If I try to pray for people or events without having the word of God in front of me guiding my prayers, then several things tend to happen. One is that I tend to be very repetitive… I just pray the same things all the time. Another negative thing is that my mind tends to wander.
John Piper
In the opening chapter of his book, Praying the Bible, Donald Whitney writes the following:
“Since prayer is talking with God, why don’t people pray more? Why don’t the people of God enjoy prayer more?“
Here are (in my opinion) two intellectual and spiritual giants whose lives demonstrate a fervent love and commitment to Jesus and God’s Word… and here they are, admitting that prayer can sometimes be a challenge. It can sometimes be a struggle. Whew! It’s not just me!
This past Wednesday, during Midweek Prayer, Stephen and Elmer gave us an exercise through Paul’s letter to the Colossians that I have used every morning since. As a matter of fact, I thought it was such a helpful tool; I wanted to make sure everybody had it, especially as we continue to work on anticipation, expectation, preparation, and celebration, connecting Sunday to Midweek to Sunday each week. As a matter of fact, it’s part of your weekly challenge.
God wants every Christian to have a vibrant, meaningful, satisfying prayer life. He’s a Father who wants to enjoy time and conversation with His children, and wants His children to enjoy time and conversation with Him. SO… He gave us His Holy Spirit, and He gave us the Scriptures.
Open up your Bible.
Let’s keep reading it together.
And let’s listen as the Holy Spirit takes this verse or that verse and teaches us to pray.