Prayer Goal for 2024: Praying More

Let us actually make the effort to devote time to prayer. 

For far too long, I have given lip service to the importance of prayer, but have failed to apply it to my life. 

I would read how spiritual giants like Martin Luther, John Wesley, George Whitefield, E.M. Bounds, and John Welch would spend at least 2-3 hours a day in prayer, and in some cases up to 4-8 hours in prayer and study. 

Normally, this would be where I gave up, because who has that kind of time? 

But, we tend to view things in absolutes. If I am praying, I am doing nothing else. I must be shut up in a room to properly prayer. 

Yet, for Christians, prayer can be any time, any place, and during any activity. We can pray while walking, washing dishes, or folding laundry. 

A monk by the name of Brother Lawrence wrote a book (The Practice of the Presence of God) which can instruct us in the art of praying while working.

Let us resolve to spend more time communing with God, sharing our day with Him and lifting up simple prayers in secret while we go about our days. 

Praying in Secret and Simply

Spoiler Alert: The next blogpost scheduled is about praying as we go about our day, so it seemed prudent to have this post about Jesus' command to pray in secret.

Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, gives us instructions/commands on how we should pray.

He tells us NOT to pray hypocritically, to be seen by others. 

He tells us to pray by going into our room and closing the door before praying.

He tells us NOT to pray with many words or by babbling on.

He reminds us that God knows our needs before we ask Him for anything.

(See Matthew 6:5-8)

Every few years, there is a storm of social media activity, because some Christian coach is in trouble for praying with their team on the sporting field. I sit back and watch people get upset at how "persecuted" we are because we are not being allowed to publicly lead prayer at a school event. But we shouldn't be surprised when we are facing opposition, when we are disobeying the commands of Jesus.

Jesus did not command His followers to make public prayer the hill that we die on.

In fact, he condemned public, showy prayers that are meant to be seen by people.

He commanded us to go off in private to pray in secret. 

So let us obey Jesus by praying in secret

Therefore, when the next post challenges us to pray throughout our days, I am not referring to verbal prayers or even whispered prayers, with folded hands or outstretched arms. We can pray silently, as we go through our daily activities, whether that is at work or at home. And no one will be the wiser. If people are noticing, then we are praying too publicly. 

Likewise, we are commanded NOT to pray with many words. 

We are not begging a distant god to listen to us and do good in our world.

He's not counting the number of words or repetitions in our prayers, so He can finally act once we hit the magic number.

So let our prayers be simple. We can pack a lot of prayers in a simple sentence or two. 

God, draw them closer to You.

Thank You, Lord, for a warm sweater today.

That person looks sad. Holy Spirit, comfort them.

I am here to be used by You today. 

Praying Holistic Prayer

Holistic is a fancy word that means that whole is more than the sum of its parts. In the medical field, it involves looking at the whole person, physically, socially, and psychologically when treating them.

We can also apply this to our prayers.

Holistic Intercession: to intercede for people entirely, as we pray for their physical needs, social needs, psychological needs, spiritual needs, and so on. 

When we are hurting physically, it impacts the other areas of our life.

When we are stressed financially, this stress shows up in our relationships, physical health, and emotions.

When we have a broken relationship, it strains the other areas of our life as well. 

Let us consider ways that we can pray for people's...

*Physical Needs: What are their health and environmental concerns? 

*Spiritual Needs: Are they in a relationship with God? Are they growing in that relationship? 

*Financial Needs: Do they have enough money to meet their needs? What debts or insecurity are they facing? 

*Mental Needs: What anxiety, worry, or stress is on their minds? What is taking up their brain-space? 

*Emotional Needs: What emotions are they experiencing this day? What emotions do they need? 

How can we pray for people holistically? 

Are we better at praying for their body, mind, or spirit?

What area is the Spirit challenging us to pray for?