I have been struggling with prayer lately, not so much my own personal praying but more generally. It seemed to me that many people, and I do include myself amongst them, were not praying with expectation or anticipation. The prayers I was witnessing had all the proper ingredients – praise, thanksgiving, requests and intercession. But they seemed to lack something, and I was having a hard time identifying what that was.
I started seeking the answer in some of my books. I do thank God for the many authors he has gifted with the ability to explain things that often go over my head! So, what was the missing ingredient? Was it unbelief? A.W. Tozer says unbelieving prayer is not really prayer at all. Was there a lack of faith underlying our prayers? O. Hallesby says the act of praying indicates you have at least a minimal amount of faith. So, what was this missing ingredient? I tried to bring it up to my colleagues and friends, but without knowing what I was looking for, I was unable to articulate a question they could answer. Praise God! I found it. Last week, in my church’s weekly update, I saw an ad for something called the “Prayer Burn,” which was to run one evening from 7:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. It was obviously a prayer meeting of some sort, and due to my interest in prayer, I thought I would see what it was all about. It turned out to be our dynamic group of young adults gathering for prayer. The difference I noticed there was that they were not gathered to ask God for stuff. They were gathered to seek God’s face. They were focusing on the Promiser rather than the promise.
We pray constantly at the Prayer League and at church, so much so that we can take the Promiser for granted, cut to the chase and focus on the request. That kind of prayer can be as far from real prayer as texting is from intimate conversation; it is kind of like texting our requests to God rather than engaging with him. Andrew Murray says, “Let faith focus on God more than on the thing promised, because it is His love, His power, His living presence that will awaken and work the faith.”
The Lord has been faithful once again and met our needs for full allowances. Thank you for your prayers and support.