I may write some posts on how not to deal with those who are suffering. This could be the first of a few or just by itself. I must warn you that this is a rant.

When praying for those who are suffering, or anyone for that matter, there are often things they ask for prayer for, but there are also other things we may pray for that are the ‘hidden things’ that we pray but don’t necessarily mention. These things are ideally things that God has given you insight into or that you’ve just noticed about them. You pray for them but don’t necessarily tell them that you are, especially if they are weaknesses they may have, or you just want to let the Holy Spirit work and see what happens.

Then there are things where someone says, “I’m praying for you for your difficulty and also that you will…” This is no longer prayer. It’s a suggestion. You’re telling the person what you think they should be doing, or what would make you feel good so you’re “suggesting” that they do it also because of course it would make them feel better too. These usually aren’t spiritual things, so they may or may not be God’s will. And now you won’t know if the person does these things because you suggested them or because God is strengthening them to be able to do them, if they even want to.

As an example, you may say, “I’m praying that you’ll get out and get more sun (because vitamin D will heal you), that you’ll see your friend more and that you’ll play that sport you used to play.” Well, maybe they’re taking medication that makes them extremely sensitive to the sun (which is actually the case with me), maybe that friend isn’t a friend anymore or isn’t good for them to be in contact with. You may think they should be more social, but sometimes God wants a period of time where He just wants us for Himself. Who knows. They may not have the energy to play that sport anymore or they may not be able to play it well enough for it to be enjoyable any longer.

Often when people are suffering, people feel they have the right to tell them what they think they should be doing. All the while this person is probably doing other activities they enjoy that require less energy or that they’re better able to handle and they may be actually growing a lot more spiritually because of their suffering than the person giving them the “advice”. I don’t know if there is a name for this phenomenon, but it happens all the time. Ask anyone who suffers chronically.

If I may make a suggestion: pray for things they’ve asked for prayer for. If you receive insight from God or from your own senses, use it privately and carefully, not to judge but to lovingly intercede for them. (There is a great quote by Oswald Chambers on this that I can’t find.) Pray for things that are definitely God’s will. You will find them in the Bible. And realize that they aren’t you and you aren’t them and conventional “wisdom” isn’t always the way to go. They don’t enjoy suffering and are doing more than you think to get out of it or to cope. And at some point when your turn comes up, you may actually be asking them for advice on how to grow spiritually or cope with suffering.

The two things people need the most are listening and prayer.

I hope that wasn’t too curmudgeony and I hope it helps someone see things from a different perspective. And those who are suffering need to “make allowance for each others’ faults and forgive anyone who offends them. Remember, the Lord forgave you so you must forgive others.” (Colossians 3:13) We need to use this as an opportunity to grow all the more.

How to Pray for the Soul
By John Piper

I like this article and took out a Scriptural synopsis for myself. I thought I might as well post it here.

Psalm 119:36 teaches us to pray, “Incline my heart to Your testimonies and not to gain.”

Psalm 119:18 teaches us to pray, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law.”

Ephesians 1:18 teaches us to pray “That the eyes of your heart may be enlightened.”

Psalm 86:11 teaches us to pray, “O Lord, I will walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name.”

Psalm 90:14 teaches us to pray, “O satisfy us in the morning with Your lovingkindness, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.”

Ephesians 3:16 teaches us to pray, “That God would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man.”

Colossians 1:10 teaches us to pray, “That [we] will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord… bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”

All this I pray “in Jesus’ name,” because God gives these things to my soul only because Jesus died for me and removed the wrath of God so that the Father might “freely give me all things” (Romans 8:32).

IOUS

• Inclination to his Word and not to money or fame or power (Psalm 119:36)
• Open our eyes to see wonderful things when we read his Word (Psalm 119:18)
• United [heart{s}] in the fear of God rather than fragmented over a dozen concerns (Psalm 86:11)
• Satisfied in his steadfast love (Psalm 90:14)

I was thinking about this story in one of the gospels:

Luke 11:5-9 HCSB
He also said to them: “Suppose one of you has a friend and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6 because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I don’t have anything to offer him.’ 7 Then he will answer from inside and say, ‘Don’t bother me! The door is already locked, and my children and I have gone to bed. I can’t get up to give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he won’t get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence, he will get up and give him as much as he needs. 9 “So I say to you, keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep searching, and you will find. Keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you.

Is God someone who is unwilling to rise and answer us? I believe this passage is only speaking to how we should pray, not God’s character.

