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During dinner this evening, my husband and I were discussing a certain picture that had caught our eye in a recent news article we had both read. The picture was of some protesters holding a sign that said, “Thoughts. Prayers. Actions.”

The World’s View Of Prayer

Of course, I realize that the protesters pictured in this article were trying to make a point that they wanted a certain action to be taken. However, the idea behind the words on their sign stuck with both my husband and I as a strong picture of the world’s view of prayer.

In our modern culture, prayer is viewed in many of the following ways:

• A lazy person’s response to crisis. Rather than actually do something, a person who prays chooses to do nothing helpful.
• A crutch through hard times. Prayer is used solely to help a person mentally hide from the realities of a tragedy.
• A personal preference for religious people. While this is nice for certain religious leaning individuals, prayer is simply a matter of personal preference. In fact, you can even choose which god, if any, you want to pray to!
• A political tool to wield influence. Prayer is a means for politicians to manipulate certain voting demographics.
• A collection of trite sayings. Prayer is a repetitious grouping of words that is said with no thought or results coming from the activity.
• A conversation with yourself. Many people don’t see God as even existing, so the idea that someone is trying to talk to Him simply is grounds for being labeled crazy or talking to one’s own self.
• A form of gossip. Finally, many people see prayer and prayer request as just another chance to catch the latest gossip in a polite conversational form.

We are surrounded by a culture that doubts the very existence of God so it is not surprising that they see little value in prayer.

Many surveys conducted over the last several years shows the number of people who claim to be atheist/agnostic/or nones (those with no affiliation to a religion) is rising. Our culture has an ambiguous grasp of the concept of God with many doubting there even is a God to pray to at all!

If Christians are not careful, they can let the world’s thinking start to influence and inform their own worldview on prayer.  It is sad that the world does not value prayer. But it is tragic when a Christian falls into the same mindset about prayer that the world has!

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The Biblical View Of Prayer

Dear Christian woman, we must not let culture’s way of thinking become our own.

Not surprisingly, prayer is under attack from our culture. If you look at many of the culture’s views on prayer, you will find grains of truth to what they say. Often, Christians do simply share prayer requests to find out gossip in a “kinder” format.

Also, there are definitely politicians who do use prayer simply as a tactic to reach their constituents rather than as a means to bring their country’s needs before God.

What is challenging is that many of the culture’s views on prayer have seeped into the Christian’s view on prayer.

Often, if we look closely at how we treat prayer, we will see how the seeds that the culture planted have taken root and grown in our mind to produce a crop of unbiblical views on prayer.

As Christian women, we need to take a step back and really see what God says about prayer and find the Biblical view of prayer that we should have.

Let’s do some digging and see what God’s Word tells us as Christians about prayer.

Biblical Principle #1: Approach God Boldly.

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. –Hebrews 4:16

This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord,  in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.- Ephesians 3:11-12

As Christians, we are children of God. And as His children, He wants us to come talk to Him with confidence. We are covered by the blood and sacrifice of Jesus and because of that beautiful truth, we get to enter God’s heavenly throne room and talk with Him whenever we want!

What a powerful privilege! Think about how long it takes to get one single audience with the Queen of England or the President of the United States. Sometimes it can be months or even years of red tape to spend a few minutes in their presence. Yet, the Creator of the Universe delights to have us call Him Father. In addition, our Heavenly Father wants us to spend time with Him every single day.

Wow. Just writing that gives me excited chills!

Biblical Principle #2: The Prayer Of A Righteous Person Is Effective.

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.-James 5:16-18

“For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”-Matthew 17:20

Sometimes, it is easy to forget that the heroes of the Bible were just humans like us. Humans that had short comings and temptations and long, stressful days. Yet, prayer makes them stand out is their faithfulness to God during these times.

God used these faithful humans and their prayers to do mighty acts then and I truly believe He still does now. While our prayers may be different than those of the Old Testament prophets, we can rest assured that the same God who heard and answered those prayers will hear and answer our own.

Don’t underestimate the humble prayers of a faithful Christian woman! God could be waiting for just those prayers to move mountains.

Biblical Principle #3: Ask In Jesus Name

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.”-John 14:12-14

Imagine trying to become the CEO of a corporation but the only work experience you have on your resume is a week of flipping burgers at McDonalds. No hiring board would take your resume seriously.

Now imagine that the son of the current CEO of a corporation went to his father and the hiring board and said, “I believe we should hire this person. I know them personally and while their resume doesn’t show it, they would be perfect for this job.”

The weight of what the CEO’s son said would have the power to sway influence in ways that your pitiful resume never could.

