Prayer

{Lessons from Psalms and Paul}

I have had some wonderful conversations about prayer recently.

What does prayer look like?
How do you make time for prayer?
How do you balance prayer for yourself vs. prayer for others?
How do you pray?

To which my glamorous answer is “I could write a book on prayer! It’d be 3 words: JUST.DO.IT.”

It’s that simple, carve out time to pray and just do it.

If it’s that simple, then why is it SO HARD??
Really why is my prayer place the hardest place to find?
If God has given me enough time in the day to spend with Him, why can’t I ever find time to pray??

I constantly feel like my prayer time is lacking, not enough, I didn’t ask the right thing, etc. I probably confess prayerlessness more often than any other sin.

And that’s when I remember the simplicity of prayer . . . it’s simply talking to God. It’s a gift from the Father to communicate with Him, lay our burdens down, petition Him, thank Him, delight in Him, and grow in Him.

When I read through the Psalms, I see David’s prayers. They didn’t always start out with “adoration, then confession, then thanksgiving, etc”. They were honest, heartfelt, and genuine. Sometimes begging the LORD for His presence, sometimes pleading for deliverance from His enemies, and sometimes praise for who God is!
So I learned from David and the psalmists that prayer can be honest, authentic, real, full of fear or full of hope, full of petitions and full of praise.

I have often wondered why my prayer life feels like I was asking Santa for my Christmas wish list rather than asking the Most High God for His will to be done in my life. Then I remember Paul’s chapter 1 prayers in most of his letters.

He would pray for things like this:
“9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” (Philippians 1:9-11)

“9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. 11 May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.” (Colossians 1:9-12)

Paul prayed for people to be filled with knowledge and wisdom, to bear the fruit of righteousness, strength, thanksgiving, etc.

I wonder what would happen if our prayers started to sound like this? What if instead of asking for things to be added/removed in our life, we started praying like Paul did . . . asking for knowledge, for our love to grow, wisdom, discernment, to bear good fruit? What if we were more intentional about our time with the LORD and honest in our prayers like the psalmists?

Prayer can be so much more than asking God for stuff. It can be a place we go to God to give praise, thanksgiving, confess, and be strengthened. It’s a place we can lay our burdens down and surrender our fear in exchange for hope.

This week, I’ll work hard to get to my prayer place. I’ll use the Psalms and Paul’s Chapter 1 prayers as my guide. Will you?

Cleaning the Junk Drawer

Praying this prayer is like cleaning out the junk drawer.

You need to do it.
You’re not sure what you’ll find.
It’s easier to keep it closed and pretend like it’s all okay.
You’ll find things in there you never knew you had.
In the end, you’ll have lots to throw away and you’ll feel better.

{Psalm 139:23-24}

Search me, O God, and know my heart!
 Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
 and lead me in the way everlasting! (ESV)

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
 test me and know my anxious thoughts.
Point out anything in me that offends you,
 and lead me along the path of everlasting life. (NLT)

Investigate my life, O God, find out everything about me;
Cross-examine and test me, get a clear picture of what I'm about;
See for yourself whether I've done anything wrong— then guide me on the road to eternal life. (The Messge)

How often do you ask God to search your heart?
How often do you ask God to point things out in your thought life that offend him?
How often do you let God reveal things hidden in your junk drawer, only to straighten it out again?
How often do you go to God in repentance and humility asking Him to reveal sin you are unaware of?

How often do ask God to search you? Know you? Test you? Reveal you? Guide you? Forgive you?

Go now . . . the Good Shepherd is waiting.

When God Doesn't Remove, Remain

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3

Yesterday, I mentioned that I came across this verse in my prayer time recently. I asked the LORD for some Living Water {expectantly} and He provided.

I found hope in this verse, trusting in the character of God, that HE does heal the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. As I continued to pray for people and meditate on this verse, I kept thinking about the verbs in this scripture.

He heals.
He binds up.

I was asking God to take away. Take away the pain, the suffering, the hurt. If He could just remove the pain, then we could continue. We could see clearly, everything would be fine.

But would it?

It feels like we’re always trying to clean up the mess in our lives, but is the point ever really to have everything tidy? Is that the only time when we’re content? The only time we can truly rest, when we have it all together, nice and neat, free from pain or trial? Will it ever be like that on earth?

What if our circumstances never change? Does that mean our hope in God disappears, dries up, wears out?

OR

Is it when we’re in the midst of our mess, we look to God, the one who makes us clean?

I asked Him to take away, He offers to heal.

If all of our prayers are focused on Him removing,
how do we remain?
How do we continue to pursue Christ, if we feel stuck?
How do we love the LORD when our hearts are weary?
How do we delight in the midst of suffering?
How do we hope when we feel so hopeless?
How do we seek Him when we can’t see past the pain?
How do you press on when you can barely stand up?

So maybe I learned about a bit about life and about prayer through this scripture. Maybe it’s not about asking Him to remove, but asking Him to see us through? That we would go to Him not just to take away, but to heal our broken hearts and bind up our wounds.

Expectantly

It has been a hard week for me. Walking through painful stuff with people. Lots of trials, lots of hurt, lots of brokenness.

Because I just don’t know how to pray for people, especially in times like this, I often read through the Psalms before my time of prayer.

Sometimes I look to the Psalms to guide me, anchor me, teach me. This time I came looking for comfort . . . hoping for some Living Water to nourish my dry soul and weary heart.

I came
To the Throne of Grace
Expectantly.

And found this:
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” (Psalm 147:3)

Simple little verse reminding me that God hears, His word is living and active, and renews our hope. I came expecting to hear from the LORD. Expecting like a daughter who needs comfort from her daddy, to be comforted by our Heavenly Father. Expecting to be heard, nourished, and led to still waters.


And He did. With a sweet little verse.
He comforted.
He reminded.
He heals.
He binds up wounds.

Whether you come to God in delight or in despair, do you come expectantly?

“In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly. (Psalm 5:3)

*More on this little verse tomorrow . . .

In Times of Pain & Suffering . . . He IS

As I sit to write to a friend recovering from brain surgery, I realize nothing I say can comfort. I have no words. So, I look to HIS word, to the One whose name is God of All Comfort . . .

HIS words are better than my words.

Oh that we would listen as HE speaks over us.

Psalm 23
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

He is my Shepherd.
He is my Provider.
He is my Guide.
He is my Sustenance.
He is my Restorer.
He is my Leader.
He is my Comforter.
He is my Protecter.
He prepares.
He anoints.
He Blesses.

He is my God.
He is near.
In times of pain and suffering . . . HE is.