1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples."
Jesus was a prayer warrior and His disciples knew it. Mark tells us:35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Mark 1:35 (NIV)
No Starbucks, no bottled water, no warm robe around Him, no light to see by, no comforts as we know of, Jesus gets up while dark to passionately pursue conversation with His Daddy. Wow, I’m convicted! This was not just a onetime event. All through the gospels we find Jesus slipping away oftentimes retreating to the mountaintops to pray. It was as if He were trying to get as close to Abba Father as He could! He missed communion with His Daddy and He went to extremes to get it. Oh that we would do likewise! Our lives would certainly be different! We are told in James:13 Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 14 Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. James 5:13-16 (NIV)
We are also told by Paul in I Thessalonians: 16 Be joyful always; 17 pray continually; 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thess 5:16-18 (NIV)
I believe it was C. S. Lewis that stated “I do not pray to change God, I pray for God to change me”. Prayer - many books have been written on it, preachers preach on it and teachers teach on it yet it remains one of the most difficult of the spiritual disciplines to grasp. Perhaps it is because none of us truly know the mind of God and we certainly cannot put Him in a box! Isaiah tells us: 13 Who has understood the mind of the LORD, or instructed him as his counselor? 14 Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge or showed him the path of understanding? Isaiah 40:13-14 (NIV)
I am confident that Satan hates prayer therefore distractions are rampant between our own selfish sin nature and the attacks of the evil one. This was true in Biblical times too. In regard to Moses praying while Joshua was fighting the battle in Exodus 17, Joshua did not grow weary in the fighting yet Moses grew weary in the praying. “The more spiritual the exercise, the more difficult it is for flesh and blood to maintain it” - Spurgeon. It is a wrestling of the soul. Spurgeon states: “Let it be as God wills, and God will determine for the best. Be thou content to leave thy prayer in His hands, who knows when to give, and how to give, and what to give, and what to withhold. So pleading, earnestly, importunately, yet with humility and resignation, thou shalt surely prevail.” While I am no expert on prayer, I have discovered the following truths regarding this unspeakable privilege. God enjoys our praying back His promises to Him. This is where Scripture memory is invaluable. Pray back His promises. Stand firm in them. This was how Abraham boldly petitioned for Sodom. His appeal rested on God’s mercy and righteousness. Again Spurgeon tells us: “The Lord cannot deny His own declarations. Hold up the rod of promise, and have what you will.” Scripture tells us: 13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations.
The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made. Psalms 145:13 (NIV)
Our prayers should also be full of faith. Because, as Hebrews tells us: 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Heb 11:6 (NIV) 14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of him. 1 John 5:14-15 (NIV) “Prayer is an open door which none can shut. Devils may surround you on all sides, but the way upward is always open, and as long as that road is unobstructed, you will not fall into the enemy’s hand. Prayer gains audience with heaven in the dead of night, in the midst of business, in the heat of noonday, in the shades of evening. In every condition, whether of poverty, or sickness, or obscurity, or slander, or doubt, your covenant God will welcome your prayer and answer it from His holy place. Nor is prayer ever futile. True prayer is evermore true power.” Spurgeon