‘Prayer is the measure of a man, spiritually, in a way that nothing else is,’ said J. I. Packer. Our prayers reveal what our hearts want. They reveal how we regard God and His power. They reveal the quality and measure of faith. Do we pray often and carefully, or not much at all?
The same must be true of a church’s prayers. They reveal what a church values, and where it places its hope.
Belief as mental assent seldom prays. Belief as ‘I know New Zealand exists but it makes no difference in my life’ seldom prays. Nominal Christianity seldom prays. A person sitting on God’s throne does not pray.
Which means, if you don’t pray much, it suggests that you think you are… who? Genuine faith prays. Holy Spirit-given trust prays. Leaning-on-God-like-sitting-on-a-chair prays. I-need-God-like-my-lungs-need-air prays.
Prayer is to faith what breathing is to a body. It’s what the thing does to survive.
So examining your own prayer life, what do you see? And in the corporate prayers of your church?
A word search on ‘pray’ in the book of Acts shows how much the early church prayed together: ‘All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer’ (1:14,24); ‘And they devoted themselves to … the prayers (2:42); And when they had prayed’ (4:31); ‘but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church’ (12:5); ‘many were gathered together and were praying’ (12:12); ‘after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off’ (13:3); ‘he knelt down and prayed with them all’ (20:36).
Not just churches, of course. Individuals prayed privately, too: the apostles (6:4,6); Peter (9:40; 10:9; 11:5); Cornelius (10:2,4); Paul and Silas (16:25; 28:18).
• Good prayers need not be long. ‘Guard your steps when you go to the house of God … let your words be few’ (Eccl. 5:1,3). Think of the Lord’s Prayer.
• Good prayers should be honest and forthright, yet also humble and contrite. Think of the Psalms or the Garden of Gethsemane.
• Good prayers should begin and end, whenever possible, with thanksgiving and praise.
• Good prayers adhere to God’s word (Ps. 119).
• Good prayers always rely on the mediating blood of Christ (Heb. 4:16).
• Good prayers work. God, would you hear our prayers?
If you’re a church leader, lead your church to pray more. Every Sunday morning, my own devotes three to seven minutes to a prayer of confession, three to seven to praise, five to ten to intercession, and one or two minutes to thanksgiving. Then we spend another 30 minutes Sunday evening praying together. A church’s public prayers teach the saints how to pray privately. God, thank you for the church.
It’s remarkable that we sometimes begin a day or go through a day without prayer. What foolish self-sufficiency! God, forgive us.
Yet praise God that the blood of His Son cleanses us from all sin, and that His Spirit himself intercedes for us (1 John 1:7; Rom. 8:26,27). Our confidence is not finally in our prayers, but in Him! God, be praised!
