A White Stone with a New Name

When I was a baby Christian, I confessed to many people my discomfort with prayer. Bible study comes so naturally to me. But prayer did not. I could tell from the beginning that prayer was going to be one of those things I was going to have to practice, study, and work hard at. But I rebelled and ran from that work for years. Over the course of the past six years, God used two seasons of suffering in my life to teach me about prayer. I want to share what I have learned!

1*The first sign of pride in a heart is a lack of prayer!*

The first time I stumbled over this quote, it hit me hard. The Bible warns over and over again about the dangers of pride, and goes into great detail about how much God hates pride. I didn’t want to be prideful! But there was definitely a lack of prayer in my life. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says “if My people who are called by My Name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” There is a clear step-by-step process in this verse. Step 1? Humble yourself.

When Jesus teaches us to pray in Matthew 6:9, He says, Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Your Name. Being that this is the first thing He says, it’s important to consider. Hallowed means “let Your Name be kept holy” or “let Your Name be treated with reverence.” We should start our prayers by acknowledging the holiness of the One we are praying to, and make sure we keep in mind to treat His Name with reverence. Hebrews 5:7 says, “In the days of His flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to Him who was able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence.”

2*Commit to praying every day.*

I admit, for years and years, I only called on God when I needed Him. I had no established routine. I did not seek Him first in my day before all else. He was not a priority in my life. This shames me to no end, but it’s the truth. Colossians 4:2 says to “continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.” Instead of waiting for something bad to happen to us before we pray, we need to be watching in prayer for the things before they come.

As you study the ministry of Jesus, He was constant in prayer. Luke 6:12 says “He went out to the mountain to pray, and all night He continued in prayer to God.” This is one example of many. Jesus prioritized prayer, often leaving His disciples and His ministry to get alone with God.

3*Understanding the Trinity in Prayer*

I struggled with questions over this, and have had several women ask me about this very thing. The short answer is that when we pray it involves all of the Trinity. We pray to the Father, through the Holy Spirit, by the Son.

In Matthew 6:9, Jesus tells us to pray to the Father.

1 Timothy 2:5 tell us that “there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”

Romans 8:26-27 teaches that “likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And He who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” Ephesians 6:18 tells us to pray at all times in the Spirit. I’ve also found that studying the Holy Spirit greatly benefits your prayer life! I highly recommend the small book called “Holy Spirit Power” by Charles Spurgeon.

4*Prayer should be more about HIM and less about you!*

This is the revelation that truly was a turning point in my prayer life. While He does want us to cast all of our cares upon Him (we will talk about that later), we want for our prayer lives to revolve around Him, not us! Acknowledging His character daily in prayer is a confession of faith and a reminder of Whom you serve! Psalms 100:4 instructs us to “Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His Name!” Thank Him for all of who He is! Some examples of what to thank Him for: suffering for us, His love, salvation, mercy, grace, being slow to anger, His righteous judgements, His unfathomable wisdom and knowledge, creation, dwelling in the midst of us… Psalms is an excellent resource for this.

5*Cast all of your cares upon Him.*

In His generous love, condescension, and attentiveness, He desires that we bring all our worries to Him. Philippians 4:6 says “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Psalms 34:17 says “When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.”

And of course, 1 Peter 5:6-7 tell us to “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.”

6*Pray for your enemies.*

Jesus didn’t say this simply for a great shock factor, or to be ironic. It is a command. We are to pray for our enemies. From the least of them to the greatest of them.

Luke 6:27-28 says “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.”

As Jesus was being crucified on the cross, He did this. Luke 23:34 tells us how He prayed “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

I am convinced that praying for your enemies is the key to keeping bitterness away. The first time I ever felt like I had a real, true enemy, I struggled praying for them. At first, I just couldn’t do it. But I found I could sincerely pray for their children. I kept at it, and it did graduate to being able to pray for my enemy. It freed me.

7*Know His Word, so that you can pray His will.*

 Proverbs 28:9 says that “If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.” Being committed to Bible study is essential to effective prayer. How can you pray if you don’t allow God to teach you how it works and what pleases Him?

If you are praying for your will, you can go ahead and stop. God is not a genie in a bottle or fairy godmother. People who pray for life to be perfect, for them to win the lottery, and for new cars for Christmas are deceived. Prayer will only work if you are praying for God’s will.

When Jesus was teaching us how to pray, He said “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven.”

1 John 5:14-15 says “And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him.”

I hope that these words will inspire you to recommit to a prayer life that pleases God. Thank you, heavenly Father, for the beautiful gift of communicating with You!