or, Scriptural
Attitudes of Effective Prayer
This tongue-twister of a title is intentional. Last week we studied a number of areas about which the Bible tells us to pray. We want our prayer to be "according to the word" as the psalmist wrote often in Psalm 119. However, while we are often concerned about the effectiveness of our prayers, we may be looking at it the wrong way.
When we
consider what makes prayer effective, the questions that really stand out as
crucial are not,
"Where
should we pray?",
"When should we
pray?", or even,
"What pattern should we
follow in our times of prayer?"
The
crucial question in determining the effectiveness of our prayer is,
"What is the attitude of
our hearts in prayer?"
Prayer
is not primarily a tool to get stuff done that is to be measured in
effectiveness (although as the KJV says, it “availeth much” James 5:16b), but a
relational heart response to the Lord
God, who is “merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” If we
love God then we will want to share our life with him. As we approach praying “according
to the Word,” we need to not just list the things the Bible says that we should
pray for, but we need to consider the attitudes with which we pray.
1.
An Attitude of Confession…
This
means being honest with God about your thoughts, actions, and words. It means
that we do not come to God by minimizing our needs or spinning our guilt into
someone else’s responsibility. An important element of effective prayer is not
just the act of confession, but the attitude of confession—constantly wanting
to be more honest with God than before. While effectiveness should not be the
motive behind confession, we cannot hope for our prayer to be effective if we
are functioning in either open sinfulness or subtle self-righteousness. We need to recognize that we are sinners and
need a Savior. We need to agree with God that He's right and we're wrong (Psalm 51:1-4; 1 John
1:8-10).
2.
An Attitude of Relational Repentance…
Repentance
is turning away from sin, and turning (back) toward God! If our prayer is
going to be effective then we need to be quick to repent, turning away in word,
thought, and deed from those things and attitudes which God says are sins and (re)turning towards him. When we repent, we can see God move with great blessing in
our lives. How is this repentance an
attitude and not an action? It, like confession, is an action sourced in the
heart. Our repentance needs to be more than just an improved “Do/Don’t” list,
or saying we are sorry. It is a change of heart that produces a change of mind
that results in a change of lifestyle. An
attitude of prayerful repentance doesn’t seek something from God so much as it
seeks out God himself. We begin to evaluate all that we think, say, and do (watch,
read, listen, eat, etc.) based on whether it helps us, or hinders us, in loving
God more and sharing that love with the world. As such, true repentance becomes
preemptive to sin, in that when we are tempted we repent before we come to the
place where temptation gives birth to sin, so we don't sin in the first place
(2 Chronicles 7:14; Matthew 3:8; 2 Corinthians 7:9-10).
One
of the most well-known passages on repentant prayer is 2 Chronicles 7:13-14, “When I shut up the heavens so that
there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence
among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek
my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will
forgive their sin and heal their land.”
John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus’
coming by urging people to repent. “Repent,
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.…Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.” (Matt. 3:2, 8). I have frequently used a bungee cord to illustrate
repentance. It involves an unhooking from that which is not God and returning
relationally to the one who is our very life—the Triune God (Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit). We do well to remember that repentance is relational and
is a turning away from anything that
hinders me from turning toward Jesus,
from loving him more.
3.
An Attitude of Humility…
I
believe that one of the great hindrances to effective prayer is a lack of
humility. Scripture says that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the
humble (James 4:6,10; 1 Peter 5:5). Yet some believe that when they pray they
can come claiming their rights, demanding their due—if they say the right words
the right way God must give them what they want. That is not the perspective of
biblical faith but of magic. This attitude of entitlement is not the right
attitude, since the only thing we can demand is what we deserve… and we really
don't want that (Rom. 3:23a)! Let's approach prayer differently and come in
humility, both dependent and submitted to God and his will! It is then that our
prayer will be effective “The prayer of a righteous person has
great power as it is working.” (James 5:16c). Jesus himself models an
attitude of humility in every aspect of the incarnation, especially in his death
in our behalf (Phil. 2:3-11). Humble prayer is others-centered,
kingdom-flavored, and Christ-directed. "Thy will be done."
4.
An Attitude of Praise…
Another
attitude of effective prayer is
praise. Praise is speaking the truth about the Triune God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). Some might argue that praise is an action, not an attitude and that is
partly right. However, the action of
giving praise rises out of affection for
Jesus which changes the way we face the day. When we face the day with a
prayerful attitude of praise we come looking for an opportunity to see the shared goodness of God that surrounds us and to speak out in praise rather than
complain, grumble, and grouse. Praise is also a wonderful antidote for the
"shopping list" mentality in prayer.
