Living a Life of Prayer

It is comforting to know that we do not go through life alone. There is someone greater than ourselves. God is greater. His ways are higher. He is all-knowing. He is our Creator. And our Creator hears our pleads, our moans, our cries. He wants to listen to our prayers and respond. As we pray more, it becomes a natural conversation that is carried throughout our day, yet we also take intentional time to be with our Lord. This is living a life of prayer.

Living a life of prayer. This sounds intimidating, but it is the best way to live! There are prayers throughout Scripture from people like Elijah, Daniel, Jonah, Mary the mother of Jesus, Jesus Himself, and so many others. We have to seek God, His will, His way, and His heart. This is through prayer and Scripture. I love the term “prayer warrior.” A warrior, or soldier, is one who trains to go to battle and prepares for the attacks of the enemy. The enemy (Satan) attacks our minds, our emotions, our families, our work, anything that will slow us down from kingdom work. So, we must pray for ourselves, for those around us, for our enemies, for those across the world, and, ultimately, for the will of the Father to be done here on earth. Ephesians 6:18-20 gives us an idea of the importance of prayer:

“praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints- and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”

To live a life of prayer is to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). This does not mean that you are on your knees for 24 hours a day! This might mean that God is constantly in your mind and your heart. As we grow in relationship with the Lord, it starts to come naturally to pray as you walk along the road, as you talk with others, as you cook, as you work. This also includes spending personal, one-on-one, time with the Father. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed fervently, and he began to sweat blood (Luke 22:44). When we pray, we reach out to God for help. In Acts 12:5, Peter is “in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.” The word constant, which could also be translated as earnest, means “stretched out” (Blue Letter Bible), and its root word in Greek is used in verses talking about Jesus stretching out His hand to heal people. When we pray, we constantly stretch ourselves out before the Lord to entreat His help. Paul spoke to the Roman church, “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers,” (Romans 1:8-9). We cannot do this life on our own! We need to pray for others and we need others to pray for us. Even Paul had to ask others to pray for him (Colossians 4:3-4). Continuing in prayer is not a lack of faith, it is dependence on God and His help.

Sometimes the best way to build a life of prayer is to start with routine. In Daniel 1, we find Daniel praying three times a day, at the same times and in the same place (Daniel 6:10-11). Additionally, his prayers were pleasing, heard, and answered. An angel came to him saying, “‘Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words” (Daniel 10:12). If our hearts are inclined to the Father and we humbly go before Him, He hears us!

Prayer is powerful. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai (Exodus 32), God was ready to destroy the people of Israel as they had built a golden calf, an idol. Moses pleaded on their behalf, and God allowed the people to live. God hears the pleads of His people. Again, as mentioned above, in Acts 12, the church prays for Peter, and God sends an angel to release him from prison in the middle of the night. The servant girl who answered the door to Peter’s knock was too surprised to even open the door! As we pray, we should pray with the expectation that God will answer!!! Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Nothing is too big for God! All of your worries and your fears, God wants you to bring those to Him. Also, it is beautiful to make specific requests because it builds our faith when God gives us specific answers. For example, there have been times when I have prayed for a parking space, and God provided. Of course, God does not always give us a “yes.” Sometimes, He says “wait” or “no.” That is why it is important that we pray for God’s will to be done here on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10). 

1 John 5:14-15 says, “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.” It is true that we can ask God for anything, but we should ask according to His will. What is His will? This could be a whole study of its own, but in summary, God’s will is His desires for us. For example, His will is for us to not be conformed to this world (Romans 12:2), it is to love Him and love people (Matthew 22:36-40), it is to be sanctified (1 Thessalonians 4:3), it is to give thanks (1 Thessalonians 5:18), it is to do good (1 Peter 2:15). The list could keep on going because God’s Word is full of His will for us. To pray according to His will is to pray as He changes our desires to look more like His. As we spend time with Him, we start to want the things that He wants. We start to pray for others’ salvation. We pray for the Church, believers around the world. We pray for our enemies. Even Jesus said, “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me” (John 6:38), and in the Garden of Gethsemane, he prayed, “‘Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.’” And Paul also sought out the will of God in where to go. Paul write in Romans 1:9-10, “For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you.” Paul’s prayer life was very specific. He knew where He wanted to go and prayed in that direction. 

With all that said, we should be motivated to pray, not just for those who are immediately around us, but for those around the world who are partaking in the ministry of the Father. Paul prayed faithfully for those in Rome, even before he was able to get there. If we have a place that we desire to go to do ministry, but we cannot get there, we can begin in ministry there through prayer. Prayer is a vital part of any and every ministry. It should go before and behind. He told His disciples, “‘The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest’” (Matthew 9:37-38). The world desperately needs Jesus. And for those who are already spreading the Gospel, we should pray. We should “Remember the prisoners as if chained with them-those who are mistreated-since you yourselves are in the body also” (Hebrews 13:3). When we pray, we can ask God to help us to have empathy for those we do not know but who are being persecuted for their faith. We should labor in prayer. Paul writes, under the inspiration of the Spirit, “Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God” (Colossians 4:12). And, when we pray for our own life and ministries, it is important to ask God for wisdom. James writes, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 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.” When we pray, we pray in faith. And, if we have need of faith, we can ask for it. When a man came to Jesus with his demon possessed son, Jesus said, “‘If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes’” (Mark 9:23), and the man responds: “Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, ‘Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!’” (Mark 9:24). Jesus cast the demon out of the son. I love this. Oftentimes, we are lacking in faith, but God increases our faith day-by-day by showing us His faithfulness and His goodness. He is always answering prayers; sometimes, we just forget to look for His answers. If you have a journal or piece of paper, take a moment each week to write down answers to your prayers (even if the answer was a “no”). This will increase your faith.  

Also, we can pray that God would keep us from temptation. Matthew 26:41 says, “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” And with prayer, know the Word of God. When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11, Luke 4:1-13), Jesus responded with Scripture. Sometimes, if you are unsure what to pray, pray Scripture. For example, turn to Psalms and pray those to the Father. 

Lastly, I want to talk about a life of prayer and fasting. You can have prayer without fasting, but you cannot have fasting without prayer. Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20:3-4 understood this: “And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. So Judah gathered together to ask help from the LORD; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.” And as Ezra prepared to travel, he declared a fast and sought the Lord’s protection, and the writer says, “we fasted and entreated our God for this, and He answered our prayer” (Ezra 8:23). Fasting does not mean that we will receive whatever we ask of the Lord, but by denying ourselves of something, we allow God to be our sufficiency. It was when Cornelius fasted (Acts 10) that a man in bright clothing stood before him and called for him to find a man named Peter who would later lead his family to Christ. It was when God’s people ministered and fasted that the Holy Spirit spoke and said that Saul and Barnabas were to be set apart for ministry (Acts 13:2). The Church fasted, prayed, and laid hands on them before sending them out (Acts 13:3). If you have not recently fasted, or maybe it is your first time, let God use fasting and prayer to teach you and grow you. 

In summary, prayer should be so deeply intertwined in our day that it becomes natural and normal. It takes practice to pray without ceasing throughout the day, and intentional times of prayer are sweet meeting moments between us and the Father. The psalmist writes: “I love the LORD, because He has heard My voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me, Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live” (Psalm 116:1-2). 

“Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face evermore!” - 1 Chronicles 16:11