Prayer as Spiritual Self Discipline

Prayer: Spiritual Discipline

Discipline is defined as "control established by setting and following rules"... this could include time management techniques, setting and meeting long-term, short-term, and medium-turn goals... discipline also involves control over impulses to reach the stated goal.

Discipline leads to success in business, in artistic endeavors, in raising a healthy family. Its also applicable to your spiritual life.

Today, lets look at prayer as a form of self discipline. We'll discuss some helpful techniques to improve and focus your prayer life and then a brief discussion on the content or prayers.

Why Do You Need to Pray?

Prayer is about self development on the way to eternal life as a spirit being. Prayer develops an interactive relationship with God your Creator. Yes, we learn about the mind and purpose of God through bible reading, through obedience, through suffering, but prayer pulls all these together and puts them in the context of God actively working in your life and you actively responding to Him.

In prayer you are alone with God... your spiritual safe place. You can be totally honest there if you want... you can talk about things with God you might not want to [or shouldn't] with other people. God hears... evaluates all things with total righteousness, overwhelming mercy, and personal concern for your salvation and eternal well-being.

Would You Like to Pray More?

Prayer is one of the "good works" God has prepared for you to do. Prayer contributes to the reward you lay up for yourself in heaven... which Christ brings with Him at His return.

There are many among us who simply do not pray enough. You can blame it on our face paced society.... you might blame it on our obsession with entertainment and amusement… or because of some addiction to sin that separate us from God. But, you and  I are the ones who lose out.

Some of the ideas in this message might work for you... some may not. We are all unique... different personalities... different circumstances... the purpose is not to impose upon you some sort of additional burden... or a guaranteed recipe for success.

If you have been around long enough you've probably heard all these ideas before. For others it may all be new. Let's begin with 4 ideas for increasing the time and attention we spend on prayer:

1. Plan Time to Pray

Nobody wanders their way into the office of CEO at a big company... or becoming a great athlete. We don't wander our way into a strong spiritual life.... we don't wander into disciplined prayer.

Establishing set times for prayer can turn wishful thinking into solid action. Wanting to pray, or knowing the importance of prayer matters less than what we actually do. Our "doing" reflects our priorities better than any of our intentions or head knowledge.

Luke 5:16 Jesus made a point to have some time to Himself to pray

Daniel 6:10 Daniel had planned times set aside for prayer. Twice Daniel was specifically commended by God regarding his prayers.

The downside of routine times for prayer is that it can lead to a form of ritualism, or just sleep-walking your way through the motions. However, we cannot say that we value prayer unless we do it. The cares of the day can easily overwhelm your thoughts. Planning time for prayer can help.

2. Build Mental Focus

Has anyone ever started to pray then drifted of into thinking about... did I remember to put out the chicken to thaw so I can cook dinner... I need to add a point about sales on the presentation this Thursday...  which Batman movie was the best? Maybe you simply drift off to sleep in the middle of prayer. You’re not alone… staying focused takes effort.

• Pray out loud, or move your lips as if speaking but remaining silent  1 Samuel 1:19
• Pray over the scriptures [especially the Psalms]. This will also keep you  from praying the same thing every time
• Tie your prayer to your bible reading  [Daniel 9 prayer based on reading Jeremiah]
• Use biblical models of prayer [Moses, Daniel, Mary, Paul]. Read carefully and consider what do they pray about… why they are praying that prayer at that time... then think about how similar principles might apply to your life.
• Use prayer lists... write things down what you want to pray about and then refer to them as you pray.
• Try prayer journaling. Not only writing down the initial idea but writing additional thoughts after you have prayed about them… a written personal dialog.

Verbalizing and writing ideas down can also help you slow down the pace of your prayer and increase self-examination.

3. Learn By Example

Learning by example from someone who is good at prayer can be helpful. If you try this don't choose someone of the opposite sex (unless its your spouse). Prayer creates intimacy and could lead to sexual sin.

If you are good at it you might want to reach out to someone who you think could benefit from practical example. Working with your children is a prime example. However, you should try for more than the simple asking of a blessing over a meal.

Luke 11:1-11 Jesus often went off alone to pray... this might be an example of Him praying in front of the disciples... or may be that they knew He was going off to pray and wanted some advice. He gives them a basic structure and content suggestions... then He offers a parable about persistence and God’s attitude to prayers where we ask for things.

