This week Lea Laurovicova, one of the 6pm associates, helps us think about how we pray.
“How’s your prayer life going?” is one of the most dreaded questions a fellow Christian can ask. “Could be much better,” is our usual vague answer. Although, the honest answer might be something like “It’s practically non-existent.” Maybe we pray sometimes, but not regularly. Maybe we just pray when we remember to, or feel really desperate and the only thing left is to cry out to God.
It’s not that we don’t want to pray more, we really do. So what’s the problem? Basically, a regular prayer life can be an overwhelming task. There are so many things to pray about! So many people to pray for!
Where should we even start?
When learning how to pray, it’s really helpful to look at some prayers in the Bible. There we see the really important things, God thinks we should be praying for. Let’s look at Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3:18-20:
“I bow my knees before the Father… so that you may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”
Paul prays the Ephesians would know something about Christ and His love that surpasses knowledge. He doesn’t just want them to know facts about Jesus; he wants comprehension bigger than knowledge itself. He wants a spiritual knowledge that fills their hearts, not just their heads. This is something definitely worth praying for. So:
What do I pray for myself? That I may know.
What would Paul tell you to pray for yourself? He’s want you to pray about the things you have been hearing lately in RML or during Sunday services or thinking about whilst reading your Bible. He would tell you to pray that you would really know this truth about God. Why not spend next few weeks as we study 2 Samuel, praying that you would really know what it means for Jesus to be God’s anointed king? That you would know what it means to live with Him as king.
What do I pray for others? That they may know.
What about others? How do I pray for my family? For my fellow church members? For my non-Christian friends? For my leaders? Why not pray the exact same thing you’ve been praying for yourself? That they may know the truths about God that you’ve been praying you would know.
There’s lots more we can learn about prayer, this is just a start! Why not keep your eyes peeled for other prayers in the Bible? Get praying them, and your prayer life should grow and grow!
