your confidence level in approaching your heavenly Father? Martin Luther expressed it this way as he expanded on the address of the Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven. What does this mean? With these words God tenderly invites us to believe that He is our true Father and that we are His true children, so that with all boldness and confidence we may ask Him as dear children ask their dear father.
With the same boldness and confidence as we would cry out to our parents, so we can approach our heavenly Father with the same boldness and confidence. Like our parents, you can be sure of your heavenly Father:
- He will hear you.
- He will listen to you.
- He will respond to you.
- He will do what’s best for you.
Perhaps the secondary challenge of our confidence is trusting that God will do what is best for us. We often can subconsciously prescribe the time and way God should answer our prayers and get frustrated when it doesn’t play out that way. Again, here is a helpful insight to reflect on from Martin Luther:
Luther emphasized in a number of places that we are not to prescribe to God the details of how prayer is to be answered. In On Rogationtide Prayer and Procession (1519) he admonished: [Y]our trust must not set a goal for God, not set a time and place, not specify the way or the means of his fulfilment, but it must entrust all of that to his will, wisdom, and omnipotence. Just wait cheerfully and undauntedly for the fulfilment without wanting to know how and where, how soon, how late, or by what means. His divine wisdom will find an immeasurably better way and method, time and place, then we can imagine. (*)
So pray with confidence, knowing your heavenly Father will always listen and do what is best when it is best for his children.
Apply: Evaluate your heart when you pray. Is it filled with confidence or a bit of skepticism? Ask the Spirit to instill a strong confidence in your heavenly Father’s ability to hear and answer your prayers for your best interest.
Prayer: Father, thank you for calling me your child and giving me the confidence to always approach you boldly as I would my earthly parents. AMEN.
Quote:
* “Practical Advice on Prayer from Martin Luther” by MARY JANE HAEMIG https://wordandworld.luthersem.edu/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/35-1_Prayer/Practical%20Advice%20on%20Prayer%20from%20Martin%20Luther.pdf
Who’s prayers does God respond to?
This week’s devotions are based on Week 4 of Rooted – Grounded in Prayer (CLICK HERE)
Prayer by definition is simply words expressed to a higher power or being. Prayer represents conversation to the divine. With this definition, anyone can pray if they acknowledge some entity or being as divine or more powerful than they.
However for the Christian, prayer is a very special thing.
Prayer is our communication with the true God because he has removed in Christ the barrier of sin and made us his children by faith. We are able to call him “Our Father” because he has made us his dear children. As a result, God, the true God, hears our prayers, listens to them and responds. The best example of this distinction I have found in Scripture is Elijah and the prophets of Baal. Both prayed. Only the prayer of Elijah was answered because there is only one true God and he only responds to the prayers of his children. Here is the account from 1 Kings 18:
20 So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. 21 Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”
But the people said nothing.
22 Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the LORD’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23 Get two bulls for us. Let them choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The god who answers by fire—he is God.”
Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”
25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.” 26 So they took the bull given them and prepared it.
Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “O Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.
27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 28 So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. 29 Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the LORD, which was in ruins. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the LORD had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.” 32 With the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed. 33 He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.”
34 “Do it again,” he said, and they did it again.
“Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. 35 The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”
38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.
39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The LORD—he is God! The LORD—he is God!”
Apply: Take time today to use the privilege of prayer.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for the relationship you have established with us to be your children. As your children, we are grateful that you hear and respond to our prayers. Help me never take this privilege for granted, but use it often. AMEN.