After the nation of Israel was crushed and people thought they could rely on themselves or other nations instead of God:

Isaiah 30:18
Therefore the LORD is waiting to show you mercy, and is rising up to show you compassion, for the LORD is a just God. Happy are all who wait patiently for Him.

God, enable me to die to all my personal opinions, preferences, tastes and self-will. Teach me by your Spirit to die to the world and my need for approval and die to the fear of its censure, but rather, to fear only You, seeking my approval from you alone. Deliver me from my biased and self-centeredness and focus my heart and mind as I come before you in prayer.

Lord, I am willing
To receive what you give;
To lack what you withhold;
To relinquish what you take;
To suffer what you inflict;
To be what you require.

Prayer List, by John Hendryx

This is a great page if you need ideas for prayer or would like to see a good framework for more formal daily prayer.

Ephesians 3:17-19 REB
With deep roots and firm foundations may you, in company with all God’s people, be strong to grasp what is the breadth and length and height and depth of Christ’s love, and to know it, though it is beyond knowledge. So may you be filled with the very fullness of God.

Now to him who is able through the power which is at work among us to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or conceive, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus from generation to generation for evermore! Amen.

If I fail to spend two hours in prayer each morning, the devil gets the victory through the day. I have so much business I cannot get on without spending three hours daily in prayer.

–Martin Luther

The fewer the words, the better the prayer.

–Martin Luther

To see the context of these quotes, you can read this page along with other great prayer helps by Martin Luther:
LUTHER’S PRACTICAL PROGRAMME TO REVIVE YOUR PRAYER LIFE

God is a personal God who responds. That is one of the great lessons of the psalms; it is one of the grand assumptions of the prayers of Paul.

…

“The degree of our peace of mind is tied to our prayer life (Philippians 4:6-7). This is not because prayer is psychologically soothing, but because we address a prayer-answering God, a personal God, a responding God, a sovereign God whom we can trust with the outcomes of life’s conclusions. And we learn, with time, that if God in this or that instance does not choose to take away the suffering, or utterly remove the evil, he does send grace and power. The result is praise; and that, of course, is itself enjoyable, in exactly the same way that lovers enjoy giving each other compliments.

–D.A. Carson, How Long O Lord?

Psalm 73:26 HCSB
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart, my portion forever.

Psalm 119:28
I am weary from grief; strengthen me through Your word.

2 Corinthians 12:7-9
so that I would not exalt myself, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messsenger of Satan to torment me so I would not exalt myself. 8 Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three times to take it away from me. 9 But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me.

Here is a great article:
Praying Beyond the Sick List by David Powlison

In the three strands of prayer mentioned a ways down, I seem to overemphasize #2. I find that in group prayer by and large #1 tends to take over.

HT: Between Two Worlds

Also see:
A Sample Prayer Plan

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Rejoice always!
Pray constantly.
Give thanks in everything,
for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

I was reviewing this verse the other day and I think it’s so popular that I overlook it. These are commands and the first one sets the tone. This is God’s will which is good, that causes us joy, whatever its form in whatever circumstances we’re in, if we remember to pray and thank God in the midst of everything.

I pray that we can do these things continually this week, especially when those who enjoy spring and live in a climate that has it see its signs.

Taken yesterday. This is about the reddest red that God made and the spikes are purple. Be sure to click for a larger one.

The Prayer of the Lord by R.C. Sproul

This is a Reformation Trust review. They send you a PDF file of the book, you review it on your blog and they then send you the book.

I use The Lord’s Prayer every Friday as a template for my praying. So I wanted to take the opportunity to review a book on it.

Like The Truth of the Cross, this is a relatively short book on a subject that has a wide interest. The reading level of this book would be ‘popular’ or a little deeper than introductory. At 130 pages it’s not imposing at all. Whenever there is a term that might need explaining, he does so concisely and in a well understood manner. As long as the read is familiar with the Bible and has read the Lord’s prayer, this book will be very accessible.

Sproul uses anecdotes sparingly but wisely, always dealing directly with what he’s teaching as opposed to trying to entertain or tell funny stories to try to keep the reader’s interest.

The first chapter is How Not To Pray. Of course in learning how not to pray one also learns in very general terms how to pray. This is a helpful first chapter that introduces the account of the disciples asking Jesus how to pray.

The main body of the book of course deals with each section of the prayer. These are expository (explaining what it means) as opposed to looking at it from the audience’s culture, point of view, politics, Jesus’ Jewishness etc. That would be for another book.

