ABSTRACT: Prayer is among the most vital elements of the Christian life, but typically one of the crucial uncared for. Even after we do pray, we could battle to hope prayerfully, with fervency and religion. The Puritans present a mannequin for a praying life that repeatedly takes maintain of the self in motivation, cultivation, fidelity, and self-discipline, and that takes maintain of God in dependence and religion. This earnest, engaged prayer is the sort the church wants within the current (and each) age.
The prayer of a righteous individual has nice energy as it’s working. Elijah was a person with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it won’t rain, and for 3 years and 6 months it didn’t rain on the earth. Then he prayed once more, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.
—James 5:16–18
Within the epistle of James, we learn that the prophet Elijah “prayed fervently.”1 Actually, the textual content signifies that Elijah “prayed in his prayer.”2 In different phrases, Elijah’s prayers have been greater than a proper train; quite, he poured himself into his prayers.
Christian prayer is holy communication from the believing soul to God. Thomas Manton (1620–1677) outlined prayer as “the converse of a loving soul with God.”3 Equally, Anthony Burgess (1600–1663) stated that prayer is “the lifting up of the thoughts, and of the entire soul to God.”4 John Bunyan (1628–1688) provides one other wealthy definition: “Prayer is a honest, wise, affectionate pouring out of the guts or soul to God, via Christ, within the energy and help of the Holy Spirit, for things like God has promised, or in accordance with his Phrase, for the great of the church, with submission in religion to the desire of God.”5
Prayer ought to be the Christian’s nice delight. As Matthew Henry (1662–1714) noticed, prayer is the believer’s companion, counselor, comforter, provide, help, shelter, energy, and salvation.6 The true believer enjoys praying regardless of the assaults he faces from the world, the flesh, and the satan. As Henry wrote, “This lifetime of communion with God, and fixed attendance upon him, is a heaven upon earth.”7 Thomas Brooks (1608–1680) exclaimed, “Ah! How typically, Christians, hath God kissed you originally of prayer, and spoke peace to you within the midst of prayer, and stuffed you with pleasure and assurance, upon the shut of prayer!”8
After finding out the prayer lives of the Puritans, I’m satisfied that the best shortcoming in at the moment’s church is the dearth of such prayerful prayer. We fail to make use of heaven’s best weapon as we must always. In our church buildings, houses, and private lives, our prayer is commonly extra prayerless than prayerful.
The giants of church historical past (such because the Puritans) typically dwarf us in true prayer. Prayer was their precedence. The Puritans have been prayerful males who knew the way to clutch God in prayer and have been possessed by the Spirit of grace and supplication (Isaiah 64:7). They taught that the answer to prayerless praying is prayerful praying, which occurs in two methods: by taking maintain of ourselves and by taking maintain of God.
Taking Maintain of Your self
As with each different attainment within the Christian life, prayerful praying just isn’t achieved mechanically. The apostle Paul urged Timothy, “Practice your self for godliness. . . . Struggle the great battle of the religion. Seize the everlasting life to which you have been known as” (1 Timothy 4:7; 6:12). I thus plead with you to hunt a extra fervent and trustworthy prayer life, with effort, urgency, and dependence on Christ and the Holy Spirit, working towards the self-discipline of self-control, which isn’t a pure potential however a fruit of the Spirit bought by Jesus Christ on the cross (Galatians 5:22–24).
We glance to Christ because the vine who alone can produce good fruit in us, after which get a grip on ourselves and interact diligently in disciplined prayer. Let me counsel 4 rules for taking maintain of your self in prayer: motivation, cultivation, fidelity, and self-discipline.
Bear in mind the Motivation
Many infirmities choke our motivation to hope. Archbishop James Ussher (1581–1656) lists a few of them: “Roving imaginations, inordinate affections, dullness of spirit, weak point of religion, coldness in feeling, faintness in asking, weariness in ready, an excessive amount of ardour in our personal issues, and too little compassion in different males’s miseries.”9 We are able to clutch ourselves, then, by remembering motivations for prayer concerning its worth.
