Two Pointers About Prayer

My children's bath times improved my prayer time

Photo by Karolina Kaboompics | Pexels

Going to the prayer closet is like going to the gym.

You need to go.

You want to go because you want to stay healthy.

You know you ought to go, but.... there's just so much to do.

And then comes the guilt when you skip. And the resentment because that checkbox isn't checked. Maybe even despair creeps in. Why is something so good so hard, and why don't you do better?

Preachers know if you want to stir up guilt, talk about prayer.

I don't want to roil bad feelings. I want to encourage you by passing along two pointers that have helped me along the way:

• Pray longer sometimes, and

• Use someone else's words.

1. Sometimes, have longer prayer times

My children's baths taught me to have longer prayer times sometimes.

Most evenings were the usual hustle after dinner: Into the tub, shampoo the hair, wash up, get out, dry off, slip on pajamas, maybe a little playtime and then a story, prayers, and lights out.

Once in a while, the evening was calmer and they could have more time in the tub. This is when longer bath times taught me to try longer prayer times.

I noticed that when the kids had more time, the activity changed. Once we went through the usual routine, it became, "What now?" The extra minutes were new territory. They got creative. I enjoyed watching their play evolve.

This gave me the idea to experiment with how I prayed, which normally was like their bath time—a rushed routine.

The first time I determined to linger, I finished the usual and lapsed into silence.

Now what?

I hadn't been here before.

Resisting the awkwardness and the urge to move on, I waited. A need would come to my attention, so I prayed. More silence. Then, a scripture would come to mind and I would meditate on it. Start to really think about the words—how they fit together and what they said.

Connections with other passages created new insights. At times there was conviction, and my prayer became confession and supplication.

Prayer was no longer just me talking. There was silence. God also spoke, not with thunderbolts or earthquakes or visions, and not audibly. His ancient words in scripture, the words He said will never perish, uttered new meanings.

Once again, the Bible became a living book.

I've come to look forward to these longer prayer times. I don't have them as often as I should (there's that "ought to") but the Psalmist expresses my desire,

As the deer pants for the water brooks,

so pants my soul for You, O God. —Psalm 42:1

Those deep drafts in prayer refresh like nothing else.

2. Use someone else's words

Bringing up Psalm 42 makes my next point: Let someone else speak for you. Borrow their words.

There are occasions when I go to pray and there are just no words. It may be I am exhausted, distracted, busy and unsettled, or I have driven a wedge between me and our Holy God (“Your iniquities have separated you from your God,” Isaiah 59:2). Try as I might, the words don't come.

God's canvas is spread, but I don't know which brush to take up.

This is where I find the Psalms in particular so helpful. Just about any of them will coax you. For example:

Say to God, "How awesome are Your works! Through the greatness of Your power Your enemies shall submit themselves to You. —Psalm 66:3

You can't think of anything to pray about? Here is a direct order: Say to God. And here are the ready-made words: How awesome are Your works! 

Jesus said, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working" (John 5:17). Think about God's work on Israel's behalf in The Exodus and before that, in Egypt. Think about Jesus's work throughout the gospels. Remember what He has done in your lifetime. Before long, the awesome works of God will have you rejoicing.

David also mentions the greatness of God's power, which brings immediately to mind Paul's prayer: "That you may know the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe" (Ephesians 1:19).

David was familiar with God's awesome power in the creation: "The heavens declare the glory of  God; and the firmament shows His handiwork (Psalm 19:1). He also experienced God's power as a shepherd when "The LORD delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear" (1 Samuel 17:37).

But Paul says that we who believe in Jesus experience a power of God that is greater than great. The power that rolled the stone from Jesus's tomb, that walked Jesus off the death slab and raised Him into the heavens is the mighty power that exceeds greatness toward us who believe.

Are you up against a Goliath that seems impossible to overcome? Remember the resurrection of Jesus and the power that raised Him. Believer, this power is at work in you.

Thus, David's exhortation to "Say to God, 'How awesome are Your works!'" moves me from reflecting on God's power in the Old Testament to praising Him for His exceedingly great work through Jesus in the New.

Where there had been no words when I began, there is no stopping them as these meditations sweep my mind.

A second example. (I am a staunch believer in the biblical counsel to confirm everything by two or more witnesses.)

Deliver me in Your righteousness, and cause me to escape; incline Your ear to me, and save me.

Be my strong refuge, to which I may resort continually; You have given the commandment to save me, for You are my rock and my fortress. —Psalm 71:2-3

• The words deliver, escape, save, and refuge supply immediate solace. They remind me of the troubles I've seen and the Lord's faithfulness to deliver.

• Continually teaches me yesterday's victories will not sustain me. Troubles today drive me to "God [who] is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1). It also affirms God is reliable. He does not deliver once and then is exhausted. I can resort to Him continually, and He is there.

• Deliver me in Your righteousness. David understood God delivers based on His righteousness, not ours. Jesus said, "Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:20). David points us to the righteousness that exceeds anything we have, the only righteousness that ushers any one of us into heaven.

• You have given the commandment to save me. I cannot recall offhand when God commanded this, but then the words of Jesus come to mind. "This command I have received from My Father:  I have power to lay my life down, and I have power to take it again" (John 10:18). What does this have to do with me? Jesus says, "I lay down My life for the sheep" (John 10:15).
  
  And John 3:16 follows suit. Jesus came because the Father sent Him. At God's command, Jesus came that "whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
  
  Our salvation is the fruit of Jesus's obedience to His Father's command.

David's prayer thus seeds my own, eliciting praise, thanksgiving, comfort, and hope in present circumstances.

I could go on to the prayers of Solomon, Nehemiah, Daniel, and Paul, which have also helped me. Their words inevitably settle me in the Lord's presence and before long, my heart stirs again.

Some closing words

Search the internet or bookstores and you can find all sorts of tips to tune your prayers, such as acronyms like these to follow a pattern:

ACTS: Begin with Adoration, then Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication

PRAY: Praise, Repent, Ask, Yield

Try them. And try what I have suggested here. If you do, would you let me know in the comments? Maybe you have a favorite passage that helps you settle into prayer that you can share. Let me know that, too.

Whatever, I hope this brings to an end those times when there are no words to pray. Rather, may you find there aren't enough words.