In the chapter on Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread, he writes of providence and provision as if they are synonymous. This was rather confusing to me because I thought that providence is God ordering of things and provision is God providing for us. I realize there is some overlap and in God’s providence he provides for us but more of a distinction may have been helpful so that readers wouldn’t confuse the terms.

Unlike many other writings and sermons on this prayer, Sproul spends a whole chapter on Yours Is the Kingdom which is the last part of the prayer that some Greek manuscripts include and some don’t.

Chapter 10 is Questions and Answers which deals “other issues surrounding the practice of prayer and the Lord’s Prayer specifically.” This chapter is a helpful bonus.

And yet another bonus is If God Is Sovereign, Why Pray? Anyone who wrestles with this idea will be enlightened and encouraged by reading it.

I felt this endorsement was the closest to how I feel abut the book:

I love listening to R. C. Sproul teach, and this book sounds just
like him—penetrating truths strikingly illustrated. His good
quotations and pastoral wisdom make him as easy to read as he
is delightful to listen to (and the short chapters help!). Sproul
clearly explains the Scriptures with sentences that are simple and
accurate. He knows enough to say important things concisely
and clearly—truths about the kingdom, the fatherhood of God,
history, and, of course, prayer. There’s even a helpful question-and-answer section at the end. This little book now takes its
place with the classics on prayer.

–Dr. Mark Dever
Senior pastor
Capitol Hill Baptist Church

For those who have read books on prayer that cover the Lord’s prayer well, books on the Sermon on the Mount or commentaries on Matthew, this book may be somewhat of a review as far as the chapters that deal directly with the prayer. If you recited this during church but never deeply pondered what it really means or are unfamiliar with this portion of Scripture, this is an excellent book for you.

Read a sample chapter.

See excerpts on Facebook.

Hardcover: 130 pages
Publisher: Reformation Trust Publishing (May 31, 2009)

Buy it at:

• Ligonier Ministries
• Amazon

On Sep. 16 I asked for prayer for Louis who blogs at Baker Book House.

He has received very bad news. Information can be found at his blog and at in Christ Jesus.

I think it’s about church discipline, as does Adam Clarke (old) and R.C. Sproul.

so a number of persons united together in warm, earnest, cordial prayer, is highly pleasing in the sight and ears of the Lord. Now this conjoint prayer refers, in all probability, to the binding and loosing in the preceding verse; and thus we see what power faithful prayer has with God!

–Adam Clarke on Matthew 18:19

Some think it’s an idea that breaks off the context into a wider scope like Matthew Henry (old) and Bryan Chapell for example. What do you think? If you think it’s about general prayer, how is it relevant? If you don’t, are there other passages that would convey this idea? I think James 5:16 would be the closest I can think of.

In any case I don’t think there are necessarily “strength in numbers” aside from the other benefits of group prayer like being encouraged, learning of new ideas of how to pray for the person you’re praying for, getting to know other people by how they pray, etc.

Matthew 18:15-20 HCSB
“If your brother sins against you, go and rebuke him in private. If he listens to you, you have won your brother.
16 But if he won’t listen, take one or two more with you, so that by the testimony of two or three witnesses every fact may be established.
17 If he pays no attention to them, tell the church. But if he doesn’t pay attention even to the church, let him be like an unbeliever and a tax collector to you.
18 I assure you: Whatever you bind on earth is already bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth is already loosed in heaven.
19 Again, I assure you: If two of you on earth agree about any matter that you pray for, it will be done for you by My Father in heaven.
20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there among them.”

I hate to even mention it because fasting should be done in secret. But I’d like some feedback from people so I hope I don’t get struck by lightning or anything.

I will have a day by myself in September and would like to fast for a day. However, the main thing I will be fasting from, if that’s the right way to put it, is electronics.

A food fast could have consequences for days afterwords for me for various health reasons. Also, I’m not that into food. Eating is more of a chore for me. I’d be happy just eating one or two meals a day. I eat six small ones partly for health reasons. So lack of food isn’t that big of a deal but I’m considering a food fast of some sort.

Lack of internet, computer, TV however is a different story. So I would like to do without these things for a day. Yikes.

I basically want a day concentrating on God by various obvious means. I’m not looking for direction, a revelation from God, an experience etc. I want to let God enjoy having someone pay more attention to Him for a day and enjoy me enjoying Him.