Perhaps we are conditioned to come to the Lord only when we have a list, not
necessarily praying selfishly, but certainly with a task-oriented and business-like
approach. An attitude of praise changes
that. It helps us to shift our attitude in prayer to become more centered in
the person of God revealed in Jesus Christ.
If you need a praise primer, a starting point for praising God, I
recommend the truth he most often uses to describe himself in the Old Testament—He
is merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love (Psalm 86:15; 103:8; 111:4; 112:4; 116:5; 145:8;
Luke 6:36). Let's worship the Lord in our prayer times, just for whom he
is and what he is like. If our prayer is
effective, we are probably like the psalmist who sought the Lord in prayer, not
so much for what God could do for him, but for a relationship with his God (Psalm
150).
5.
An Attitude of Petition…
For
our prayer to be effective, we need to present our requests to God, as it is
written, “Do
not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Phil.
4:6). Yet the way in which we
petition the Lord not only affects the impact of our prayer, it affects our
very desire to pray and intercede for others. There are at least two
ineffective extremes in petitioning God.
- First, our request may be so
general that there is no way that we could ever know if God had answered our
prayer (e.g., "God bless the people in Africa") which tends to bring
us to the place where we pray less.
- Second, we might make our requests so specific that we end up praying selfishly and/or against the will of
God.
We need to find a place of
balance, somewhere between presumptuous specificity and half-hearted
generalities. This may involve using our compassionate imagination to prayerfully
put ourselves in the other person's place, trying to get a sense of what their
needs might be, and then praying that God would meet those needs according to his
Word. Yet leaving the Lord some latitude as to how he might fulfill his
Word (Psalm 20; 1 John 5:14-15).
6.
An Attitude of Gratitude/Thanksgiving…
Prayer
that is affectively effective is a prayer that is thankful—to God from the heart that knows the love of Christ. Thankful,
- for what we have,
- for what we don't have, and
- for all those situations and souls that
we have the sacred privilege to lift to Christ in prayer.
We
probably would see more answers to prayer if we were more thankful for the amazing
grace that God continually shows us. Thanksgiving is a more affective and
effective expression of faith, contentment, and love (Psalm 100:4-5;
Philippians 4:6-7; Colossians 4:2) than forwarding our fine-print demands.
7. An Attitude of Faith and Endurance…
When
we ask, “according to” God’s word, the Bible, we need to pray with faith,
trusting God to hear and respond in steadfast love… now, and over the long
term. How can we do this?
Ask
in faith without doubting (James 1:6-7). We are not to be doubleminded and use
prayer as an effort to “cover all our bases,” just in case it might work.
If
we know we have mixed faith, let's confess it, and ask for help (Mark 9:21-24)
And Jesus asked his father, “How
long has this been happening to him?”
And he said, “From childhood. And
it has often cast him into fire
and into water,
to destroy him.
But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”
And Jesus said to him, “‘If
you can’!
All things are possible for one who believes.”
Immediately the
father of the child cried out and said,
“I believe; help my unbelief!”
There are seasons of disappointment (when the answer is not what we
wanted). In times like this, we should take heart in Jesus’ own prayer, as which
he prayed with blood, sweat, and tears, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink
it, your will be done” (Matt.
26:42).
There are seasons of discouragement (when there appears to be no
progress and people are in pain) But all is not as it appears…our perception of
the process of growth and influence is limited. There are different roles to play in God’s
plan which are assigned by his sovereign wisdom.
For
here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to
reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you
have entered into their labor.” (John 4:37-38)
The people of God had been
longing to see the Messiah finally come, but none did until the right moment
came.
But blessed
are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For
truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what
you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. (Matt
13:16-17)
Sometimes, we have no rest,
just “fighting without and fear within” as
Paul experienced long ago. In those times, we must look to God to comfort us, and sometimes he uses the faithfulness of others to do it. So, keep your eyes open
and your heart tender!
For
even when we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted
at every turn—fighting without and fear within. But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus,
and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted
by you… [by your repentance] (2 Cor. 7:5-7)
There is no season to give up. We are not able to perceive the length of the spiritual
season while we are in it, but once the harvest comes, and it will come, we
will recognize it and rejoice even in the process.
“And let us not grow weary of doing good,
for in due season we will reap, if
we do not give up.” (Gal. 6:9)
Effective prayer is, first of all, an affective prayer!
Open to me the gates
of righteousness, that I may enter through them
Psalm 140:12-13 
Attend to my cry,
