I often wish I was more of a prayer warrior. I read of people in the Bible like Epaphras
who struggled on the behalf of others in prayer (Colossians 4:12) and was
considered a faithful minister (Colossians 1:12). How often we think that the greatest
ministers are the ones in the limelight…but I’m beginning to realize that the
greatest warriors are the ones on their knees.
This summer I read A
Praying Life by Paul E. Miller. Miller
offered a refreshing look at prayer, including a reminder that while we are
content to be child-like in many aspects of faith, (especially as new
Christians), in prayer we assume that we must have it all together when we
start. And yet – we need to learn to
talk to the Lord.
It’s much easier to talk to friends with whom we have a lot in
common…people who we have shared experiences with…and wouldn’t it make sense
for prayer to easily flow out of someone who spends significant time with the
Lord?
I know for me…it’s silly to expect long, flowing dialogues with the God I too often neglect. Not only do I need to spend more time listening to the Lord and hearing from the Bible, but I also need to talk with Him. As amazing as it seems, God actually likes hearing from me! (and all of us!)
So, when I started reading the book of Nehemiah a few days
ago, I was struck by his prayers.
Here’s the scene:
Nehemiah works for the king as his cupbearer. He’s kind of a big deal, seeing that the king
trusts Nehemiah with his life. Yet,
Nehemiah receives bad news about the city of Jerusalem. So he mourned and fasted and prayed for
days. Nehemiah 1:5-11 is a well-formed,
articulate prayer. In summary, Nehemiah:
1.
Praises God for who He is. (great, awesome,
covenant-keeping, loving God…)
2.
Asks for God to listen and see him.
3.
Confesses his sin, and the sins of the people of
Israel.
4.
Reminds God of His covenant to His people…that
if they return and keep His commands, He will gather them.
5.
Asks for favor in the sight of the king.
Nehemiah had to know God well to form this prayer. He had to know that God was all of those
things (great, awesome, loving, etc). He
also knew where he fell short in God’s sight.
And, Nehemiah knew God’s promises.
It all makes for a better prayer, eh?
So, if I were God, I think I’d like this prayer. But instead of a quick answer, Nehemiah has
to wait over a month for an opportunity to talk to the king about helping his
city.
And when that time comes in chapter 2, Nehemiah again offers
a prayer…but this time, it’s what my high school Bible teacher affectionately
called “the Nehemiah prayer.”
“The king said to me, ‘What are you requesting?’ So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said to the king…” (2:4-5)
Nehemiah had time only for a short prayer – almost like a “Here
we go, God! Help!”
And God granted him favor.
The gracious hand of God was upon him.
Isn’t that encouraging?
God hears our prayers. Sometimes we have to wait for months, even years for answers...but He is listening. And He listens to 10 second prayers as much as He listens to the long
ones.
The long prayers are much easier to say when the God who we
are talking to is very familiar. But, we
have to start somewhere…and God appreciates even the 10 seconds...and those
persistent in the 10 second prayers will soon find that 10 seconds is just not
enough.
My desire this year is to come to more deeply know the
Lord, not only through the Bible, but also by spending more time talking with Him….wrestling in prayer for my classes, my family and my friends. I want to be like both Epaphras and Nehemiah…able
to pray the long prayers, but not afraid to pray the short ones in every
moment of life.
“We don’t need self-discipline to pray continuously; we just
need to be poor in spirit. Poverty of
spirit makes room for His Spirit.”
(Miller, p. 66). And in His
Spirit rests the power to change lives. What
better ministry could we have than the one on our knees?
