The How, Where, When, and Why of Prayer

The How, Where, When, and Why of Prayer Psalm 95

Are you sometimes puzzled by what might be appropriate in prayer? What is the correct position of prayer. Where should I be when I pray? What is the right time to pray? If some prayers don't get answered the way we like, why even pray?

1O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.

2Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.

3For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.

4In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also.

5The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land.

6O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.

7For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice,

8Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:

9When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work.

10Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways:

11Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.

I. The How of Prayer

If I am going to gain anything from the reading of Psalm 95, I need to recognize how the psalmist is coming before God.

1. He is desiring that we sing with joy to the LORD.

2. He is desiring that we shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.

3. He wants us to come before Him with thanksgiving.

4. He wants us to extol Him with music and song.

5. He wants us to worship and bow down.

6. He wants us to kneel before the LORD.

It bothers me that when you see believers in Jesus watching or playing sports, they will let themselves go with excitement and enthusiasm when they make a good of bad move or if their favorite teams or players make good of bad moves. Put the same people in the pews on Sunday or mid-week service and you can hardly hear them. God desires that we would be excited to be near Him when we approach Him in prayer.

It might be physically difficult or impossible for some of us to kneel in prayer. Kneeling is only a metaphor of what should take place in our hearts. People can pray in a variety of positions, but whether kneeling, sitting, standing or lying down, we need to remember to remain humble before the LORD.

Here's a quick thought to ponder: If the Word of God tells us to sing, shout, be thankful, to extol Him with music, might that be considered by Him an act of humility?

II. The Where of Prayer

1. Before the LORD

This passage only mentions one place where prayer is to take place. There are many other particular places that prayer can and should occur. The list of those places is endless because it is wherever you are. Sitting in church, beside your bed, in your bed, at the store, at work, at play, in the hospital, or out in the natural setting. Wherever you are, understand that you are always before the LORD.

III.The When of Prayer

When you are:

1. Happy

2. Sad

3. Angry

4. Joyful

5. Grateful

6. Knowledgeable

7. Confused

Whenever you feel the tug on your heart to communicate with God you should do it. Hopefully that tug to communicate with Him will become more and more frequent until you and I are doing it on a continual basis.

If we are continually communicating with God, it will be easier to stay close to Him and refrain from sin.

Cassian: “We pray best when we are no longer aware of praying.”

VI. Why of Prayer

1. Because of salvation

2. Because He is great

3. Because all things are in His hands

4. because He is our Maker

5. Because He cares for us

6. Because He has prepared a place for us to rest from our labors.

7. Because we need to hear from God

I have constantly been reminded that God gave me two ears and only one mouth as a reminder that I should listen twice as much as I speak. It is true when talking to God too!

The why list can also be endless. There are many reasons that come to mind.

In the book I have just finished reading, Philip Yancey's, 'Prayer, Does it Make Any Difference?', he has a very short section in the last chapter that is headed 'Inappropriate Prayers.' I will conclude with this that he doesn't really list any. He recalls the people who have muzzled themselves from voicing, what seemed to them, as selfish prayer. Then he brings up a group of folks who started coming to God out of personal need and ended up praying passionately for others.

When you pray God will either change the circumstances or you and your way of thinking; I feel often it is the later one that happens for me.

Pray with feeling.

Pray where you are.

Pray continually

Pray because God loves you and wants to talk to you so listen twice as much as you talk.

More About Prayer

More About Prayer

I have been reading Philip Yancey's book, “Prayer, Does It Really Make a Difference.” These are some of the points that he brings up that I have been pondering this week along with my own reflections.

First he refers to David Mains comment on making sure prayers are on target.

1. What do I really want? Am I being specific in articulating my hearts desire to the Lord? God required Solomon to be to tell what he desired of the Lord, he wisely chose wisdom to govern the people of God.

2. Can God grant the request? Is it possible that what I am asking for is actually against the nature of God? There are times that we pray for the absolute destruction and death of our enemies. We forget that God does not want anyone to perish, but that all would come to repentance.

3. Have I done my part? Am I praying to lose weight without dieting or exercising. James declares, “If you know how to do good and do not do it, that is sin to you.

4. How is my relationship with God? Are we on speaking terms? If I regard sin in my heart the Lord will not hear me.

5. Who will get the credit if my request is granted? Do I have God's interests in mind? We need to develop view of life from God's perspective with the understanding that it might never become fully developed until we are absent from the body and present with the Lord.

6. Do I really want my prayer answered? What would actually happen if I received what I am praying for? Think if this is really as good for me as I am thinking, or are there other lessons in life I need to learn before this prayer is fully answered? The Israelites demanded to have a king to rule over them like the other nations around them. Eventually God granted them a king in the person of Saul the son of Kish, but it was to their hurt.

