Always? Really?
The Primacy of Prayer (2)
Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart… Luke 18.1
A heart for prayer?
We are, I fear, a generation of believers who have lost heart where prayer is concerned.
Or perhaps not so much lost heart, as having our hearts – our affections – misguided where prayer is concerned.
I’m quite sure I don’t need to belabor this point. We know that prayer is not a primary effort in our churches. Oh sure, we have prayer during worship, as part of our Bible study groups and other programs, and perhaps even a weekly prayer meeting. But would you say those prayers are the essence and substance of your church’s life, or just outward adornments, appropriate as needed? Would you call your church above all else a house of prayer?
And you know your own life as well as I know mine. We sustain the work of prayer as long as we are seeking something from the Lord. But aren’t we too easily satisfied? And don’t we therefore not seek the Lord Himself merely for the glory, joy, and pleasure of being in His presence in prayer? “Lord, thanks so much for Your many blessings. I’ll call you again when I need you.”
Hardly what we might expect of lives which have been devoted to seeking the Lord in prayer.
Prayer will never have primacy of place in our lives, so that we are a people characterized above all else by prayer, until we get our hearts right concerning prayer – its nature, purpose, and use. And to do this, we must begin by looking away from ourselves and to the Lord and His Word.
Jesus on the primacy of prayer
We don’t have to search very hard to learn how important prayer is to our Lord Jesus. Luke 18.1-8 provides a concise summary of His teaching on the primacy of prayer.
Jesus sought to impress on His followers that they ought always to pray, and not to lose heart. Whatever else we’re doing in life, Jesus insisted, we should be in prayer. He explained that such prayer is a true and indispensable indicator of saving faith (v. 8). What the Lord is looking for in people of faith is that we should be always in prayer. We should keep coming to the Lord in prayer (v. 3), continually coming and even troubling the Lord (v. 5) as we plead with Him for mercy and grace to help in our time of need.
Those whom God has chosen through our Lord Jesus Christ “cry out day and night to Him” (v. 7). They understand that apart from Him they can do nothing, and they cast themselves continually on Him in prayer.
Such prayer is a tall order, it’s true. Few of us would say we are able to maintain such a high standard in our prayers, or that we even understand what this requires.
But do we even take Jesus’ teaching seriously? Do we call ourselves believers, temples of prayer to the Lord of glory, and yet do not consider prayer without ceasing to be our primary Kingdom-seeking activity? Do we suppose we can define ourselves as true believers by some standard other than what the Lord Himself holds?
We have to conclude that, whatever praying always involves, or whatever the forms such prayer might take, Jesus believed that prayer without ceasing, always and without losing heart, is what sets us apart in the first instance as His followers. When we get our hearts around this discipline, so that we truly desire to pray like this, and find in such prayer the glory, joy, and pleasure our Lord intends, then prayer without ceasing will certainly define us as people of faith and followers of Jesus Christ.
But we must begin in our hearts. And that means first of all sweeping out of our hearts every affection, attitude, or aspiration that prevents us from furnishing our souls with a heart for continuous prayer.
Hindrances to prayer
Four affections in particular can cause us to lose heart for prayer, and especially for praying always. The first of these is unbelief. We read Jesus saying that we ought always to pray. Paul echoes the same idea (1 Thess. 5.17). We understand that Jesus and Paul believed that we could and should practice the discipline of prayer at all times, in every situation, no matter what else we’re doing.
But if we do not believe these words, if we rationalize them away as mere spiritual rhetoric, or choose to ignore them as simply not possible, our hearts will never embrace the Lord’s instruction with the kind of energy and consistency He is looking for among those who believe. Let us receive this instruction, crying out as we do, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
The second hindrance to a heart committed to the primacy of prayer is love of the world. This can take the form of sin, obviously – which we refuse to acknowledge or repent of – but it can also appear in the form of diversions not related to our Kingdom-and-glory calling in the Lord. These take up our time, occupy our minds, delight our souls with fleeting gratification, and distract us from remembering the Lord in prayer.
Third, self-reliance: If in our hearts we think we can handle the daily details of our lives without the mercy and grace of the Lord, we’re not likely to seek Him, except when we feel the inclination or need.
Finally, distrust of the Lord can keep us from devoting ourselves to the primacy of prayer, refusing to accept that He knows what we need and that His ways are better than our own.
We will never have a heart for praying always as long as such affections linger in our souls. Let us wait on the Lord and His Spirit, to search the deep recesses of our souls, to rid us of any affections or attitudes which can keep us from taking Jesus at His Word, and to make prayer the delight of our souls and the defining characteristic and practice of our lives, always.
For reflection
1. What obstacles are presently keeping you from seeking a life of prayer without ceasing? Are you willing to overcome these?
2. How can believers encourage and help one another in learning to pray always and without losing heart?
3. What would it look like for prayer to be a more constant presence in your daily life?
Next steps – Preparation: Begin praying each day that God would call you to prayer at times throughout the day, and that you would be alert and ready to respond when He does.
T. M. Moore
Each of our “next steps” exercises is tied into goals and disciplines involved in working your Personal Mission Field. If you have not yet identified your Personal Mission Field, watch the brief video showing you how to get started right away (click here).
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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
