In fear of You I will worship toward Your holy temple. Psalm 5.7

We have been exploring John Calvin’s rules for a vibrant life of prayer, as he explained these in the Institutes of the Christian Religion.

So far we’ve noted:

1.  Pray with reverence to God: Make sure your attitude in prayer is what it ought to be.
2.  Pray from a sincere sense of want, and with penitence: Recognize your total dependence on the Lord.
3.  Yield all confidence in ourselves and humbly plead for pardon: Trust not in your prayers, but in God.

Finally, Calvin encourages us:

4.  Pray with confident hope: Our prayers should be filled with expectation and anticipation that God will hear and God will bless.

The Apostle James charges us to pray in faith, without wavering, when we seek wisdom from God (Jms. 1.6).  One who doubts, he says, is like a ship tossed about on the sea.  “For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from God.” 

Whether we pray for wisdom, for strength, guidance, or revival, our prayers should have a confident hope in God. We should expect that our Father, Who knows what we need even before we ask, is already moving to answer our prayers, in His way and time.

From a purely human perspective, our efforts in prayer are often misguided, and this is only to be expected. We don’t know how to pray as we should (Rom. 8.26). We are sinners, and sin taints everything we do, including our prayers. Our desires are not pure and thus they do not always conform to God’s desires. Our prayers do not inform God of an unknown need. He is all-knowing. Nor do they sway a God who is in the balance, waiting to see what we need from Him. 

But when our prayers come before the Lord through the blood of Christ, they take on a whole new meaning.  We acknowledge and proclaim His lordship in prayer, and praise Him for His righteous rule. As we pray for revival, we call upon the mercy and grace that abound with God in Christ. By seeking God’s grace to save sinners, we acknowledge our sinfulness and our dependence upon God for His forgiveness, as well as His continuing to bring about the salvation of sinners. Lastly, praying in and through Jesus conforms our desires to His. 

So our confidence is in God, His forgiveness, and His promises. And this confidence is well placed and is pleasing to our Lord. We can pray expectantly, with anticipation, eager to see how the Lord will move to answer the requests we have made of Him.

[The LORD] does not delight in the strength of the horse;
He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.
The LORDtakes pleasure in those who fear Him,
In those who hope in His mercy. Psalm 147.10, 11

Prayer, brothers. Pray humbly, trusting in the Lord. Pray confidently and with full expectation that you have the requests you have asked of Him.

Then go forth from prayer to live in the answers, already streaming toward you from our Father in heaven.

Ralph Lehman, Men’s Prayer Coordinator (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
T. M. Moore, Principal (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

Prayer Resources for a Movement of Men at Prayer
“Men of the Church: A Solemn Call” can be downloaded for free by clicking this link. Hand this brief paper to every man you know, and urge them to join you in this movement of Men at Prayer.

Order additional copies of If Men Will Pray and begin challenging your friends to take up this daily work of seeking the Lord with greater consistency and power.

Finally, our latest resource for prayer is the book, Restore Us! It’s available at the bookstore, and is our guide and resource for enlisting you and your friends in praying daily for revival.Except as indicated,

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.