Prayer
I'm having a bit of a discussion with Andrew Bale about prayerlessness among God's people on his blog and have expressed some random thoughts about it. It was getting to be a long comment so hear are some more.
There has been a lot of talk around about people with the gift of intercessorary prayer. Some people seem to have a capacity to pray harder and longer than others. Is that because that is a particular minsitry that they have or is it just that they have practiced more. Is it a gift or a responsibility for everyone? If it is a gift, then does that get us into the same mess we got into with evangelism, i.e we see reaching the lost as the job of only specicalist people?
I think most Christians would agree that personal prayer is important even if they don't do it but there are lots of people who don't see the reason for coming together to pray. I have often heard people say I don't need to go to a prayer meeting I can pray at home. Those of us who have experienced the power of waiting on God in prayer together know that if you stay at home you miss out. We must give testimony to its worth and its blessing.
I'd love to know some answers to all this
God bless
Carol
I'm having a bit of a discussion with Andrew Bale about prayerlessness among God's people on his blog and have expressed some random thoughts about it. It was getting to be a long comment so hear are some more.
There has been a lot of talk around about people with the gift of intercessorary prayer. Some people seem to have a capacity to pray harder and longer than others. Is that because that is a particular minsitry that they have or is it just that they have practiced more. Is it a gift or a responsibility for everyone? If it is a gift, then does that get us into the same mess we got into with evangelism, i.e we see reaching the lost as the job of only specicalist people?
I think most Christians would agree that personal prayer is important even if they don't do it but there are lots of people who don't see the reason for coming together to pray. I have often heard people say I don't need to go to a prayer meeting I can pray at home. Those of us who have experienced the power of waiting on God in prayer together know that if you stay at home you miss out. We must give testimony to its worth and its blessing.
I'd love to know some answers to all this
God bless
Carol
posted by Rehoboth at
10:22 AM
10 Comments:
I guess there are some who are more 'wired up' for prayer. As to there being a spiritual gift of prayer, I'm not entirely convinced yet. I know that there are some loose scriptures quoted, but I'm not sure that prayer was to be left to the specialists.
As Danielle Strickland said in one of her seminars, we don't teach our people to pray. I've 'learned' to pray...Jesus disciples asked him to teach them how to pray.
I don't think there is a heart to pray in many of our people. We've used the 'I'm not gifted' to cover up for it.
Just a random observation!
By
Captain Andrew Clark, at 1:40 PM
Carol
I think there are people who appear to be 'better' at prayer than others. But appearances can be deceptive and I think Jesus encouraged us to be unsophisticated and even secretive about our prayers.
I agree with your points that there are lots of (sometimes complex) reasons why people don't turn up early for prayer (even when there is free tea and coffee).
In my own experience I've certainly had times when the desire to pray was much stronger than at others.
I've added some Roots related prayer thoughts at my place.
By
Heather's place, at 3:30 PM
Andrew
There is definitely a spiritual gift of intercession, but we should not allow the lack of this gift to stop us from praying!
Prayer is one of the absolute essentials of our faith. It's our most important way of communicating with our Lord.
As for Jesus teaching his disciples to pray, I remember many years ago reading "Learning the Joy of Prayer" by Larry Lea which taught us to follow the prayer Jesus taught!
By
Graeme Smith, at 2:18 AM
Graeme,
I'd love you to share that idea from Scripture.
I'm not saying intercession isn't in the bible...I'm just not sure its a gift of the Spirit.
Andrew
By
Captain Andrew Clark, at 3:56 PM
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
By
Patverums Childrens Day Centre, at 9:47 AM
Andrew
Ok I had a look myself and can't find it as a specific spiritual gift.
However, the various Spiritual Gift programmes (Network, Wagner-Houts, 3 Colours etc) all include it within their lists. Obviously though this does not carry anywhere as near the weight a biblical referenece would though!
Graeme
PS: Sorry about the last comment I did it on someone else's computer!
By
Graeme Smith, at 9:49 AM
All
Prayer cannot be discussed as a facet of Chriostianity. It is essential, it is as the hymnwriter says our 'vital breath'. Without prayer we die!
Prayer is not an option picked from a buffet of Christian delicacies it is manna from heaven served in this wilderness we call 2006!
We need to pray, we need to teach prayer, we need to fast, we need to repent. All too often prayer is an add on, a pre-formed sermonette tagged onto the end of a bible festival or even worse given the same lowly place in a proper meeting.
Yetserday I attended a Salvation meeting, the serom was OK, the prais was OK, the testimonies wer good, the talent on show was exceptional - but the prayer was poor.
Indeed the meeting finishe with no appeal and no prayer meeting. Is it any wonder we are dying?
Revival will come when we rediscover prayer and only then - not ten minutes or half an hour but all nights of prayer, prayer meetings at the end of every meeting that last longer than ht meetings themselves.
It is prayer we need and more of it.
God teach us how to pray!
Yours irrepressibly under Christ and over the devil!
Andrew
By
Andrew Bale, at 12:35 PM
Sorry for all the typos in that last post - the most glaring one being 'bible festival' (I wish!) which should have been 'band festival'.
Love and prayers
Andrew
By
Andrew Bale, at 1:46 PM
Over at my place I've added some thoughts on greame and andrew's conversation about prayer being a gift. (Bit long to post here.)
By
Heather's place, at 1:46 PM
I think a lot of people are lacking in having had sensitive teaching on prayer. They think 'Oh no, I go off into a daydream, I can't concentrate,it's too difficult' and they get discouraged. Thorough, gentle, encouraging teaching on prayer really equips people with lots of different ways of praying, and gives them the reassurance to handle distractions without beating themselves up. Often they just don't realise how much fun there is in a nourished relationship with God!
By
Eleanor Burne-Jones, at 10:51 PM
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