Since I’m not experienced with fasting I’m asking for any suggestions you have. Are there certain portions of the Bible that you benefit from when fasting? Anything you do to take a break from the concentrated reading and praying? Or anything else.

I’ve been posting a lot of quotes from A Call to Spiritual Reformation, Priorities from Paul and His Prayers by D.A. Carson. I’d like to post some things a little more substantive. I thought it would be good to list all of Paul’s prayers as Carson has them in the book. I couldn’t easily find a list on the web so I thought I would do it here at the risk of reinventing the wheel.

What he would like us to keep in mind is we need “to find out exactly what it is he asks God for on their [the people he prays for] behalf, and compare the results with what we normally ask for.”

Quite a few years ago I memorized some of Paul’s prayers like Eph 1:17-19, Eph 3:16-21, etc. That alone reshaped how I pray. As time went on and I payed attention to what Paul prays for, my own prayers became more and more spiritual and less temporal, not that we shouldn’t spend time petitioning for things related to the latter. When I found out about this book I wanted to look into Paul’s prayers further.

Carson used the NIV and I know he endorses the TNIV so that’s what I’ll use here. Some of them are short enough to mouse-over and see the whole thing. For longer ones you can click on “More” in the lower left corner of the tooltip-like popup or look them up however you’d like if you’re interested. Below that is the list without TNIV in the way if you’d like it (which should show up as NLT as of now):

This exercise is extremely beneficial. If you haven’t already I would highly recommend memorizing some of these prayers.

Rom 1:8-10 TNIV
Rom 10:1 TNIV
Rom 12:12 TNIV
Rom 15:5-6 TNIV
Rom 15:13 TNIV
Rom 15:30-33 TNIV
1 Cor 1:4-9 TNIV
1 Cor 16:23 TNIV
2 Cor 1:3-7 TNIV
2 Cor 2:14-16 TNIV
2 Cor 9:12-15 TNIV
2 Cor 12:7-9a TNIV
2 Cor 13:7-9 TNIV
Gal 6:18 TNIV
Eph 1:3ff TNIV
Eph 1:15-23 TNIV
Eph 3:14-21 TNIV
Eph 6:19-20 TNIV
Phil 1:3-6 TNIV
Phil 1:9-11 TNIV
Phil 4:6-7 TNIV
Phil 4:23 TNIV
Col 1:3-14 TNIV
Col 4:2-4 TNIV
1 Thess 1:2-3 TNIV
1 Thess 2:13-16 TNIV
1 Thess 3:9-13 TNIV
1 Thess 5:23-24 TNIV
1 Thess 5:28 TNIV
2 Thess 1:3ff TNIV
2 Thess 1:11-12 TNIV
2 Thess 2:16-17 TNIV
2 Thess 3:2-5 TNIV
2 Thess 3:16 TNIV
1 Tim 1:12 TNIV
1 Tim 2:1ff TNIV
2 Tim 1:3-7 TNIV
2 Tim 1:16-18 TNIV
2 Tim 4:22 TNIV
Titus 3:15b TNIV
Philemon 1:4-7 TNIV
Philemon 1:25 TNIV

Rom 1:8-10
Rom 10:1
Rom 12:12
Rom 15:5-6
Rom 15:13
Rom 15:30-33
1 Cor 1:4-9
1 Cor 16:23
2 Cor 1:3-7
2 Cor 2:14-16
2 Cor 9:12-15
2 Cor 12:7-9a
2 Cor 13:7-9
Gal 6:18
Eph 1:3ff
Eph 1:15-23
Eph 3:14-21
Eph 6:19-20
Phil 1:3-6
Phil 1:9-11
Phil 4:6-7
Phil 4:23
Col 1:3-14
Col 4:2-4
1 Thess 1:2-3
1 Thess 2:13-16
1 Thess 3:9-13
1 Thess 5:23-24
1 Thess 5:28
2 Thess 1:3ff
2 Thess 1:11-12
2 Thess 2:16-17
2 Thess 3:2-5
2 Thess 3:16
1 Tim 1:12
1 Tim 2:1ff
2 Tim 1:3-7
2 Tim 1:16-18
2 Tim 4:22
Titus 3:15b
Philemon 1:4-7
Philemon 1:25

When Jesus asked that the cup (of wrath) be taken from Him, God answered no (Mark 14:35-36). When Paul asked for the thorn to be taken from his side, God answered no (2 Cor. 12:7-9).

But there are more in the life of Paul that I wasn’t aware of or had forgotten.

