The bottom shelf in my study is lined with spines that mean more to me than any of the other books in my library. They are prayer journals from my early years as a Christian. Those journals—each a different size and binding—are more than just diaries. They are relics of a young faith—the pontifications, supplications, and declarations of adoration from an earnest teenaged believer.
Every so often, I take one off the shelf and read over what I wrote over half my life ago: prayers about girls I liked, dreams I had, sins I wanted to kick, progress I believed I’d made in life, discoveries I had made about God from Scripture. Honestly, I’m embarrassed by a lot of what I wrote. I would hate for the world to see those prayers outside the context of the youth that produced them. But I also cherish them because they are a record of the beginning of my spiritual journey, and they bear witness to the fact that my earliest days as a follower of Christ were shaped by prayer.
Jesus told us that in this world we will have trouble and suffering (John 16:33). He also told us that it was good for us that He should leave, because He would send His Spirit to live inside our hearts as our Counselor (v.7). These two promises tell us some important things. First, there is plenty of reason to pray, and second, the Lord is near and He hears us. No wonder the apostle Paul told the Romans to rejoice in hope, be patient in affliction, and be persistent in prayer (Romans 12:12). Our prayers reach the ears of God.
My prayer habits have changed over the years, though I always have some sort of journal going. When I look at those prayer journals from my early years as a Christian, I think about persistence in prayer. I think of how I’ve grown and how, in many ways, I’m not that different from my younger self. But mostly, I think of the kindness of God over the years, His steady presence and faithfulness revealed by the passage of time.
Prayer as a spiritual discipline is about more than asking God for things. It is about learning to move through this life in one long extended conversation with the Lord, where every thought has an audience of One. It is about learning a language that will carry on into eternity, one we will become fluent in one day—the language of the kingdom of God, where worshippers will live with unrestricted access to the throne of grace. It is about learning to commune with our Maker. Prayer here and now is preparation for an eternity of communicating with God.
Written by Russ Ramsey
The key to any relationship is communication …including that with God!
Well said! Very influencing to my prayer life. Thank you.
To be joyful in hope – yes and amen
The visual written here of how God is our audience of One really puts things into perspective for me. He is always there and always listening. There’s never a time where we are without Him and that is the most comforting and peace-giving news!
I do not sleep well at night. I find those long hours, sometimes kept awake by pain, are wonderful times to speak with the Lord and listen to Him. I have learned to be thankful for them.
This brought to my mind the scene of Jesus in the garden, he came and asked his disciples, Can’t you stay up to watch and pray with me for one hour? The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak, oh boy isn’t this statement so true? When we pray, though our flesh might be falling asleep or fighting against the urge to pray, it is because, For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want (Galatians 5:17 NIV). But ladies, fight against all distractions, fight the thoughts that can take you out of that prayer closet (I might need to check on the kids, etc.), quiet these thoughts and PRAY. A day is like a thousand years to the Lord. If he asks us to stay up and spend 1 hour in prayers with him, it is like he is asking us to spend 41 years in His presence.
It is important to listen during prayers, as He answers and speaks in response to us. Prayer is a dialogue. Be still and listen, very crucial. In the presence of God is the fulness of joy. I pray that we are empowered by the strength and fullness of joy through prayers with God. He imparts wisdom to solutions of our problems during prayers. He calms us and hugs us during prayers. I pray that we are filled with a strong desire to pray daily, to seek His face in our prayer closet, and may we encounter Him, experience Him through our fervent prayers. Praise the Lord for His goodness and love.
Amen thank you so grateful for The Word and the in site they both spoke to me
Me too! God wants a relationship with us! That is so beautiful and humbling.