Primary Components - Prayer May 2, 2007
Posted by Joe in : Family Worship Series , trackbackErin,
Good words yesterday on the importance of singing hymns and the various benefits that accompany the practice. I always enjoy reading your posts!
Well, today’s topic is on the place of prayer within our family times of worship. What shall I say? Or where shall I start? How shall I lay a case for prayer?! Well, to begin with, we can say that prayer is central to the Christian life. It is a foundational discipline that is sadly ignored. Of course, most Christians do not ignore it because it is not important, but because it is hard! True prayer is very hard. To learn to wait upon the Lord in prayer is definitely not easy. And really, it is isn’t easy because it is so humbling. To bring our every need before God (every single day and moment!) is a humbling thing. And it is probably for this reason that so many Christians struggle with prayer. At root, I know that that was the main reason why I struggled with it.
Yet we are wise to remember that prayer is a central discipline not simply b/c it is difficult, but because it is a chief means through which God aims to bring Himself glory and manifest Himself to us. And those really are beautiful realities that cannot be fully unpacked here. But suffice it to say that when we pray to God (asking Him for whatever) and He grants our request, He receives the glory and we receive the joy. We are delighted to receive what we desire and God is delighted to receive what He deserves. It is a wonderful arrangement indeed!
Also, though, we have to mention the fact that our highest joy is not simply getting what we asked for–or at least it should not be. Our highest joy is beholding the glory of the One who answered! That is, when the Lord hears and answers our petitions in the name of His Son, He reveals His bounty, His goodness, His mercy, His grace, His freedom, His sovereignty, His power and more! He manifests Himself. He makes Himself known to us in a very personal way. And this manifestation serves to do a thousand things in our lives. It strengthens our faith in Him. It humbles us when a clear vision of His glory. It helps us grow in holiness (b/c we behold the Holy One). On and on we could go. The Lord sanctifies us through prayer not only in the very act, but in the answers, b/c He reveals the glory of the Answerer!
Therefore, it is vital for us to teach our child how to pray. It is vital for us to guide them and model for them what it means to cry out to God. They are desperate to pray, b/c they are so desperate! And how else will they learn, but from us. Indeed, we could say that they will learn from us whether we guide them or not. If prayer is not a priority in our homes, our children will know it. They will sense it. No amount of dinner table prayers will change their minds. They will not be fooled.
That being said, a life of continual and spontaneous prayer is the natural result of consistent times of planned prayer. Yes, that is right. And that is a lesson that the church today (and families) desperately needs to learn. We need to set aside the time to pray. We need to plan to pray. For only then will prayer begin to gain the central place that it should have in our lives!
So, let us labor to lead our children in prayer. And let us do so everyday. No need to whip out the statistics here. Five minutes a day adds up–big time. May the Lord grant us the grace to be diligent so that the next generation might be a generation that faithfully and forcefully prays!
Praying to the Father with you,
Joe
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