The Disciplines of
Christ - Part 5
The Art of Prayer
Intro: According to PewResearchCenter 55% of American claim they pray daily and
76% agreed that prayer was an important part of their daily life (http://pewrsr.ch/R44bux). Even in the age of no prayer in
school, those statistics really are not that shocking. Why, because people like
to pray or they like the idea of prayer. If you don’t think so, test it out for
yourself. Go ask some people you don’t know very well if you can talk to them
about religion. See what kind of response you get. Then go ask the same group
of people if you can pray for them. Which do you suppose they are more open to?
So if people like to pray so much, why does it need to be considered a
discipline? Well, let’s remember, a spiritual discipline is done for the
purpose of becoming more Godly. In other words, we can pray incorrectly. Jesus
knew this, that’s why he said, “when you pray” don’t pray like the hypocrites.
Or “And when you pray, don’t babble on and on like the pagans” (Mt.6:7).
Crying out to God in desperate prayer when we
are in trouble or need comes pretty natural, but praying for the purpose of
becoming more holy, more like Christ – that takes discipline!
Let’s
dive into why…
The Discipline
– Prayer for the purpose of Godliness.
The
Art of the Prayer
I
hesitate to call prayer an art, but for the sake of consistency in our study
thank you for indulging me. However, if you read some of the prayers of the
Bible, they sound very poetic. Even the “Lord’s Prayer” is written
poetically, “Our Father who art in
Heaven, hollowed be thy name...” Much of the Biblical prayers are written
this way because it makes it easy to remember them. So what if you stammer and
stutter like Elmore Fudd when you pray? Do you have to know just the right
words and articulate them in a certain way to really pray? Fortunately, when
Jesus taught on Prayer he never made eloquence a prerequisite.
Now some recommend
going by certain patterns when learning to pray. For example the A.C.T.S.
prayer pattern (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication). There
is nothing wrong with following patterns like these if they help you keep a
consistent and focused prayer life.
However, for the
purpose of D90X and developing prayer as a discipline, you are challenged to
establish the P.R.A.Y. foundation for your prayer life.
1)
Persistency – (Luke 18:1-8; Mt 7:7-8) Persistency is
required in prayer because of its many benefits: it builds our faith, it
teaches us patience, and so much more. Most of all it develops our perseverance
which is much needed for all the spiritual disciplines.
2)
Relationship – (Mt. 6:9) Remember you’re talking your
heavenly Father (daddy) so carry on a conversation with him in prayer like you
would in any real relationship you have.
3)
Authenticity – of mind and heart (Psalm 139:23
– Search me, God, and know my heart: test
me and know my anxious thoughts.) If you’re not going to have honest
conversation with God about your innermost feelings and thoughts, your prayers
will be weak and ineffective.
4)
Y (why)
– asking God questions. (Exodus 5:22, “ …Moses
said,…Lord, is this why you have sent me.”) – Moses met with God on many
occasions and had many questions for him. If we’re going to have an authentic
relationship with God through prayer that builds our faith then what we read in
His Word and what we experience in our life will create questions that we have
for God. It’s in pursuit of the answers to these questions that we discover God
and what he can do in our lives…and like Moses, discover the purpose we are called
for in this life.
The Story - Jesus is the garden (Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:40-44)
Questions to consider:
What elements of P.R.A.Y. do you see in
Jesus’ prayer? Why does Jesus tell his disciples to pray? What do you learn
about prayer from Jesus in this passage {hint vs.36}?
Helpful Commentary:
It
must have felt strange to enter the garden for the last time. Perhaps he felt
like we do when we take one last walk through our empty house before we move.
Memories cascade and tears flow. It is as if our history and future get
compressed in the vice of one pregnant moment. Hope and fear, dreams and doubts
collide…
…Here
the suffering begins that will culminate on another hill, not so far away.
These twin peaks of Gethsemane and Golgotha will punctuate the passion. Eight
of his men Jesus leaves at the gate. Three he takes with him to the interior.
There they sit, his closest friends, with this simple command: Pray. They fail
– three times they fail and fall into temptation. So Jesus, a short distance
away, was left alone. This is a trial he will have to face in isolation. He
falls on his face and wrestles with God. “Father, if it is possible, let this
cup pass from me.” …He pleaded for the cup wrath to pass. He begged for an
alternative path. Three times he prayed, three times the heavens echoed back
with thunderous silence: NO, NO, NO.
…Ultimately
God’s will prevailed. For Jesus there is no other path. His final choice was
made. He cast his lot with the likes of us, to become sin and die in our place.
His tears and travail hearken back to another wilderness experience when he
first chose this course. Like then, Luke says, the angels arrived to comfort
the man of sorrows. He is not nearly as alone as he appears. His weakness
becomes resilience. His trudging in the Gethsemane became a victory march on
the Via Dolorosa.
Meanwhile,
the disciples are asleep. Imagine that! Jesus wrestles, their salvation teeters
in the balance, while they drool on the rock with their eyes rolled back in
their heads. Had they only known how critical this moment was, had they seen
Jesus’ tears, his blood, the angels, perhaps then they would have remained
awake. Maybe that’s the crucial problem – perspective. Had they known what we
know, surly they would have had the stoic resilience to forfeit sweet sleep.
Ah, but there you have it. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. Are
they really so different from us? Here we stand on the principles of Jesus’
second coming, drooling rocks. The church is in her greatest days, obvious to
the Master’s impending return. If we could only see our future as clearly as
Peter’s past, perhaps we could stay on task. The hour of prayer is not nearly
as long when juxtapose (put side by side) to eternity. Mark
Moore, Encounters with Christ, p. 177-178
Further Reading: Psalms 2
The Application Questions:
1)
So, are the disciples
that different then us? Do they make you feel better or worse about your prayer
life? How do you relate to the disciples failure to pray and why?
2)
Jesus situation is
dire; however, this isn’t his first rodeo. How does Jesus prayer in the dessert
(Mt. 4:1-11), prepare him for prayer in the garden and eventually his journey
to the cross?
3)
GROUP
DISCUSSION: Discuss your challenges to P.R.A.Y. (to pray Persistently,
Relationally, Authentically, and the “Y” (asking questions). Discuss Jesus’
humanity in his prayer in the garden. What makes it real? What do you say to
the fact, that the answer to Jesus’ prayer in the garden was no? What actual
good did they prayer do for him since the answer was no? Do you find it hard to
accept “No’s” from God?
Strengthening your discipline of Prayer:
Praying through today’s discipline: Obviously, before
you log off, spend some time in prayer. Think about the P.R.A.Y. mindset as way
to consistently approach prayer. Ask your questions, let God search your heart
and mind, let him begin to prepare you for change in your life and challenges
ahead. If you have never seen your prayer life as a way to develop your
relationship with God and other Christ followers, then my prayer is that you
start that prayer journey today.
Blessings,
Jason