A New Way Of Thinking About Prayer

When some pastors and Christian leaders hear the word, "prayer," many different thoughts come to mind.  For some, thoughts of shame flood their minds like, "I can't get up that early to pray" or, "I feel lazy when I pray."  For others it's thoughts of frustration, "No one comes to the prayer meeting and when they do come all they want to do is pray for the sick."  Still others have a sense of defeat.  "I am weak in prayer." or, "Prayer doesn't work."  I have learned through the years that when I speak of prayer pastors and Christian leaders often may imagine something completely different then what I am suggesting.

"I am weak in prayer."  This was the answer to my inquiry of my host and translator to tell me about his life of prayer.  To be honest, I was a little frustrated by his comment.  It was his way of closing the door on any further discussion about prayer.  What I later discovered is that the Kyrgyz believer's view of prayer is one of daily 4:30am prayer meetings.  When the church gathers to pray everyone stands and prays aloud at the same time for 60 to 90 minutes.  This model of prayer has had a great impact for the advancement of the Kingdom of God in some cultures.  But the Kyrgyz night owls struggle to rise in the early mornings to lead prayer their prayer gatherings.   

Conversations about prayer invoke shame and guilt within the life of Kyrgyz pastors because this   early morning perspective of prayer.  As I taught about Prayer Efforts, the Spirit of God began to set these pastors and Christian leaders free to embrace a whole new model of prayer.  With a new excitement several pastors shared with me what they had learned and what the Spirit was leading them to do.  They had a new sense of joy and hope as they thought about prayer.  By the way, my host and translator is now praying daily with his wife for his family and fasting one day a week for their needs.  He too has a new sense of optimism and joy in prayer.

Praying For Heaven's Resources

There are times when I pray with parents for their struggling teenage or adult children I hear what seems to be a manipulation of God.  One request after another is full of petitions, asking God to change their behavior.  "Holy Father, I pray that they will repent and surrender their lives to Jesus."  "Father, I pray that they will read your word and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit."  It is as though they are trying to control their son or daughter's behavior through a third party, God.  

If I were in a twelve step group with these dear folks I would share out my own experience, strength and hope that I am powerless to change people.  I would go on to say that God does not do anything against someone's will.  But God is a power greater than us.  He offers His heavenly resources to intervene on behalf of those we love as we pray for them.  Prayer is not a manipulation of others through God!  Our prayers may be full of scripture, but if we are asking God to change their behavior we attempting to manipulate them through God.  God will not answer those kinds of prayers.

So what are God's heavenly resources?  The Father sends His angels to minister and protect when we ask.  "Father God, send your angels to protect them." He gives us the ministry of the Holy Spirit who gives revelation and empowers and so much more.  "Father, give them the Spirit of wisdom and revelation that they may know you better."  The blood of the Lamb is available to redeem from sin.  "Holy Father, redeem them by the blood of the Lamb."  In His present ministry at the right hand of the Father, Jesus defends, perfects and so much more.  "Gracious Father, I pray that Jesus will be the perfecter of their faith as they endure the hardships of life."  The Father sanctifies through the word of truth.  "Father, sanctify them in the truth.  Your word is truth."  The word of God is full of promises the Father wants to fulfill on behalf of those we are praying for.  

These are the requests God wants to answer!  When we pray this way we are not manipulating our children through God!  We are calling on God to be faithful to fulfill His promises.  

Persistent Asking, Seeking and Knocking

Now, when my prayers go unanswered and I am tempted to resent those on my prayer list, I seek the face of the Lord Jesus. I began listening. The Holy Spirit shows me what Jesus is doing and He gives me new insights into how to pray. There is a relationship between asking, seeking and knocking in prayer. I find myself seeking intimacy with the Lord Jesus when I began to feel emotions of resentment. The Spirit of God gives me new insights into how to pray, as I wait and listen. The negative cycle of defeat in prayer is broken. I begin experiencing answers to prayer more regularly, as the Spirit leads me to pray persistently. Through the years, the Lord has taught me that:

1. Asking - is making requests of the Father for the things we need.
2. Seeking - is pursuing oneness/intimacy with Jesus and the Father and listening for what God is saying and doing.
3. Knocking - is interceding for the transformation of a life, a family, a church, a city or a nation.

There is a relationship between all three of these kinds of prayer that ebbs and flows from one to the other as the Spirit leads. In 2 Corinthians 12:8, Paul says that, “...three times [he] pleaded with the Lord,” to take away a thorn in the flesh. This is the Apostle Paul writing these words while in Ephesus. God did extraordinary miracles through Paul in Ephesus, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and they were cured and the evil spirits left them. Yet, God did not remove Paul’s thorn in the flesh from him. Paul prayed three times. He may have pleaded with God three times in one season of prayer or in three separate seasons of prayer. We don’t know how long of a period he prayed. It could have been for one hour or one day or seven days or even forty days. The Scriptures don’t make it clear. I believe Paul asked the Father to heal him during one season of prayer. When he didn’t get healed, he sought the Lord’s face to understand what He was doing. Not receiving any new insight, the Apostle entered into a second season of prayer. When there was no answer to his pleading with God, Paul sought the face of the Lord in a new way to hear what He was doing. Hearing no word from the Father, Paul entered into a third season of petition for his own healing. When that season of prayer was over, the Apostle sought the Lord’s face for a third time. It was at that time the Lord spoke to him and said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” In this example of Paul, we observe the relationship between the three natures of prayer in persistent asking, seeking, and knocking.