Remember that different people have different strengths... you don't want to end up simply imitating the person’s mannerisms, or speech patterns... focus on the content, structure, and other practical points.

This idea butts up against some barriers… We tend to think of prayer as something that must be kept very private... that praying in front of others or with them risks becoming prideful. If you look at Matthew 6:5-8 Jesus' teaching on prayer advises privacy... and that is the primary biblical example.

However, we have biblical examples of Church members praying together: Acts 1:14 {of one mind, depends on translation] Acts 4:24-26 [appears as more of a public prayer like we have at a service. But, note the use of scriptural quotation within the prayer itself], Acts 16:25, Acts 20:36.

4. Get Organized

There are so many situations, spiritual needs, requests for intercession that you can feel overwhelmed... or find it hard to remember.

Everyone has their own style and way of organizing... so use what works for you.

Many people find writing down items that need to be addressed in prayer. We've already mentioned making a prayer list... but perhaps more organization would help.

• You could try having a separate list for recurring needs like: spouse and family, your job, the local church area. These might have daily needs like general protection, wisdom etc. but also some needs that come and go. Like your daughter is having trouble with a co-worker etc. Or the congregation might need to find a place to meet for Pentecost etc.
• Then there are needs that are more short term or medium duration. These might be kept on a separate list or lists. So you can easily add and drop short term items without redoing the whole list.
• Edit your prayer list and drop items when appropriate. Even the people you pray for every day have needs that change over time. 
• Try tying scriptures to the items on your list. It's helpful to use and quote scripture in your prayers.

Now let's switch gears and talk a bit about content.

What to Pray About

We have a definite bias toward viewing prayer as asking for things. But, the biblical model for prayer is a combination of 3 main areas:

• Praising God for all the amazing, uplifting aspects of His character and purpose
• Confessing our sins and seeking forgiveness so that they do not separate us from God... leave us unacceptable to Him... or leave us feeling that we want to avoid God in prayer because of our sin.
• Asking for blessings, help, wisdom, healing deliverance etc.

We want a good balance of these three.

Getting or not getting what we ask for is where most of our questions and hang ups come from so go further on this point.

Imagine a child asks her Dad for a number of things... [all of which He has the power to give]:

12. First, she asks for a new outfit for church. He gives right away
13. Second, she asks for a pony. He holds back on ... to see if the child is really serious or is it just a whim
14. Third, she asks for unrestricted access to the internet. This He will not give ... because its not in the child's best interest
15. Fourth, she asks for a car [pink like Barbie has].  This He will only give once certain conditions are met... the child needs to be old enough to drive legally, she needs to take driving lessons, she has to agree to pay for her own insurance.

As children we are not assured that we will get all that we ask for. The careful appraisal of requests is based on a relationship of love. The Father loves His children and gives gifts and favor to help the child mature and develop. Its a relationship of love, care, and concern.

God has ordained that many blessings come only through prayer John 16:23-27.

 

We also have to think carefully about what we ask.

12. We are to ask for things in accordance with His will James 4:2-3, Matthew 7:7-12.
13. How do I know God's will? ... We know and we learn from scripture. The bible is how we know God's purpose, His goals, His values, and His character. Here's another great reason to tie scripture into your prayers.

Praise and confession are also ways to get us thinking in line with His will. So, it all works together.

Help of the Holy Spirit

Sometimes our prayers are going to be off-base 1) we don't know the scriptures well enough and are confused about God's will 2) we don't know the circumstances of the situation we are praying about well enough.

In cases like this the holy spirit intercedes Romans 8:24-27. You have to rely on the holy spirit fill in the gaps... for this you have to have faith... you may need to ask for this help if you are aware that certain something is missing... you may need to clear up some unresolved sin that's blocking your path Matthew 5:23-24.

5. Persistence and Time

1 Kings 18:40-46 , Luke 18:1-8

Most seem to think our generation has developed a low attention span... from Boomers to GenZ. Amusements, distractions, our never ending quest for more… have created a problem we must engage and do battle with.

Make it one of your goals to pray long enough that you get past the feeling of routine, beyond the feeling that you are merely checking off an item on your long task list. To enter into the spirit of prayer we must stick with it for a while. Perhaps you would benefit from trying to increase the duration of your prayer sessions.

Conclusion:

Jude 17-21 therefore it must be possible to pray "not in the spirit" IE just going through the motions... performing a quick ritual so yo can move on with the day.

Think of prayer as spiritual discipline and approach it like any other skill or ability you want to master.