Unlocking a lifestyle of prayerIan Nicholson - 13 Aug 2012

The call to prayer

What do Christ’s Soldiers in Kenya have in common with Churches Together in Ilkley or the Millersville Intercessors of Pennsylvania? Is there a link between Elhogar Cristiano in Madrid, Crash Japan and the Generating Station in Malta? Or what could connect a caravan in Guildford, with a hotel room in Turkey, a school classroom in Uganda or a tin shack in a South African township? The answer is that they have all participated in an unprecedented movement of continual 24-7 prayer, which is building in momentum year by year. Orchestrated by the Holy Spirit, all boundaries of class, culture and style are being crossed as the global church prays continually, night and day, as never before. As so many embark on this exciting and unpredictable journey I want to highlight three keys for keeping our personal prayer lives fresh and alive.

Keep it simple!

Don’t be daunted or discouraged by the demands of prayer – see it as a journey of discovery and keep it as simple as possible. Small steps will make a significant difference.

As a leader in a prayer movement I am both very aware of the power and necessity of prayer but also how fallible and ordinary our prayer lives can seem. Life is frantic, work is relentless and it can be frequently disheartening when Sunday morning’s good intentions seem to dissipate by Monday!  Jesus recognised this struggle in warning His disciples that ‘the spirit is willing but the body is weak’ (Matthew 26:40) but they still failed to stay awake to pray for the critical hour in Gethsemane as the future of humankind hung in the balance.

We should not be discouraged that it is frequently a struggle to maintain a regular prayer life; in fact perhaps we should take it as an encouragement that small steps in prayer can bring extraordinary changes to our relationship with God. The most common barrier to ‘ordinary’ believers participating in a 24-7 prayer room is that they have never prayed an hour and don’t think they could ever last that long – it seems too daunting! The reality is that prayer is the simplest, most accessible and life giving activity known to humankind – you are ready and equipped! Prayer can be a few minutes on the train to work, a regular walk in the park at lunchtime or a few minutes of quiet at home once the children are asleep.

Let’s be friends

Recognise that God’s priority for you is to be friends with Him; ask the Lord for a fresh revelation of His Father heart.

‘What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.’ (AW Tozer)

How we view somebody really does determine our relationship with them. No one wants to spend an hour with a hypercritical tyrant, or a patronising and self centered bore. When I was a new Christian, God usually felt distant and impersonal. However, following a season of being renewed by the Holy Spirit, I found my prayer times transformed; they became times of friendship with my Father, who loved me just as I was, not how I thought I should be.

As I considered Jesus teaching and parables relating to prayer it became clear that Jesus’ priority was relationship. He took time to be alone with His Father and only did what He saw His Father doing. He commanded would be pray-ers not to babble with many words or put their religious credentials on public display (Matthew 6: 5 – 13)). In response to the disciples’ request to ‘teach us to pray’ (Luke 11:1) Jesus first word of instruction was simple ... ‘Father.’ Writing as someone who has been a Christian for many years and carries significant responsibility in the church I am finding that the imperative to rest and abide in God as Father is more essential to my spiritual survival and growth than it ever has been.

Be yourself and express yourself!

Prayer is about relationship and it is also about expressing who you are. Think of fresh ways to pray that fit with your lifestyle and personality.

One of the most encouraging discoveries about prayer for me over recent years has been an appreciation that different personality types can express their prayer life in different ways. Some people respond well to having a very fixed and solitary routine while others prefer variety and creative stimulus. 24-7 prayer rooms often have zones with different emphases such as minimalist and simple areas or a paint strewn and messy creative space. It can be fun guessing and observing which personalities will gravitate towards each zone!

The New Testament has examples of prayer alone and in groups, loud and bold as well as quiet and reflective. There are daily prayer disciplines and patterns, spontaneous prayer encounters, prayer in rooms, on streets and roof tops, in prisons and in the marketplace. Personally, being a fairly spontaneous person, I find I need variety and stimulus as I pray but also benefit from the constraint and commitment to pray regularly as part of a prayer room.

“This, then, is how you should pray, Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven…” (Matthew 6: 9,10)

If we are honest we all struggle at times to pray. However prayer is on the agenda! As we spend together with the Father His kingdom WILL come as seeds of faith, compassion, mission, justice, and renewal are planted in our lives.

The Father is ready and waiting – keep it simple and enjoy yourself.

Title image is a derivative of the image 'Room' by Lel4nd  and is used by permission in accordance with commons copyright license terms.