First, keep in mind the objective of prayer — the glory of God within the happiness of man. As Matthew Henry writes, in prayer “we will need to have in our eye God’s glory, and our personal true happiness.”10 James Ussher explains the motivations for true prayer: “to make use of all different good means rigorously; to hunt God’s glory principally; to need one of the best issues most earnestly; to ask nothing however what God’s Phrase warranteth us; to attend patiently until he hear and assist us.”11
Second, keep in mind the privilege of prayer. William Bridge (ca. 1600–1671) noticed, “A praying man can by no means be very depressing, no matter his situation be, for he has the ear of God. . . . It’s a mercy to hope, despite the fact that I by no means obtain the mercy prayed for.”12 Anthony Burgess additionally dwelt on the good privilege of prayer: “By praying holily we’re made extra holy; it’s like train to the physique, which makes it extra robust and lively; it’s the wealthy ship that brings in wonderful returns from God: heavenly prayer leaveth an heavenly body, it keepeth a soul in longings after God.”13
Third, keep in mind the energy of prayer. “The angel fetched Peter out of jail, but it surely was prayer [that] fetched the angel,” wrote Thomas Watson (ca. 1620–1686).14 John Bunyan exhorted, “Pray typically, for prayer is a protect to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge for Devil.”15 Keep in mind that “when God intends nice mercy for his individuals the very first thing he does is to set them a praying,” noticed Henry.16 As Ussher writes,
As a result of prayer is the voice of God’s Spirit in us, a jewel of grace bequeathed by Christ unto us, it’s the hand of religion, the important thing of God’s treasury, the soul’s solicitor, the guts’s armorbearer, and the thoughts’s interpreter. It procureth all blessings, preventeth curses, sanctifieth all creatures, that they might do us good, seasoneth all crosses, that they will do us no harm. Lastly, it retains the guts in humility, the life in sobriety, strengtheneth all graces, overcometh all temptations, subdueth corruptions, purgeth our affections, makes our duties acceptable to God, our lives worthwhile unto males, and each life and loss of life snug unto our selves.17
Lastly, keep in mind the precedence of prayer. John Bunyan burdened the precedence of prayer by asserting that we will do greater than pray after now we have prayed, however we can’t do greater than pray till now we have prayed.18 Prioritizing means rating the worth of one thing increased than different issues. Is it potential that your prayer life suffers as a result of one thing else ranks too excessive with you? Does your social life crowd out prayer? Is the usage of digital media hindering your prayers? Media could accomplish that by absorbing an excessive amount of valuable time whereas your prayer life languishes; it could additionally fill your thoughts with worldly ideas in order that your prayers turn out to be shallow, chilly, self-centered, materialistic, or unmotivated, and thus rare. Prioritizing prayer requires placing different actions in a decrease place to make room for communion with God.
Within the energy of Christ, attempt to keep away from prayerless praying, whether or not in non-public devotions or public prayers. Even when your prayers appear lifeless, don’t cease praying. Dullness could also be past your fast potential to beat, however refusing to hope in any respect is the fruit of presumption, self-sufficiency, and slothfulness.
Domesticate Your Coronary heart
The Puritans taught that we should put together our hearts to hunt the Lord. Above all, prayerful praying requires the cultivation of a honest coronary heart. To hope together with your mouth what just isn’t really in your coronary heart is hypocrisy — except you’re confessing the coldness of your coronary heart and crying out for heart-warming grace. Thomas Brooks touched on the significance of Spirit-worked sincerity and transparency in prayer: “God appears to be like not on the elegancy of your prayers, to see how neat they’re; nor but on the geometry of your prayers to see how lengthy they’re; . . . however on the sincerity of your prayers, how hearty they’re. . . . Prayer is just pretty and weighty, as the guts is in it. . . . God hears not more than the guts speaks.”19
If we wish God to just accept our prayers, then our prayers should be pushed by attitudes fashioned in us by the Spirit of Christ. The extra he varieties us, the extra our prayers will clutch God and please him. These attitudes embody a coronary heart of religion towards God (Mark 11:24), repentance from sin (Psalm 66:18), fervent and holy need (James 5:16), humility earlier than God (Luke 18:13), boldness in Christ (Hebrews 4:16), love and forgiveness for different individuals (Mark 11:25), and overflowing gratitude for God’s goodness (Philippians 4:6).
