Meditation is defined by m-w.com as the act of engaging “in mental exercise for the purpose of reaching a heightened level of spiritual awareness.” Let’s assume that we’re talking about meditating on a particular passage or phrase in the Bible, or on an aspect of God.
So, what do you think, should Christians meditate?
There’s that old saying that there are no atheists in foxholes, but do those foxhole dwellers need to confess that Jesus is Lord before God will grant them safety? Or does God answer every prayer offered to Him regardless of one’s standing in the Kingdom?
So, what do you think, does God listen to the prayers of non-Christians?
Those that have participated in guided prayer know how fulfilling it can be. It gives a structure to your scattered thoughts and emotions and helps you offer your day to God.
Examen.me is a new site that walks you through a number of these prayers (also called examens). What makes the site interesting is that it allows you to keep a fully searchable (and fully secure) journal. As you walk through the different questions, you can type out your thoughts and prayers for later review. It’s always fascinating to see how God faithfully answers prayer throughout the months and years.
Want to explore the site a bit before you sign up? You can try it without the journal feature here.
Part of discipleship is understanding the necessity of the spiritual disciplines, and there’s no greater discipline than Prayer. Dr. Krejcir of Discipleship Tools writes about prayer in this way:
Prayer is not just a selfish wish list to get God to cater to our needs and whims; rather, it’s true purpose and the reason it is also a discipline is to shape us by what He has revealed, and to grow in faith, character, perseverance, and maturity.
No one would argue that a healthy prayer life is integral to a Christian’s life, but health is not just a matter of daily repetition. The same article from Discipleship Tools has a series of questions to ask yourself concerning prayer:
1. How would you define The Discipline of Prayer? Are you a person who naturally prays in all situations you face—from daily life to future activities for your own needs and those of others, too? If not, why not?
2. What part does prayer play in your relationships with church members, friends, coworkers, and family? If you see a need, do you first pray? If not, what do you do? What should you do?
3. How does prayerlessness counteract prayerfulness? What is the cost to the Kingdom of God when the church does not engage in prayer or teach and encourage its people to be people of prayer?
Personally, I know that far too often prayer is a secondary solution rather than my primary action. If any of these questions piqued your interest there are a few more and some other thoughts on prayer to ponder in the rest of the article.
In yesterday’s post, we looked at an article arguing that Bible study was an integral part of any healthy Christian church. Hopefully your church already incorporates Bible study into its worship and congregational life—in sermons, in Sunday school, in Bible study groups, etc. But there’s another practice that is both a means by which your church can become more effective, and a basic reason for a church’s existence in the first place: communal prayer.
The Bible Prayer Fellowship is a ministry centered around (you guessed it) prayer, and one thing they’re especially passionate about is getting congregations to come together and pray as a community of Christ-followers.
So… what’s the big deal about community prayer? Why not just have everybody pray individually, on their own, in their own homes? That’s the big question tackled in Oliver Price’s article Who Needs Prayer Meetings?
“I never cease to be amazed at the church’s neglect of true, heartfelt, corporate prayer.” says George Verwer, director of Operation Mobilization. After visiting thousands of churches around the world, Verwer concludes that most churches essentially have no prayer meeting. Some have canceled midweek services for lack of interest. Others have shifted to Bible study or activities, allowing only a brief five or ten minutes for prayer.
Yet a few are attempting to overcome the general neglect of corporate prayer with encouraging results. They see signs that the praying associated with the early church may be revived. What can we do to help?
First, we need a fresh understanding of the purpose of corporate prayer, its priority in the church, and the moral and spiritual power it provides. Prayer meeting can be one of the most satisfying and attractive meetings in the church.
Price goes on to explain why prayer and prayer meetings are absolutely critical to the health of any church community—community prayer brings a congregation together, it’s tied to evangelism, and it inspires a bold spirit. Once you’ve read through that introduction, take a look at these follow-up articles that explore the how’s and why’s of church prayer meetings:
Not convinced yet? There are a lot more articles about the power and importance of prayer at the Bible Prayer Fellowship website. Read through some of these and ask yourself if your church is practicing Biblical, community prayer.
Since 1952, The National Day of Prayer has been a day set aside for the citizens of the United States to come together to pray regardless of their faith. Today is a great reminder for Christians of what they’re to do every day, which is to be in communion with God through prayer.
The following video from the National Day of Prayer Task Force’s website is of Tony Dungy talking about prayer:
The gospel.com community has a number of ministries that have posted prayer calendars. If you’re looking for somebody to pray for today (and in the future), try these ministry prayer calendars:
Most Christians understand the importance of prayer. We pray for big issues like world peace and evangelism, and for small issues like personal health and safety. But how often do you pray specifically for the members of your family?
In a series of posts at the Life Action Ministries blog, Byron Paulus is writing about the importance of praying for your spouse and children—not just when they’re sick or have special needs, but as a part of your everyday prayer life. The series begins with a brief introduction, followed by posts about specific things to pray about for your kids: that they’ll develop an active faith in Christ and that they’ll grow up to be men and women of moral integrity. Paulus promises four more posts in the series, so keep an eye on the Life Action blog for more to come!
One cool thing about the gospel.com community is the chance to pray for one another. Whether you’re just getting started with this whole prayer thing or you’ve been doing it for years, sometimes it can be helpful for building a relationship with a ministry through a daily petition to God on their behalf.
All of these links are to specific ministry prayer calendars. Most are well-maintained and offer events and people to pray for on a daily basis.
Verse six from Psalm 32:
Therefore let all the faithful pray to you
while you may be found;
surely the rising of the mighty waters
will not reach them.
Yesterday we pointed out several good articles about prayer. Here’s a few more worth checking out—the first two items are especially useful if you’re new to the idea of communicating with God, or if you need a refresher course on prayer:
Prayer is communicating with God. Simple, right? However, we all know it’s not that simple. The theology is oftentimes confusing, sometimes it feels like there’s no one on the other end and it can even feel boring.
Then why do we do it?
Because prayer is communicating with God.
So then, how should one pray? When should one pray? How does one know they’re reaching God? Does God care about the words or language I use?
Chances are we won’t be solving all of your conundrums about this mystical communion with God during this week, but to begin with we would like to point out a few resources that could start your prayer life or revitalize it:
Join us through the end of the week as we explore prayer in the Christian life.
