Part 1 -- Introduction and Description of Effective Prayer
Introduction
When it comes to prayer, most of us pray the way we were taught as children. Yet, if we look at this from a wider perspective, this doesn’t make sense. After all, can you think of any skill that you were taught as a child that you still practice in the same way? I can’t think of any. In fact, every skill I learned as a child as been supplanted by further knowledge. For example, I learned how to ride a bike, but as I grew into adulthood, I didn’t ride the bike the same way I did as a child -- I improved and advanced. This is the same principle with prayer. Prayer is a skill that always needs to be improved and adjusted.
While this may seem difficult and daunting, it is not. Moreover, you can take solace in the fact that Lord answers prayers. We just have to do our part and He will do His. The purpose of this post is to give you the steps in making your prayer beneficial and effective.
What It Takes/What It Looks Like
Before delving into the “how” of prayer, it’s important to get an understanding of what meaningful and effective prayer looks like. It’s also important to see what meaningful prayer looks like. To do this, let’s look at some examples.Example 1: Psalm 1 -- Meditating Upon the Word
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. (Emphasis added) (Psalms 1:1)
What does the blessed man do? He delights in the law of the Lord. Now in this context, the law refers to the Torah but I think you can apply it to any commandment of the Lord or instruction. Last, what does he do with the law? He meditates upon it day and night. The law (or instruction) is what he thinks about day and night.
Therefore, part of prayer is meditation. A silent reflection and pondering about the things of God. The Doctrine and Covenants echoes a similar notion -- “... and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God.” Part of daily Christian practice is meditation on what is good and virtuous.
Example 2: Wrestle With the Lord --- Jacob, Enos
Besides merely meditating, another aspect you have to keep in mind is that prayer is (and often is) a wrestle with God. Sometimes the heavens seem silent and God is distant. These are often times when we want to quit praying and do something else. But instead of doing that, continue praying -- this is where the wrestling comes in. Sometimes God wants to see how much we want it. Other times the reason why we aren’t receiving an answers is because our Spirits are not connecting with His. In each case, our response to this is to continue praying.
Prayer is the way we become holy -- set apart. Spending time alone with God (whether we think it is effective or not) will lead to results. The act of prayer itself is submissive. When we set time to pray instead of doing other things, we show that we are willing to submit (at least in part) to the Father’s will. Having this attitude, opens up our heart to receive the Spirit and thereby initiate the process of becoming holy. Therefore, while you may think that sitting or kneeling for 10-20 min in silence is not doing anything, you are wrong. Setting that time aside permits the Spirit to work in you and begin to change you. However, because of our fallen natures (and how immersed we are in the world) the change takes time. Let’s look at the example of Jacob in the book of Genesis.
23 And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had. 24 And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. 25 And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. 26 And he (the man, angel, the Lord) said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he (Jacob) said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
27 And he (the man, angel, the Lord) said unto him, What is thy name? And he (Jacob) said, Jacob. 28 And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. 29 And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name? And he blessed him there. 30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.
For many this can be a confusing account, but it doesn’t have to be. I will break it down. Jacob, while traveling with his family, is alone in his tent. While there a man appeared to him. Verse 30 reveals that this man was the Lord. The key part to point out is that even though the Lord appeared to him, Jacob still had to wrestle with Him. While it is not clear what the “wrestling looked liked,” we do know that it was a struggle. This is evident in the fact that Jacob was physically injured. Therefore, the interaction did not come easily, but instead was a challenge. Nevertheless, we learn that eventually the Lord blessed Jacob becomes he did not give up. This is an important point -- Jacob was blessed, not chastised, for wrestling and not giving up. This is the same for us.
This principle of wrestling is applicable in our lives -- especially in prayer. Just like Jacob wrestled with the Lord, we too must struggle (or wrestle) with Him in our prayers. And just like Jacob refused to give up, we too must never give up. This doesn’t necessarily mean praying all the time, but it does mean praying to the Lord each and every day, waiting for Him to answer. And we keep this doing no matter how long it takes. That is how we show our desire.
Last, just as Jacob was blessed by the Lord, we too will be blessed as we press forward, not giving up until we are received what we are seeking for.