Second, prayerful praying entails the cultivation of a childlike coronary heart the place we pray to “our Father in heaven” (Matthew 6:9). Thomas Manton (1620–1677) stated, “A phrase from a baby strikes the daddy greater than an orator can transfer all his hearers.”20 God is happy by easy belief, love, and reverence. To return as a baby to the Father is to honor him within the highest diploma and to interact his deepest compassion.
Lastly, prayerful praying requires the cultivation of a word-saturated coronary heart. One motive our prayer lives droop is as a result of now we have uncared for the Holy Scriptures. Prayer is a two-way dialog; we should take heed to God, not simply communicate to him. We accomplish that by filling our minds with the Bible, for the Bible is God’s voice in written type. Our Lord Jesus declared in John 15:7, “If you happen to abide in me, and my phrases abide in you, ask no matter you want, and it will likely be completed for you.” Each Scripture passage is gasoline for burning prayers. As Thomas Manton wrote, “One good strategy to get consolation is to plead the promise of God in prayer. . . . Present him his handwriting; God is tender of his phrase.”21
Some years in the past, an aged pal introduced me a religious letter from my father, who handed from the pulpit to glory in 1993. My father wrote the letter within the Fifties, shortly after his conversion. “I believed you would possibly prefer to have this,” the pal stated. “Wish to?” I stated, “I might love to have this.” I sat down and browse it instantly with nice pleasure; it was so private as a result of it was my father’s handwriting. How do you assume your Father in heaven feels whenever you present him his personal handwriting in prayer?
Matthew Henry as soon as stated in reference to Scripture studying, “Hear [God] chatting with you, and have a watch to that in each factor you say to him; as whenever you write a solution to a letter of enterprise, you lay it earlier than you.”22
Stay Fixed
“Pray with out ceasing,” wrote Paul to the Thessalonian church (1 Thessalonians 5:17). God wishes his youngsters to domesticate a spirit, behavior, and life-style of prayerfulness; this command refers extra to praying together with your hat on and eyes open than to petitioning in non-public. Thomas Brooks described such fixed prayer: “A person should at all times pray habitually, although not truly; he will need to have his coronary heart in a praying disposition in all estates and situations, in prosperity and adversity, in well being and illness, in energy and weak point, in wealth and desires, in life and loss of life.”23
No matter our calling or commerce, prayer is our work all through the day (Romans 12:12; Colossians 4:2). We fulfill this mandate in a number of methods. First, we preserve an angle of prayer all through the day. As Matthew Henry exhorted, we must always search to start, spend, and shut the day with God.24 Or as one other man as soon as stated, after we end speaking to God, we don’t “grasp up” on him however quite preserve the road open. We stay second by second within the presence of God and may take heed to it.
Second, if we’re to hope with out ceasing, we will set up set occasions of prayer in our every day schedules. The Puritans taught us that we must always start and finish every day with prayer, marinate household worship in prayer, and use mealtimes to present thanks and elevate up our wants.
Third, we try to be alert and prepared to hope at a second’s discover. Preserve a state of religious alertness (Ephesians 6:18; Colossians 4:2), just like the soldier within the squad who carries the radio and is at all times able to name in help. Everytime you really feel the least impulse to hope or see a necessity to hope, accomplish that. Even in case you are within the midst of a tough job that calls for focus, obey the impulse to hope (in a way that’s protected and smart). The impulse could also be a groaning of the Spirit, and we should not regard the Spirit’s promptings as intrusions. Practice your self to hope inwardly whereas the outward man is busy with every day duties.
Embrace Self-discipline
Prayerful prayer additionally entails self-discipline, requiring time, perseverance, and group. First, disciplined prayer entails a major funding of time. Theodosia Alleine, the spouse of Joseph Alleine, wrote about her husband’s time dedication to prayer:
On a regular basis of his well being, he did rise continuously at or earlier than 4 of the clock, and on the Sabbath sooner, if he did wake. He can be a lot troubled if he heard smiths, or shoemakers, or such tradesmen, at work at their trades, earlier than he was in his duties with God; saying to me typically, “Oh, how this noise shames me! Doth not my Grasp deserve greater than theirs?” From 4 until eight he spent in prayer, holy contemplations, and singing of psalms, which he a lot delighted in, and did every day follow alone, in addition to in his household.25
Disciplined prayer additionally requires perseverance. It’s simple to hope when you’re like a sailboat gliding ahead in a favoring wind. But in addition pray when you’re like an icebreaker smashing your manner via an arctic sea one foot at a time. George Swinnock (1627–1673) stated, “Wrestle with God . . . bending and straining each joint of the brand new man within the soul, that they might all assist to prevail with God.”26
Lastly, disciplined prayer requires group. Paul modeled common intercession for a lot of totally different church buildings and Christians, together with some that he had by no means met (Colossians 1:9; 2:1). It will have been not possible for Paul to take action with out some system for intercession. In his epistles, he instructions Christians to supply “supplication for all of the saints” (Ephesians 6:18) and for all males (1 Timothy 2:1). With no technique of prayer, we’ll hardly pray for anybody frequently.
