Prayer. The oxygen of the believer. Communing and speaking with God. Surely this is the most important spiritual discipline? And yet it is often considered, as with Bible study, as a process that is supposed to be natural and automatic. Chapter 5 reminded me through the models of Samuel, Mary, Jesus and Paul that prayers looks different in different seasons of our journey with the Lord. That sometimes we are seeking and acknowledging the voice of the Lord and discover His presence around us, within us and with us. And sometimes, our prayers call us to surrender and obedience like Mary, or Isaiah, surrendering to the call that the Lord reveals through prayer. Prayer is also the pastoral weapon to shepherd, protect, and equip a church well, as Paul did, and it is the posture that Jesus has decided to take after ascending to the Father, for each of us.
This chapter once again highlighted the importance and opportunity to pray God’s Word back to Him. That the Psalms offer an entire book of “pre-approved” prayers for every believer. That through these prayers, combined with the initial heart posture of “just saying yes,” transformation will come through the communion of God’s Word and our mouths. As was said in the chapter, Mary’s conception was just as much a result of her ears as her womb, this is so important, to read, hear, meditate and pray the words of God to Him. As Romans 10:17 says: “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” By praying the Word of God, we are stirring our faith, which in turn allows us to approach the Father as He desires according to Hebrews 11:6: “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.”
To me, one of the most consequential aspects of this chapter was the call to surrender before anything else. The Romans 12 call to consider ourselves living sacrifices, having said “yes” before the assignment has been given. It also reminded me of Isaiah 6, where Isaiah, before knowing what the assignment will be, asked the Lord to send him. I believe this is the basic Christian life, the denying of ourselves, the picking up of our cross that Jesus mentions, yet, this is so rare in churches today. Dying to ourselves, and approaching the Bible, and its study, as dead individuals will help tremendously with responsible Bible study and accurate understanding of the Scriptures.
It just gripped me again that Jesus chose prayer, through interceding, as the posture that He assumed after being glorified by the Father. If this is good enough for Jesus, is this is what He desires to do after being glorified, surely this is the discipline that I should be involved in heavily too? Saying yes to God, before knowing His will, praying prayers of presence - expecting Him to show up with His voice, praying prayers of surrender and willingness to serve as Mary, prayers of impartation as Paul, or prayers of intercession as Jesus, this chapter has once again encouraged me to pray without ceasing.