Another example of this is found in the Book of Enos. It reads:
1 Behold, it came to pass that I, Enos, knowing my father that he was a just man—for he taught me in his language, and also in the nurture and admonition of the Lord—and blessed be the name of my God for it— 2 And I will tell you of the wrestle which I had before God, before I received a remission of my sins. 3 Behold, I went to hunt beasts in the forests; and the words which I had often heard my father speak concerning eternal life, and the joy of the saints, sunk deep into my heart. 4 And my soul hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication for mine own soul; and all the day long did I cry unto him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it reached the heavens. 5 And there came a voice unto me, saying: Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt be blessed.
Enos’ path to receiving a remission of his sins parallels Jacob’s. He even states that this experience was a wrestle with God. We learn that he received what he sought. Let’s track what he did.
1. He hungered for eternal life and the joy of the saints
2. Set time aside (While he prayed on his knees, this is not required)
3.Cried unto him in mighty prayer and supplication
4. Cried all the day long
5. Continued crying into the night, raising his voice high that it reached the heavens.
While your prayer does not have to be the exact manner of Enos’ (kneeling is not necessary), it does need to have the same attitude as Enos’. That is, you should go hungry to God and continue praying until he answers. That’s the key point -- not giving up!
Example 3: The Lord’s Prayer Practice
In documenting Jesus’ prayer practice, Luke records, “And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.”
This is only one account, but the gospel writers record how often the Lord would leave the group and pray by himself all night in the mountains.
While I am yet unable to pray all night, the point of sharing this is to show the type of dedication we have to have towards prayer. Prayer can’t be a side project that we fit in after everything else. Prayer (and study) need to be the center. This means that instead of adjusting our prayer schedule around worldly activities, we adjust everything around prayer and study. If we feel that we don’t have time to pray, then we need to remove activities that are “eating up our time”. Therefore, prayer becomes our center and everything else fits in around it.
Here are some other examples
Psalm 55: 17 -- Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.
2 Samuel 12:16 -- David therefore besought God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night upon the earth.
Lamentations 2: 19 -- Arise, cry out in the night: in the beginning of the watches pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord: lift up thy hands toward him for the life of thy young children, that faint for hunger in the top of every street.
1 Samuel 15:11 -- It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night.
Example 4: Seeking After Him
Although these next examples don’t deal with prayer, per-se, they do illustrate what our attitude should be like in prayer. Let’s start with Mark.
1 And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and it was noised that he was in the house. 2 And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and he preached the word unto them. 3 And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. 4 And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.
In these verses, we learn about a man who had palsy. We further learn that initially he could not reach Jesus because it was too crowded. So what did he do? He had his friends remove the roof to lower him. How did Jesus respond? He rewarded him for his faith.
That alone is informative. However, if we think about it more, we get a further insight: the man did not give up. Though he was unable to reach Jesus initially, the man did not let that stop him. Although we don’t know exactly what went on in his mind, we do know that his friends went beyond what was customary (e.g. removing the roof) so that their friends could be healed my Jesus.
This is the type of attitude we need to have when we pray. Do we give up when don’t feel the spirit, or do we keep pressing -- not giving up until he answers?
Let’s look at another. This event is a well known one, but not for the reasons I am going to discuss.
21 ¶ Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. 23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. 24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. 26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs. 27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table. 28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
Similar to the man with palsy, the Canaanite woman is seeking after Jesus for a miracle. However, unlike the man with palsy, this woman is rejected by Jesus -- first by silence, second by words. But instead of analyzing Jesus’ response, let’s look at hers. Upon being rejected by the Lord those two times, the woman remains and does not give up petitioning Him. After the first rejection, she appears to have cried after Him, upsetting the disciples. She then approaches him and worships Him, pleading for help again! Jesus rebuffs her. But again, she remains, not giving up. She later prevails, and the Lord grants her desire.
But two things to point out: First, the Lord extols her faith. Second, he does not chastise her approach. Moreover, if we take this scene into historical perspective, it would have been socially inappropriate for a woman to speak to man publicly. Therefore, Jesus could have easily chastised her for her breach of social customs, and he would have been within his rights. But he didn’t! Instead, he rewarded her.
And this, likewise, should be our attitude. This is how we approach the Lord. Crawling, begging, seeking, and not giving up until we find him. If you have that attitude and desire, the practice of prayer will become more precious and powerful to you.
In the next post, we'll look at ways on how to achieve this type of prayer in your personal prayer practice.
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