“Each Scripture passage is gasoline for burning prayers.”
Manage your petitions by some system or record. Any system is best than none. Bear in mind that you may adapt it over time. It could not appear very religious to make use of a prayer record, however it’s eminently sensible. Be cheap and don’t overburden your self, however self-discipline your self to hope a lot to your personal church and different church buildings, for missions, and for a lot of particular individuals. Praying could also be your Most worthy ministry.27
Taking Maintain of God
Deep inside us, we all know that it’s not possible to beat prayerlessness by our personal energy. The sacredness, reward, and energy of prayer are far above human means. God’s grace is important for prayerful praying. But grace doesn’t make us passively watch for God to grant it. Grace strikes us to hunt the Lord. As David sings in Psalm 25:1, “To you, O Lord, I elevate up my soul” (see additionally Psalms 86:4; 143:8). Direct your thoughts and affections towards our covenant God in Christ, and draw close to to his throne of grace (Colossians 3:1–2).
Simply as Jacob wrestled with the angel of the Lord and wouldn’t let him go till he blessed him (Genesis 32:26), so we should clutch God till he blesses us. The prophet Isaiah lamented the prayerlessness of his personal technology, saying, “There is no such thing as a one who calls upon your identify, who rouses himself to clutch you” (Isaiah 64:7). Will you stir your self as much as clutch God at the moment? Doing so would require dependence and religion.
Rely upon God
Taking maintain of God requires dependence on the Holy Spirit. We rely utterly on the Holy Spirit, for we will do nothing with out Christ working via his Spirit (John 15:5). As Anthony Burgess noticed, “The center is however as a lot uninteresting earth, until the Spirit of God inflame thee; thy prayer is a physique and not using a soul, if there be phrases however not God’s Spirit within the coronary heart.”28 David Clarkson (1622–1686) additionally defined the work of the Holy Spirit within the Christian’s prayer life: the Spirit “helps the weak point and infirmity of religious habits and rules, and attracts them out into vigorous train. He helps the soul to method with confidence, and but with reverence; with filial worry, and but with an emboldened religion; with zeal and importunity, and but with humble submission; with full of life hope, and but with self-denial.”29
Second, taking maintain of God requires dependence on the mediation of Christ. How can sinners clutch God besides in Jesus Christ? Within the ebook of Hebrews, we learn that it’s only by Christ’s blood and intercession as our Excessive Priest that we will boldly “enter the holy locations” — that’s, the place the place God dwells on excessive (Hebrews 10:19–22). Thus, all our prayers should be supplied by religion in Christ. By means of him now we have entry to the Father, for Christ alone is the mediator between God and males (Ephesians 2:18; 1 Timothy 2:5). Moreover, the adoption now we have acquired in union with Christ is the inspiration of our prayers.30
George Downame (1563–1634) wrote that we should ask “the way it cometh to go that man being stained and polluted with sin, and by motive thereof an enemy of God, ought to have any entry to God, or be admitted to any speech with him, who’s most simply and horrible, a consuming hearth, and hating all iniquity with excellent hatred.” He then solutions his personal query, saying, “Due to this fact of necessity a mediator was to return between God and man, who reconciling us unto God, and masking our imperfections, would possibly make each our individuals and our prayers acceptable underneath God.”31
Pray with Religion
Some fruits of dwelling religion are reverence, fervency, confidence, Trinitarian piety, and the motion of laying maintain on divine guarantees.
