By Tyson Thorne

July 5, 2017
 
 

We’re in the midst of a series on Spiritual Disciplines, specifically those we enter into while in solitude. We have just looked at how to read God’s Word in times of crises, and today we examine how to pray. Jesus spent 40 days in the desert before beginning his ministry to pray and seek God’s council, a night in prayer before selecting the disciples, throughout the Gospels we see he periodically left the disciples to pray for an hour (or more), and he spent another full night in prayer on the day of his arrest. His example is one we should follow.

Following his example may be easier said than done, especially if one is not accustomed to spending long periods of time in prayer. For many, even coming up with 60 seconds of “material” to pray for can be difficult. It takes practice. It may take a day to get yourself in the “attitude” of prayer, but once you have the skill spending long periods of time in prayer it will become easier and easier – so long as you keep it up.

For some, making a list of things you want to pray about is the best place to start. Personally, this is a waste of time for me. I find I’ve prayed through the list much more quickly than I expect to, and am disappointed that it takes so much effort to talk to my heavenly Father. Everyone is different in how they approach the throne of grace, however, and a list may be helpful to you. Either way, for the first time of prayer set a time limit of five minutes. For many, this will seem like a very long time but it is the best place to start.

It’s okay to pray for more than what you first expected to. After a while it will become easier, and each passing minute will make the practice more fulfilling. The key is, once you begin to pray, don’t stop. Tell God how much you love him. Tell him what you are feeling. Tell him that you know only He has the authority to address your life’s hardest moments. Tell him what is on your heart. After the first five minutes, follow yesterday’s guide for reading the Bible. After a time, return to prayer, this time go ten minutes. Eventually your spirit will become comfortable with this kind of time spent with God, and longer periods of prayer will become easier.

This is the exact approach friends of mine and I employed in high school, to build up our “prayer muscle”. We spent at least one hour every Monday in prayer for our schools. On holidays we would spend even longer. On one occasion, I was able to get a list of the names of all students at my school, and spent several hours bringing each one before the Lord, asking him to make himself known to each so that they might be drawn to him. For those we knew, we prayed more specifically. There are many, many stories that could be told of the results that came from that time, far too many to recount in this post.

In the past we have published a guide you may download called Five Forms of Prayer which may be helpful to review.

Food for thought (or in this case, “prayer fuel”), Psalm 63:

O God, you are my God! I long for you!
My soul thirsts for you,
my flesh yearns for you,
in a dry and parched land where there is no water.

Yes, in the sanctuary I have seen you,
and witnessed your power and splendor.
Because experiencing your loyal love is better than life itself,
my lips will praise you.

For this reason I will praise you while I live;
in your name I will lift up my hands.
As if with choice meat you satisfy my soul.

My mouth joyfully praises you,
whenever I remember you on my bed,
and think about you during the nighttime hours.

For you are my deliverer;
under your wings I rejoice.
My soul pursues you;
your right hand upholds me.

Enemies seek to destroy my life,
but they will descend into the depths of the earth.
Each one will be handed over to the sword;
their corpses will be eaten by jackals.

But the king will rejoice in God;
everyone who takes oaths in his name will boast,
for the mouths of those who speak lies will be shut up.

 
 
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