by Tad Lindley
My grandmother used to have a play on words that went like this: “Seven days without prayer makes one weak.” As someone who prays every day, I feel like maybe it should say, “Seven hours without prayer makes one weak.” The point of it is that there is power in prayer, and there is weakness in relying on our own strength.
Pray, or be prey
If you read this column regularly, you know that I don’t give much print space to the devil, but I am about to, so listen up. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. (I Peter 5:8) The devil is a predator, and he is looking for prey. He wants you to be his prey. He wants me to be his prey. And for that reason, we must pray.
Pray that you won’t become prey
Remember at the last supper when Jesus underscored this with Peter: And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. (Luke 22:31-32) Notice that right away in the next verse Peter tells Jesus, “Don’t worry, I got this!” The problem is, Peter didn’t get it, and by the time the rooster had crowed three times, his faith had failed him, and he had denied Jesus thrice. I don’t say that to beat up on Peter, but to remind us, that if Peter, the man with the keys to the kingdom (Matthew 16:19), can become prey to the devil, then surely you and I can too.
Jesus’ instructions on prayer
1. Do not pray as a show for others. (Matthew 6:5) You see a perfect example of this in Luke 18:10-14. The Big Shot showed up and prayed a prayer that was a brag about how good he was, but the sinner was hanging out in the back seeking God’s mercy.
2. Make time alone with Jesus. But when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. (Matthew 6:6) I do most of my praying alone on my couch, in the exact same spot I sit and write this.
3. Do not simply repeat memorized prayers over and over. (Matthew 6:7) Somebody else wrote that. The Lord wants to hear from you and me directly, from our hearts.
What about repeating the Lord’s prayer?
I wouldn’t do it. There is a high risk of it becoming a vain repetition. Carefully look at the Lord’s prayer in the Bible. (Matthew 6:9-13) Jesus starts it off with these words, In this manner therefore pray… and then he goes into what we call The Lord’s Prayer. Jesus’ instruction is to pray in this manner, to pray something like this, not to repeat his words over and over, but to pray from our own heart.
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name: This is the lead off in our prayer during which we exalt God; we are telling Jesus how great he is. We are praising him for his mighty acts and for his excellent greatness (see Psalm 150).
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven: Take some time to pray for the advancement of the Kingdom of God. Even if everyone in your house has experienced Acts 2:38 and is living a holy life, we are still surrounded by broken and hurting people, we need to earnestly pray that they would come into the Kingdom. We need to pray that every village in our region would be on the map of the Kingdom of God. This is also when I pray that I will be in tune with God’s will for me for the coming day, and that I will be sensitive to his voice and respond with obedience.
Give us this day, our daily bread: Now is the time that we bring personal needs to God. Whatever they might be. Maybe a snow machine part, or perhaps help overcoming something wrong in our lives.
And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors: When we pray in this manner, we are bringing our faults before him asking forgiveness, and we are asking for his help to show the same mercy to those who have offended us.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: Pray that you won’t become prey. Temptations abound, and the devil is running to and fro seeking to devour us. Pray for strength. Pray for faith.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory for ever: Then close with more praise.
If we will pray like this from our heart, we will not become prey, so pray!
Reverend Tad Lindley is a minister at the United Pentecostal Church in Bethel, Alaska.
