A Life of Prayer
We often speak at our congregation about the difference between a “prayer life” and a “life of prayer.” It may seem only semantic, rather than substantive—the two phrases are grammatically identical— but the change in phrasing is intended to draw attention to and emphasize a point. Many evangelical Christians think about their “prayer life” in terms of devotional habits and practices: morning Bible reading, an inspiring and theologically superficial devotional, and a prayer list, but we want to encourage believers at RPC to develop the discipline of a “life of prayer.”
Prayer is the believer’s life. It is a summary of our response to God. In worship, God speaks, and the Church responds. He takes the initiative. He acts. Our action is always in response to the prior, initiating and enabling grace of God. All of our responses—whether in the Call to Worship or Confession of Sin or psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, even our participation in the Lord’s Supper—can be described as a type of prayer. We are speaking to God, responding to God in contrition, adoration, and thanksgiving. Prayer is the believer’s life, not just on Sundays, but every day of every week throughout every year of our lives.
Most Christians think of prayer as “talking” to God and “asking” things from God. Prayer is a type of speech, even when the words are not our own. We pray as we vocalize the psalms, however we do so. The psalms are not merely Bible passages to read aloud; they are prayers to be expressed before God’s throne, whether sung or read or recited. Prayer is far more than simply extemporaneous expression. It is communion with God, responsive meditation, and celebration of his greatness, goodness, and glory. God’s people pray whether they ask God to do anything or not, whether they remember to pray for Aunt Ida’s ingrown toenail or not, whether they compose their petition spontaneously or not. Reading Scripture is not automatically prayer, but we can lead to read Scripture prayerfully. If we enlarge our perspective on prayer, we may begin to realize that much of our time in spiritual contemplation and expression can and should be part of the discipline and practice of prayer.
When did Christians decide that prayer must be extemporaneous? Can you compose better prayers than those written by the Holy Spirit in the Psalter or the fathers of earlier generations in the Book of Common Prayer, the Liturgy of the Hours, or other collections of liturgical texts? This is not to say that prayer cannot or should not ever be extemporaneous, and of course, there is a danger that we may merely read written prayers and not pray them from the heart. But the power of prayer is in communion with God as we are aided by the Holy Spirit. It depends, not on our perfect sincerity or attention, but on the discipline of devotion and the promise that God hears and helps the supplications of his people.
What does it mean to pray without ceasing? Many assume this implies that we should have a running conversation with God throughout the day, much as we might have an ongoing text thread with a spouse or friend. There is nothing wrong with praying spontaneously throughout the day—indeed, there is much that is right and good about doing so—but biblically that is not what unceasing prayer means. Daniel is a good case study in unceasing prayer. He had a habit of praying three times each day with his windows open toward Jerusalem. When the king signed an order for such prayer to stop, Daniel opened his windows and prayed anyway. The Psalmist speaks of prayer at evening, morning, and at midday. Psalm 119 speaks of praying seven times a day. The apostles made a habit of going to the Temple at the hour of prayer, even after the Lord’s resurrection, and those hours of prayer were observed even in the privacy of one’s home, as we see both Cornelius and Peter praying at such times in connection with the Lord’s call to announce the gospel to the Gentiles. There is no biblical mandate to observe specific hours or a specific number of hours each day for prayer, but there is ample precedent. What does it mean to pray without ceasing? It means to continue in the habit and discipline of daily prayer.
A life of prayer begins with and is oriented by the Lord’s Day. The corporate gathering of the saints is the high point of such devotion and the foundation for every other time of prayer throughout the week. The weekly liturgy provides families a framework for thinking of how to structure such times. Preparation, penitence, promise, praise, precepts, psalms, and prayers are the basic structure of the Church’s prayer life throughout history and a helpful model for private and family prayer. You do not have to be creative, only sincere. Confess your sins, take comfort in the gospel promise, celebrate God’s goodness, contemplate his word with reverence, then carry the prayers of the saints to the Divine throne by praying the psalms and your own petitions. It is not complicated, and it does not have to take a lot of time. Such a pattern can be prayed in a few minutes or could occupy many hours throughout each day.
Most of us are so busy that prayer is the first thing to be neglected in favor of more pressing duties, but we have no higher purpose, no greater privilege, and no more important work than to address the King of heaven as priests of God Most High. You have been sanctified by the blood and Spirit of Christ for priestly worship. You have been reborn and reformed for a life of prayer. If you find your prayer life weakening, give yourself to the cultivation of a life that is oriented by and devoted to prayer. Such communion is an earthly experience of our heavenly and eternal destiny.