First, the fruit of dwelling religion is reverence. Solely the Holy Spirit can work in us true reverence in prayer. As Thomas Boston (1676–1732) wrote, the Holy Spirit works in us “a holy reverence of God, to whom we pray, which is important in acceptable prayer. By this view he strikes us with a holy dread and awe of the majesty of God.”32
Second, the fruit of dwelling religion is fervency. William Gurnall (1616–1679) exhorted, “Furnish thyself with arguments from the guarantees to implement thy prayers and make them prevalent with God. The guarantees are the bottom of religion, and religion when strengthened will make thee fervent, and such fervency ever speeds and returns with victory out of the sphere of prayer. . . . The mightier any is within the phrase, the extra mighty he will likely be in prayer.”33
Third, the fruit of dwelling religion is confidence. Joseph Corridor (1574–1656) wrote, “Good prayers by no means come weeping residence. I’m certain I shall obtain both what I ask or what I ought to ask.”34 The Holy Spirit is the bottom of this confidence: “That is it that makes prayer an ease to a troubled coronary heart, the Spirit thrilling in us holy confidence in God as a Father.”35
Fourth, the fruit of dwelling religion is Trinitarian piety. John Owen (1616–1683) suggested Christians to commune with every individual within the triune God in our prayers.36 He did so based mostly on Paul’s benediction recorded in 2 Corinthians 13:14: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” In your prayer life, pursue a deeper and extra experiential information of the riches of grace in Christ’s individual and work, the glory of the electing and adopting love of the Father, and the consolation of fellowship with God by the indwelling Holy Spirit.
On this manner, you’ll pray not only for God’s advantages however for God himself, which is able to function a blessing each for you and to your church. Your sense of God-intimacy and God-dependency, experientially recognized in non-public, will spill over into your public life, in order that additionally, you will, by the Spirit’s grace, encourage different individuals to rely on God and search intimate communion with him.
Fifth, the fruit of dwelling religion is laying maintain of divine guarantees. John Trapp (1601–1669) wrote, “Guarantees should be prayed over. God likes to be burdened with, and to be importuned in, his personal phrases; to be sued upon his personal bond. Prayer is a placing God’s guarantees into swimsuit. And it’s no arrogancy nor presumption, to burden God, because it have been, along with his promise. . . . Such prayers will likely be nigh the Lord day and night time (1 Kings 8:59), he can as little deny them, as deny himself.”37 Equally, Gurnall noticed, “Prayer is nothing however the promise reversed, or God’s phrase fashioned into an argument, and retorted by religion upon God once more.”38
Joys That But Await You
Prayer may be tough and demanding work. Generally we get on our knees, then rise, solely to appreciate we haven’t really prayed in our prayer. So, we fall again on our knees once more, praying to hope. At different occasions, prayer is superb, wonderful, pleasant work. I suppose that there’s scarcely a believer on earth who can’t determine with these extremes. Prayerful prayer will typically lead you to profound disappointment as you see your wretched sinfulness, however it’ll additionally lead you to profound pleasure whenever you “know the love of Christ that surpasses information” and are “stuffed with all of the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19).
The Puritans present a quite ideally suited normal for true prayer. We actually have a lot to be taught from them. Studying to really pray in our prayers is not only a matter of deciding to work more durable or to discover a new technique in prayer. It entails trials, warfare, and the enabling Spirit of God. It’s a technique of development inseparable from our sanctification, and thus never-ending till we attain glory.
Ask God to make you a praying Elijah who is aware of what it means to battle unbelief and despair, at the same time as you attempt to develop in prayer and grateful communion with God. Isn’t it fascinating that James presents Elijah in James 5:17 as an individual “with a nature like ours”? He “prayed in his praying,” however he may additionally despair in his despairing (1 Kings 19:4). If you hit low spots in your religious life, keep in mind the tenderness of God towards Elijah. Generally the reply to melancholy, because it was for the prophet, just isn’t extra effort, however a great meal and an evening’s sleep so to resume the battle tomorrow.
Press on by religion in Jesus Christ, pricey believer. You probably have fallen, get again up. If you happen to stand, beware lest you fall (1 Corinthians 10:12). Regardless of the place you’re in your religious journey, the best hazard is to cease and turn out to be complacent. Press on towards the mark for the prize of the excessive calling of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:14). For the reason that essence of prayer is communion with God, there are riches you haven’t but found, depths you haven’t reached, and joys that but await you.
