Public prayer should help us
pray in private.
Our personal prayer life can be healthy made up of the right words, past
victories, and predictable routines of prayer. That is all good. But should
slipping occur and prayer is no longer vibrant, where do we turn? Private
prayer can crash and burn and nobody has to know about it. It can be dull,
legalistic, half-hearted, selfish, mindless-ramblings etc... Have you
experienced seasons of this? What to do in the Doldrums?
My niece Isabelle wants to be an Olympic skier. She practices and studies the terrain more than any 12 year old; She already has a number of first place victories from skiing competitions. However, Isabelle is growing unsure of her goal as other interests grow and affections are competing for her attention. I am confident that if she met with Olympian Lindsey Vonn she would refocus and be sold out again for ski racing and dreaming of being on Team USA with Lindsey. There is a special confidence that my niece would have thanks to Lindsey, no amount of practice could bring that.
My niece Isabelle wants to be an Olympic skier. She practices and studies the terrain more than any 12 year old; She already has a number of first place victories from skiing competitions. However, Isabelle is growing unsure of her goal as other interests grow and affections are competing for her attention. I am confident that if she met with Olympian Lindsey Vonn she would refocus and be sold out again for ski racing and dreaming of being on Team USA with Lindsey. There is a special confidence that my niece would have thanks to Lindsey, no amount of practice could bring that.
Scripture: Luke 11:1 “Jesus was praying in a certain place and when He finished. One of the disciples said to Him, ‘Lord teach us to pray just as John also taught his disciples.”
Some of the disciples followed John the Baptist and knew about prayer, but now they were motivated to know Jesus’ model of prayer. We need this same curiosity about prayer. Here the disciples confess they want to learn how to pray. They wait until Jesus is done praying to approach Him, perhaps they were observing Him. Then the disciples asked Jesus for help. Have you ever asked Jesus to teach you to pray?
The living Savior is alive and well in His followers. It’s time to rub shoulders with great prayers warriors or older Christians who have walked with Jesus longer than you. Be influenced by mature Christians, expose yourselves to good praying and simply agree with their prayer. Listening and agreeing with another person's prayer unites yourself to their plea. We are in accord, in Christ, in prayer. That is why community prayer is needed. We must allow ourselves to be taught this language of prayer. This agreeing in Christ brings a confident education to our prayer life. We should observe and mimic prayers that inspire while avoiding putting that prayer warrior on a pedistool. They don't have to know you are observing and modeling their prayers.
A praying community is blessed by the young prayer warrior too because they contribute prayers that are raw recalling often the mercy and grace afforded by Christ. Also newbies don't have polished, glossy words but they have a surrendered heart! That prayer learner can share in prayer wrong thinking about God thus giving an opportunity for discipleship and teaching. The mature prayer warrior must show the young believer that God promises otherwise, on the side. What else is interesting amid young prayer warriors is that they can bring up sins and issues that are overlooked at times, they can inspire the mature believer to pray for a need or remember a life God spared them from.
People pray differently, different isn't automatically wrong. Lets humble ourselves and be impacted by the prayers of others because Jesus is in them! It is the Holy Spirit who gives burdens to pray for, He gives a timely word to say. It is ok to hear someone pray and want to pray in the same manner, the disciples heard and wanted to pray like Jesus. Have you ever asked someone for help to pray? Can God teach you to pray no matter where you are in your walk with Jesus?
Soon by God's grace, this influence of worship and prayer will impact your private prayer!
