Praying God’s Word and Persistence in Prayer
I pray because I can’t help myself. I pray because I’m helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping. It doesn’t change God. It changes me.
- C.S. Lewis
Prayer is a foundational spiritual discipline for the Christian. It is crucial. It is expected. Jesus prayed. When Jesus offers prayer guidance he says “when you pray” not if (Matthew 6). Prayer is our lifeline to God.
God delights in your prayers. Whether they are eloquent sonnets or a simple, ‘Lord, help me,’ the most important thing about prayer is that you pray. We may start with requests and that is okay. The Lord invites us to cast our cares on him (1 Peter 5:7). Persisting in prayer the Lord adds to our prayers of spiritual milk and grow us into the tough chewing and hard to swallow components of prayers such as waiting, fasting, preparing for the “No.”, or clinging to prayer when the healing does not come the way you prayed it would.
In my own prayer life, the greatest turning point was learning to pray God’s word. When we pray scripture, we are truly wielding the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17). When we face the enemy in the trenches of spiritual warfare, the word of God prayed aloud proves to be an effective tool powerful and sharper than a two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12). When you add scripture to prayer, buckle up my friends because a change is going to come.
Your prayer life will have peaks and valleys. You may go from bold prayers affirming God’s promises to prayers that are mere whispers. Some prayers seem to bounce off the sky as you repeat them over and again. No matter what, persevere. When things go right, pray. When things go wrong, pray. When you don’t know what to pray, keep praying for the Holy Spirit will intercede for you (Romans 8:26). Don’t grow weary. He works even when we cannot see it.
Persistent prayer yields fruit. Years ago, I joined a prayer team. Every week we received a request for C’s salvation. Years after the Lord moved me from that church, I remained on the email list. I will never forget the day it came. “Good news, C has accepted Christ!” Tearfully my heart leapt in rejoicing with the heavenly hosts for C. We all have Cs in our life, so keep praying!
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction and persevere in prayer (Romans 12:12). If you are new to prayer or a seasoned prayer warrior, the Lord will grow you through your prayer life. We are promised that “God who began the good work in [us] will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6, NLT). He is transforming us into his likeness from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3:18) and prayer is a powerful conduit for that transformation.
