Spiritual Disciplines: Prayer

24 Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear. Isaiah 65:24 English Standard Version

Some years ago, I was chatting with a long-term missionary about his work abroad. He presented me with a question, “If you were discipling new Christians and had time to teach them about reading the Bible or prayer, but not both. Which would you teach them?”

As someone who loves reading, I replied, “I would teach them about the importance of reading the Bible.”

He replied, “I’d teach them about prayer. If they know how to go to the Lord in prayer, He will guide them into everything they need to know, including reading the Bible. But reading the Bible does not necessarily mean that you will approach the Lord in prayer.”

At the time I was a bit scandalized; however, some forty years later, I think he was quite correct in his thinking. After all, for almost two millennia, most Christians did not own their own Bible, and God still moved and worked among His people. I do not share this to denigrate reading the Bible; I share it to emphasize the paramount need for prayer.

12 In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. Luke 6:12

In this passage we see Jesus spending the night in prayer. Immediately after this Jesus chose the twelve apostles. There are other passages which show that Jesus willingly spent much time alone with the Lord. Evidently, He gained much from these hours spent communing with the Father. We would do well to remember that doing the will of the Father was paramount in the mind of Jesus. In John 6:38, Jesus would say, “38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.”  Earlier in John’s gospel, Jesus tells the apostles, “34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.” Long hours spent in prayer were part of how Jesus understood the will of the Father and found the strength to accomplish it. This was not something new introduced by Jesus. The idea of seeking the Lord in prayer and hearing from Him weaves through much of scripture.

4 Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. 5 Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long. Psalm 25:4-5

Here David, the great song-writer, calls upon the Lord for help in knowing and understanding God’s directions for his life. While this passage is poetic in nature, we see a man seeking the Lord and willing to listen, while waiting patiently for the Lord to instruct him. Part of our prayer life should be an admission of our need for God’s instructions. In my prayer life, I frequently find myself focusing on things that I feel I need or want. The construction of that sentence reveals a self-centeredness, whereas, the psalm indicates an attitude of submission to what the Lord desires. 

Perhaps the reason I struggle to hear from the Lord is my self-centeredness. I tend to view my relationship with the Lord as me focused; what can the Lord do for me, instead of how can I better submit to the rule of the Lord in my daily walk and life in general. Jesus equated doing the Father’s will with food. Shifting my viewpoint away from a list of things I may want to asking God to teach, shape, and inform me would give the Lord more opportunity to speak into my life. It could also have the effect of creating space for conversation; but, that would require me to be quiet and listen, something I’m not particularly good at. 

As we consider the spiritual discipline of prayer, we ought to first examine how much we build listening into our prayer life. In the crush of daily activities finding time to sit, quiet our hearts, and actually listen is difficult. I am convinced that if we take the time to be still and quiet, the Lord will speak to us. Consider the experience of Elijah.

11 And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. 13 And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” I Kings 19:11-13 

The Lord to not speak to Elijah out of the noise and clangor of titanic physical events. He spoke to him in the quiet of a “low whisper.” Some translations render it as a “gentle whisper” or a “still small voice.” When we set aside time to listen to the Lord, we just might hear the still small voice that Elijah heard. The only real question we face is, are we willing to set aside the time to listen, to be quiet and truly listen? Here are a few ways that we might structure our prayer life to include space for the Lord to speak to us:

1. Turn off all our devices.

2. Go to a place of solitude.

3. Use pen and paper to structure our prayer.

4. Make a list of things we are thankful for.

5. Ask the Lord to reveal Himself and His will to us.

If we take the time to approach the Lord with a willingness to listen, He will make His will known to us. Asking to know His will requires submission, an understanding that we stand in need of His help. It also requires that we shut out the noise and clangor of this world, something that is hard to do, as we tend to fill all our quiet time with noise. But, if we make room for God, He will fill that space with what we need. 

Thought Questions:

1. How often do you spend time listening to God?

2. Are you comfortable with the concept of listening to God? Why or why not?

3. Do you have a quiet place where you can go undisturbed?

4. Do you turn off your devices when engaging in prayer?

5. What do you think keeps us from hearing God?