A MATURE BALANCE BETWEEN REPETITION AND PERSISTENCE
The concept of using mindless, rote, memorized prayers will clearly not build a relationship with God. However; God does tell us to be persistent in prayer. How does one develop a true, heartfelt, deep, prayer life to get closer to God blinding both factors? This is one big issue that each person should think about. Consider what Jesus instructed us:
Matthew 6:7-8 NKJV 7 "And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 "Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.
Jesus knew that what the worldly pagans did while worshiping their gods was clearly in error. We obviously do not do those kinds of pagan-like practices. However each of us should ask “How can I keep my prayers spontaneous and heartfelt?” Many of us use prayer lists and need to work on not letting that list push us in the rote prayer direction. One thing that should help is to learn more about the people we are praying for, if possible.
Luke 18:5-8 NKJV 5 Yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. 6 Then the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge said. 7 Shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? 8 "I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?"
Those who wish to build a strong relationship with the true God must be persistent even when we have to wait a long time for an answer. Yet one must not become rote in the asking. How can we prevent that from happening?
More distressing is that it seems to be prophesied that in the end of the age many will lose faith and give up on the value of prayer! They will no longer really believe in a God who can intervene. Is this the future of many of us? We hope not! When we don't get answers to our requests in a timely manner appreciate that God is playing the long game. But we can express our true feelings with God! David certainly did !
Psalms 10:1-2 NKJV 1 Why do You stand afar off, O LORD? Why do You hide in times of trouble? 2 The wicked in his pride persecutes the poor; Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised.
David is complaining in prayer that it seems that God is avoiding him. He is saying God you are now allowing the evil in their pride to succeed. David is boldly honest with God about how he feels.
Psalms 88:13-15 NKJV 13 But to You I have cried out, O LORD, And in the morning my prayer comes before You. 14 LORD, why do You cast off my soul? Why do You hide Your face from me? 15 I have been afflicted and ready to die from my youth; I suffer Your terrors; I am distraught.
David normally ended his prayers with praises even after pleading with God to save him sooner. We will look at one such prayer event among many.
Psalms 89:1-3 NKJV 1 I will sing of the mercies of the LORD forever; With my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations. 2 For I have said, "Mercy shall be built up forever; Your faithfulness You shall establish in the very heavens." 3 "I have made a covenant with My chosen, I have sworn to My servant David:
David goes on to praise God over all for doing everything He promised.
GOD APPROVED PRAYER TACTICS: HUMILITY AND HONORING GOD'S GREATNESS
Paul the Apostle accepted God's NO answer because he realized it would keep him humble. He learned to appreciate humility. Humility allowed God's power and inspiration to flow into Paul in greater amounts.
2 Corinthians 12:5-9 NKJV 5 Of such a one I will boast; yet of myself I will not boast, except in my infirmities....lest anyone should think of me above what he sees me to be or hears from me. 7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. 8 ... I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Paul's power and prayer power were greater when he was humble; therefore our prayer power will be stronger when we are humble. Another example of the power of prayer is based on King Hezekiah's prayer while the frightening Assyrian Army was besieging Jerusalem. The Assyrians had bragged that the god's of all the pagan nations they had conquered could not save them. So why did the Isrealites assume their God was any stronger?
Isaiah 37:29-33 NKJV 29 Because your rage against Me and your tumult have come up to My ears, Therefore I will put My hook in your nose And My bridle in your lips, And I will turn you back By the way which you came."' ... 33 "Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria: 'He shall not come into this city, Nor shoot an arrow there, Nor come before it with shield, Nor build a siege mound against it.
The king's prayer emphasized the blasphemy of God's power and greatness not how good the people of Jerusalem were at that time. God answered by having the Assyrian Army just simply die. They never woke up again. The evil king had to return home without his 185,00 troops because he had challenged the God of Israel. He was soon assassinated. Also Moses prayed to spare Israel after they rejected God's leadership and displayed no trust in God and refused to enter the promised land. He based his prayer on maintaining God's reputation not on the goodness of the people.
Numbers 14:14-16 NKJV 14 "and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that You, LORD, are among these people; that You, LORD, are seen face to face and Your cloud stands above them, and You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. 15 "Now if You kill these people as one man, then the nations which have heard of Your fame will speak, saying, 16 'Because the LORD was not able to bring this people to the land which He swore to give them, therefore He killed them in the wilderness.'
When we pray for America, we should base our prayers on God's greatness, as the nation He has blessed and chosen; certainly not on the goodness of the American people. We do not want God to give us the leadership we deserve.
OUR CLOSENESS TO GOD STRENTHENS OUR PRAYER POWER
The disciples after casting out many demons found one they could not handle. Christ gave them this advice.
Mark 9:28-29 NKJV 28 And when He had come into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?" 29 So He said to them, "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting."
The more we pray daily, and fast occasionally, the more prayer power we will have and obviously we will be closer to God.
James 5:16 NKJV 16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
Obeying God, being humble and praying regularly is like a force multiplier. The more Godly things we do now the more we can do in the future and our prayers will gain more power.
James 1:6-8 NKJV 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
God expects some level of true trust in God from us, to gain His ear in prayer.
Mark 9:23-24 NKJV 23 Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." 24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"
If we need more faith just ask God for it and like this father's request, He will fill it. If we need more wisdom to know what to pray for ask for it.
Romans 8:26-27 NKJV 26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groaning which cannot be uttered. 27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
This is one of the most intriguing verses on prayer in the Bible. Paul was so close to God that the spirit of God would help him emotionally to pray. Can any of us hope to achieve this level of bonding with God? If it is in scripture then God would not have allowed it to be there if it were impossible to achieve. The groanings are not mindless gibberish, see I Cor. 14:32-33. Let us strive for this even deeper bond with God through heartfelt prayer.
1 Peter 3:7 NKJV 7 Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.
Believers must solve family problems so that that they do not hinder our prayer life and closeness to God.