Garth Brooks sings a song about the prayers he made regarding winning the favor of a high school sweetheart. He later figures out that it was not such a good idea as he sings this line in the song:

Just because he doesn't answer doesn't mean He doesn't care.

Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.

Yancey brings up the prayer of John Ballie:

Teach me, O God, so to use the circumstances of my life today that they may bring forth in me the fruits of holiness rather than the fruits of sin.

Let me use disappointment as material for patience.

Let me use success as material for thankfulness.

Let me use trouble as material for perseverance.

Let me use dancer as material for courage.

Let me use reproach as material for suffering.

Let me use praise as material for humility.

Let me use pleasure as material for temperance.

Let me use pain as material for endurance.

In the book he also cites Dr. Harold Koeing, Psychiatrist at Duke University's 'Center for the Study of Religion/Spirituality and Health', by bringing up these chapter headings in his book “The Healing Power of Faith.”

Religious People Have Stronger Marriages and Families.

Religious People Have Healthier Lifestyles.

Religious People Cope Well with Stress.

Religion Offers Protection from Depression and Helps Those Who are Affected to Recover Quickly.

Religious People Live Longer, Healthier Lives.

Religion May Protect People from Serious Cardiovascular Disease.

Religious People May Have Stronger Immune Systems.

Religious People Use Fewer Expensive Hospital Services.

Dr Paul Brandt, who has been a friend and co writer with Philip Yancey reminds us that the word 'psychosomatic' comes from the combination of two Latin words psyche, meaning mind or soul and soma, meaning body. He states that he is never offended when his colleagues refer to some of what we call miracles as being psychosomatic, because it still does not demean the fact that the person was healed or that the pain went away. These are evidences that cannot be argued against.

We must always understand that we are looking through the glass dimly as the Apostle Paul put it. We might think we are at the point of full understanding in a particular area of our life, but as Thomas Merton said: We do not want to be beginners (at prayer).

But let us be convinced of the fact

that we will never be anything but

beginners, all our life!

These are ten lessons that Yancey suggests he has learned in prayer; I might say , I concur:

1. Hearts Desire: I have learned to tell God exactly what I want regardless of how impossible it might sound.

2. Lament: I have learned to complain; to tell God how I feel.

3. Confession: I have learned to confess my sin.

4. Be Peaceful: I have learned to rest in God.

5. Presence of God: I have learned to understand and experience the presence of God.

6. Compassion: I have learned that I can and must do something about my concerns.

7. Gratitude: I have learned to be grateful.

8. Faith: I have learned to have faith; both childlike and tenacious, even if I don't get what I want, I know that I have whatever I need.

9. Grace: I have learned what grace really means, a deep assuring peace in the midst of my trials.

10. Preparations: I have learned to prepare for eternity with the One I Love.

In closing F.B. Meyer says this about prayer regarding the possibility that it might or might not be answered the way or in the time frame that we have in mind:

The greatest tragedy in life

is not unanswered prayer,

but unoffered prayer.

What is on your heart? Please come and talk to God about it today.

Pointers About Prayer

Pointer About Prayer Matthew 6:5-15

As I come in contact with a number of people who come from a number of backgrounds and faiths, I have found that most of them pray. They might not pray like I do and they probably won't pray for the same results that I pray for, but they pray.

Some approach God as if He were a provider of gifts to meet their wildest dreams.

Some approach God as if they were extremely cautious, treading on ground that is forbidden to be walked upon.

Some lift their prayer to someone they really do not know, while others display a surety and confidence that they indeed have a personal relationship with God Almighty.

5"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

9"This, then, is how you should pray:
" 'Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
11Give us today our daily bread.
12Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.^[a]' 14For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

There are a variety of styles of prayer that are used throughout the Bible. The prayers also exhibit a variety of emotions that range from knowledgeable to confused, from frustrated and angry to elated and happy, some were searching for the presence of God. Some people were requesting anything from physical healing to deliverance from their enemies.

The posture that was assumed by these masters of prayer had just as much variety as the prayers themselves: some kneeled, some fell prostrate on the ground or floor, some sat, some put their head between their knees, and some stood, with their arms raised to the heavens.

Some of the great people of prayer sang while they prayed, some were silent, some read pre-written prayers, some insisted that it was needful to pray without a script.

I have personally used most of these methods. I didn't do it so that I could find a better way, I just did it because it seemed the right thing to do at the time.

In Philip Yancey's “Prayer, Does it Make Any Difference?” I ran across Some basic principles for prayer.

Principles For Prayer:

1. Keep it honest.

2. Keep it simple.

3. Keep it up.