Romans 15:31 NIV
Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there,

Acts 28:17 NIV
Three days later he called together the leaders of the Jews. When they had assembled, Paul said to them: “My brothers, although I have done nothing against our people or against the customs of our ancestors, I was arrested in Jerusalem and handed over to the Romans.

Paul also desired to go to Spain. As far as we know, he never got there.

Did they not have enough faith? Were they not “tithing”? Was there sin in their life? Were they not using the right formula? These are more often than not ridiculous questions to ask.

According to D.A. Carson in A Call to Spiritual Reformation, Priorities from Paul and His Prayers:

Suppose, for argument’s sake, that every time we asked God for anything and ended our prayers with some appropriate formula, such as ‘in Jesus’ name,’ we immediately received what we asked for. …

[T]his is not true religion. This is magic, not worship; it is another power trip, not hearty submission to the lordship of Christ. It is superstition, not a personal relation with the Father God who is wise, good, and patient.

I know I’ve been quoting from him a lot lately. And I have a few more coming.

According to Bryan Chapell in Praying Backwards:

1. Yes
2. No
3. Not Yet
4. Immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine (Eph. 3:20 NIV)

This goes along with a previous quote by D.A. Carson.

We quickly learn that God is more interested in our holiness than in our comfort. he more greatly delights in the integrity and purity of his church than in the material well-being of its members. He shows himself more clearly to men and women who enjoy him and obey him than to men and women whose horizons revolve around good jobs, nice houses, and reasonable health. He is far more committed to building a corporate ‘temple’ in which his Spirit dwells than he is in preserving our reputations. He is more vitally disposed to display his grace than to flatter our intelligence. He is more concerned for justice than for our ease. He is more deeply committed to stretching our faith than our popularity. He prefers that his people live in disciplined gratitude and holy joy rather than in pushy self-reliance and glitzy happiness. He wants us to pursue daily death, not self-fulfillment, for the latter leads to death, while the former leads to life.

–D.A. Carson, A Call to Spiritual Reformation, Priorities from Paul and His Prayers

In a discussion on 1 Corinthians the topic of gifts was being explored. Most people felt that prayer isn’t a sprirtual gift. But most people don’t pray much and have difficulty praying. There are a few who have no difficulty and pray a lot for others. Would you consider this to be in one of the categories of spiritual gifts or just something that some people have any easier time with, like Bible reading?

I’ve read about and heard from so many people who seem to have a hard time having a ‘quiet time’ (I prefer devotional time) every morning.

Even though morning is a common time for prayer (Psalm 5:3), maybe this isn’t the best way to go about it for those who have difficulty. Some might not be morning people. Some may have to get up very early and deal with little munchkins running amok. Some may have a really hard time concentrating.

For those who have a difficult time with it, there is no rule that you must have a 30 minute quiet time in the morning. For some people, feeling a need to “get right with God” by having a quiet time may be bordering on legalism.

If morning isn’t a good time, maybe it would be good to pray some Scripture before even getting out of bed.

Then it might be good to do Bible reading during lunch if possible.

A more concentrated time of prayer could be done after work.

Bible study could be done certain nights during the week and on the weekends.

Some of these things may not be feasible but you get the idea.

I have an hourly chime on my watch and also on my computer for memorizing Scripture. I briefly go over whatever I’m working on at the time. (This method works better for me than repeating something ten times, once a day.) If I start to get so used to the sound on the computer that I don’t hear it, I change it. This also keeps Scripture going through my head much of the day.

Then it’s good to pray right before bed. It doesn’t need to be a lot. I like the idea of praying three times a day.

If you need some inspiration on Bible reading you can find some quotes here.

Obviously this isn’t for everyone but I wanted to post some thoughts based on experience.

Do you have unconventional ways of exercising spiritual disciplines?

Here are some things I’ve collected on prayer and I thought I would list them here. Prayer is one of my top four subjects of interest so I’m always looking for good reading.

• Seven Principles of Prayer D. Broughton Knox at the BRIEFING
  HT: Between Two Worlds
• Prayer List by John Hendryx
• Prayers at Suffering Christians
• Results matching “Lord’s prayer” from Ligonier Ministries Blog (scroll down a ways for the posts on The Pattern of Prayer and then back up for The Practice of Prayer)
• Effective Prayer by Charles Spurgeon
• I’ve listed some books at the bottom of this review.
• Don’t forget the Puritan Prayers that are here.