Now, think of the fact that when you are requesting something of the Heavenly Father, as a Christian you have been given the endorsement of His very own Son! Let’s use the power of the name of Jesus Christ to pray powerful prayers.

Biblical Principle #4: Pray Selflessly

You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.-James 4:3

Just because we have the endorsement of the Son and the privilege of approaching the throne of God boldly, doesn’t mean we should abuse that right as a child of God.

In a world that abounds with “prosperity gospel” prayers, we must check our hearts motivation for the requests we are making. Perhaps we do need to pray for a reliable car to help us get to and from work at a price that will fit our budget. That doesn’t mean we get to demand of God the latest Mercedes Benz given to us for free!

When making our requests, let’s seek to do so from a place of selflessness and humility, not greedy selfishness.

Biblical Principle #5: Let The Holy Spirit Intercede

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.- Romans 8:26

Have you ever tried to pray and just not found the words to be said? Perhaps because you were too overwhelmed with grief or because you were too distracted by chaotic circumstances. For whatever reason, your words and thoughts were muddled and incoherent at best.

Even on your best days of praying, do you sometimes feel lost on how to really pray.

This promise from God in Romans 8:26, reminds us that in our weakness and inability, the Holy Spirit will come alongside us and intercede to our Heavenly Father for us with “groanings too deep for words.” So the next time, you just don’t know what to pray for or even how to pray, take comfort in knowing the Holy Spirit is beside you to help you present your humblest request to the Father.

Living Out The Biblical View On Prayer In An Anti-Prayer Culture

Okay, knowing some Biblical principles of prayer is great, but what is really tricky is figuring out how to live out the Truth found in God’s Word while living out our lives in the secular world.

Below are a few practical ideas you can implement. (This list is in no way exhaustive. If you have more ideas or suggestions, please share them in the comments below.)

Set aside specific times in your day to pray.

Pull a “Daniel” and pray faithfully at a set time each day. Or if you are like me and have kids who mess with your schedule daily, resolve to spend the first ten minutes of nap time praying. Find a time that works and keep praying!

Check your motives.

Why are you praying? Is it to check something off your “to-do” list or is it an actual conversation with the God who created the entire Universe? Has pride slipped into your heart? Are you praying with ulterior motives such as gossiping in a “kinder” manner? Are you praying just to please your parents or some friends rather than out of a desire to truly talk to God?

Really check your motives behind why you pray. Test your heart and then repent of any sins that God makes known to you about your prayer life.

Pray boldly and specifically.

In a world filled with platitudes such as, “You are in my thoughts and prayers” I challenge you to be different. If someone request prayers, stop right there and pray. Ask if you can pray with someone who shares a burden. And when you do pray with someone, do so with the courage and confidence that you are talking to a big God who can handle whatever you request.

For instance, if a friend finds out they have cancer, try to pray specifically for their situation. Ask God to help them face their next appointment with His peace, ask that God bring healing, pray that God will show Himself to them and their family in huge new ways. Anything is better than quickly mumbling that they will be in our prayers!

Just keep praying.

The Bible verse, “Pray without ceasing.” doesn’t mean we spend 24/7 on our knees. However, it does mean that we stay aware of our ability to approach the throne of God freely and often. As we move through our days, let’s keep an ongoing conversation with God.

Teach your children to pray.

As Christian mothers, we want to raise the next generation of prayer warriors too. Take the time to pray for your children and with your children.

If you would like more help in this area, I would recommend that you grab this free printable toolkit/prayer journal to help you pray together with your children.

 

Recommended Resources

The Armor of God

This past fall, the Bible study group that I am a part of walked through The Armor of God. It was amazing! Priscilla Shirer does a fantastic job of teaching Christian women how to equip themselves to become mighty prayer warriors. Throughout this study, she teaches women to take down the lies that the world has feed us about prayer. In addition, she builds you up with Christian truth and Biblical training on how a faithful Christian should infuse every part of their lives with prayer. Seriously, get this study! It will change your whole prayer life dramatically.

Wrestling Prayer

Back in high school, Wrestling Prayer grabbed my attention and forced me to see prayer in a whole new way. I’ll be honest, I am not a person who re-reads books but this book is one of my few exceptions. Every few years, I pull it back off the shelf and find new encouragement and truth to shore me up as a praying Christian woman.

Your Turn

• Have you seen Christian prayer come under attack in specific ways in your own life?
• Did any of the world’s view on prayer strike a cord with you?
• Are there some worldly ways of thinking about prayer that you need to weed out?
• What Biblical principle on prayer excites you the most?

Be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments!

Thanks for stopping by!

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