Praying More Robustly

I am making plans for our congreation’s upcoming Wednesday night fellowship dinners and bible lessons. Our children and youth will continue working through the various catechisms of the Church, and our adults will study prayer. To help me organize our lessons on prayer, I’ve enlisted the help of Prof Donald Whitney from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, MO. He wrote a small volume on prayer titled, Praying the Bible, to address a common “problem” in Christian prayers — “saying the same old things while praying for the same old things.” To him, praying like that makes prayer boring. 

He explained the predicament like this. 

“[D]ue to the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit, you believe in prayer and you really want to pray. But when you try to pray, it just feels like, well, like something’s wrong. Then perhaps you hear a sermon on prayer, or you hear a testimony about answered prayer, or you read a book on prayer, and for a while you go back to prayer, recommitted and rejuvenated, but basically still saying the same old things, just with a bit more spiritual ‘oomph’ behind it. Very soon, though, the new enthusiasm evaporates, and you find that saying the same old things about the same old things is as boring as before, only now you feel guiltier than ever because you had been so resolved that things would be different this time” (21).

Before I move on, I need to make two comments about that paragraph. First, it summarizes exactly how I have felt at times in my prayer life, and I’m not proud about it. Second, the paragraph’s description of prayer as boring and my identification with it makes me uncomfortable because it forces me to confront how I’ve felt about an essential spiritual discipline at times in my life. You may have experienced this problem yourself. 

What is the remedy? 

Whitney says we need to learn to pray the prayers of the Bible to counteract our boredom problem. Specifically, he points to the Psalms as a place to turn to help give expression to our hearts’ desires and our thoughts about God. He’s right. The Psalms were written as songs to be sung in worship — whether private or corporate — and as prayers to be prayed when we don’t know how to pray. We’ll study this more in depth during our Wednesday evening lessons. 

Another place to turn for help in prayer is the prayers of the saints who’ve gone before us. They are a treasure trove of wonderful prayers for us to consider. Here’s an example from the Book of Common Prayer. It is a prayer “For All Sorts and Conditions of Men,” which is one of those same old things about which we often pray the same old way. 

“O God, the creator and preserver of all mankind, we humbly beseech thee for all sorts and conditions of men; that thou wouldest be pleased to make thy ways known unto them, thy saving health unto all nations. More especially we pray for thy holy Church universal; that if it may be so guided and governed by thy good Spirit, that all who profess and call themselves Christians may be led into the way of truth, and hold the faith in unity of spirit, in the bond of peace, and in righteousness of life. Finally, we commend to thy fatherly goodness all those who are in any way afflicted or distressed, in mind, body, or estate; that it may please thee to comfort and relieve them according to their several necessities, giving them patience under their sufferings, and a happy issue out of all their afflictions. And this we beg for Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.” 

Isn’t that a beautiful prayer? It’s far from boring. 

Below are three links to good resources full of solid prayers to help you as you learn to pray more fervently. Check them out. 

The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions. 

Be Thou My Vision: A Liturgy for Daily Worship

The Book of Common Prayer (1662)

Have a great day! 

In Christ,
Clint