How to keep praying

December 9, 2011

How to keep praying

Charles Spurgeon: “The God who decrees to give us blessings has also decreed that we shall ask for them.”

Oh, how I believe Spurgeon is right. To paraphrase Isaiah 30:18 – God longs for us…to long for Him.

Two truths go hand in hand:

God desires to bless us.
He waits for us to ask for these blessings.

My problem is that I can easily forget either of these truths, and when I do, my prayer life dies, and the blessings are impeded.

First, I forget that God is inclined lovingly toward me. To reverse the story of Luke 18, I imagine that my life is not important to Him, that “this poor widow(er) has no business knocking on the door of this great judge.” Forgetting God’s kind inclination toward me causes me to forsake prayer.

Or second, I may remember that He loves me and yet forget that God has decreed that I ask for the daily demonstrations of His love. “You do not have because you do not ask” is the undeniable, basic truth of prayer.

So how do I solve this problem?

Personally, I have found only one solution: I must decisively commit to a time of regular, daily prayer come what may, no matter what. When I am in my right mind, I know that God loves me and that He waits for me to ask for blessings. But I am too often not in my right mind. On these days, it is only my commitment to seek His face that moves me to my knees.

Prayer is like marriage. The thing that keeps a couple together in the long run is not the flame of infatuation that burns in them on the wedding day. Rather it is the vow, the commitment they make, “till death do us part.” Similarly, going to a conference and hearing a few speakers on prayer may move you to your knees for a few days, but only a commitment will keep you there.

So if Spurgeon’s quote moves you, decide today that you will never again miss a day of seeking this loving God for His hand of blessing.

Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you, and therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; how blessed are all those who long for Him.

Isaiah 30:18 (NASB)

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Posted by:

Roger Knowlton

3 responses to “How to keep praying”

RR

December 10, 2011 at 4:07 am

…”When I am in my right mind, I know that God loves me and that He waits for me to ask for blessings. But I am too often not in my right mind. On these days, it is only my commitment to seek His face that moves me to my knees.”…

Roger, thank you……thank you for this reminder! Intentionally or unintentionally, there are times when the Jesus follower is made to feel wrong for pointedly asking God’s hand of blessing on them instead of their prayer being focused solely on seeking His face and just thanking Him for whatever blessings He may happen to bestow on them. Isaiah 30:18…Not only is it OK, but our Father extends an invitation to us to freely ask for His hand of blessing on our lives!

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rogerknowlton

December 10, 2011 at 5:30 am

Agreed! Where did we come up with this notion that I hear from folks every now and then: “I would never ask for anything for myself!” It is unbiblical. We must ask for ourselves, although our Kingdom requests must come first (Hallowed be Thy Name, etc.). God expects us to cry out in Jesus’ name so that our joy might be complete.

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Wendy Polenska

December 10, 2011 at 12:37 pm

I always find your words filling. As Danny Thomas said to his daughter ” you have to run your race with blinders on, you can hear the crowd but never acknowledge them.” This kind of how I look at what you have said run your race with God, stay focused, here the outside world, but dont let it negatively affect you. That keeping God close to us daily is what keeps us from being hardened from the outside world. My life definatley goes better with God in my life and it makes me a better person and a better person people want to be around. However with the world hustle and bustle being at our fingertips it is very easy to get caught up in it and losing focus on our goal. I often think that when people look for happiness they look for it in things and not inside. When a tragedy occurs people barter WITH GOD for time by reasoning. I went to the hospital see my 12y.o. niece who went in for a routine physical and they found that her heart rate was 350, yes 350. Since then u she has gone too Iowa to have her heart Abalated which has reduced her heartrate to80. However she now is in heart failure and possibly a heart transplant. I am thankful that she is alive,but she cant even brush her teeth without becoming exhausted. This makes me regroup and say what really is important this time of year. The shopping, the decorating? Does that really matter the hustle and bustle? No! That we must keep Christ in Christmas and in our daily lives. THANKS AGAIN ROGER u r amazing!

ospital last night to see my 12y.o. niece
who has been in the hospital since Nov 25,2011

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About Me

I’ve been a follower of Christ since an upper-class cadet at West Point showed me…read more here

Entrusted with the Gospel