Pray On
I just finished reading a book about prayer by Tyler Staton, and this book has changed my look on prayer. Staton goes through the importance of prayer, the many forms of prayer, the way a consistent prayer life changes our circumstances and our outlook, and the way we approach God in our prayers.
One thing Staton says has struck me and I must share it with you. He says, “Scripture makes it clear that God collects two things—prayers and tears. This world in its current form is passing away, but our prayers and tears are eternal. God collects our prayers. In Revelation, we are offered a glimpse at the receiving end of our prayers: ‘The twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people.’ Do you realize what that means? It means every prayer you’ve ever whispered, from the simplest throwaway request to the most heartfelt cry, God has collected it like a grandmother who scrapbooks a toddler’s finger paints and scribbles. God has treasured up every prayer we’ve ever uttered, even the ones we’ve forgotten, and he’s still weaving their fulfillment, bending history in the direction of a great yes to you and me.”
Isn’t that fascinating? I knew that God hears my prayers and answers them with His perfect answer and timing, but it never occurred to me that He keeps my prayers like a treasure. In a way, this makes me want to pray even more to my Heavenly Father. I want my treasure box full of conversations with God.
As I began to dig a little deeper into God’s Word on the topic of prayer, I found many verses in the Bible that tell us if we ask we shall receive. I feel like those words can be tricky. What does that mean exactly? When I looked at all the verses together, they give me more understanding and insight than one verse alone. See for yourself.
“Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” Luke 11:9
“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” Mark 11:24
“And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” John 14:13-14
If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” John 15:7
If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” Matthew 21:22
“If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him? Matthew 7:11
We see a connection between our belief and receiving. We see that God’s answer to our prayers has a direct correlation with whether He will be glorified through it. And we also see that to receive, we must remain connected to Jesus and His Word.
Do you have situations you have been praying for a long time, but you feel they have not been answered? I would bet we all can name one prayer that has been an ongoing prayer for years. If these verses before us tell us that all we must do is ask and we will receive, why have those prayers not been answered? Sometimes I fall into a pit of doubting God when it comes to my prayer life. I feel like I pray the same thing repeatedly and I don’t hear an answer. Or sometimes I hear an answer, but it is not the answer that I want to hear. Staton says something else in his book that made me take pause. He tells a story of a co-worker who was having a hard time grieving the loss of a friend. She was struggling with doubt. He says, “Wrestling with God through persistent prayer is a confirmation of true belief, not distressing doubt.” I couldn’t believe what I read. I had always thought my doubt was a lack of faith or belief. Staton says that if we continually come to God with our questions or doubts, we are confirming our belief in God and His power. Instead of consistently going to God and questioning what is going on in our circumstances being a negative thing, it is actually a good thing because we are keeping the lines of communication open, and God is molding our hearts to a place of succumbing to His will through our questioning.
Through each of the above verses, we see qualities that we need to have in our prayers. We need to come before the Lord humbly, seeking no other agenda other than His. We need to have faith that the Lord hears our cries to Him and that He has our best interest at heart. We need to be persistent and not fall into laziness but continue to fervently pray. We need to remain faithful to God’s will in our lives and not lean only on our own desires. And lastly, we need to always remember that He loves us just as we love our own children. He wants good for us, but He knows what is best.
I can relate to each one of these verses in my prayer life and I can also see areas I need to improve. There are specific requests I have been making to God for years. I do not see how they have been answered but I do know that He is working. I can trust that He is setting the stage for His perfect timing. It makes me think of Matthew 7:11 that gives the analogy of God being the parent and we are His children. I tell my oldest child very often that I do not do things that are going to harm him, I am on his side, and I do things that are in his best interest. I love my children more than my own life, of course I want what is best for them. But, sometimes what is best for them is not what they are desiring. God sees the entire picture.
Matthew 7:7 says, “Keep on asking and you will receive; keep on seeking and you will find; keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you.” A persistent prayer life is key. Keep on praying. I want to end with one more quote from Staton. He talks about Jesus’ parable about the persistent widow in Luke 18 and paraphrases Jesus’ questions as, “Jesus asks us, ‘When the time for that full and final redemption comes, will I find men and women of faith? Will I find any who haven’t lost heart along the way? Any who have trusted me and my promise enough to keep praying in the face of waiting and disappointment? Will he find us hollowed and flattened by our spiritual disappointment, or awake and hopeful even as we confront the unjust state of a darkened world? Will he find in us the persistent prayer of the widow who cried out day and night?”
Digging Deeper:
Where in your prayer life do you need to be more consistent and persistent?
Where in your daily life can you add 5 minutes of prayer time?
How do you need to align your prayer life with God’s will?
Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools by Tyler Staton
Published by Zondervan Books in 2022
ISBN 978-0-310-36538-9