Prayer Thoughts

I really wish I could say that I find it easy to pray and that I am some kind of prayer giant. Like I said, I wish I could say that. I do not always find prayer an easy thing to do. I am not certain I fully understand all the reasons why prayer is not always easy for me. One of the reasons I think I struggle is simply that I do not all that prayer means or all that prayer does in my life. To help me address that, I greatly appreciate it when I hear or read the insights of other people on prayer. Below is a quote from a new book by Russell Moore of Southern Seminary.


Russell Moore:

One of the first ways you can tell that you are moving beyond temptation into a pattern of sin is if you find yourself in a time of prayerlessness.

That isn’t just a “spiritual maturity issue”—it’s a gospel issue.

You are recreated through the gospel with a nature that longs for communion with God. The Spirit within you cries out, “Abba! Father!” (Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6). Prayer is exactly how you experience the sympathy of your high priest who has triumphed over your temptation. After all, you are not the only one praying when you pray. The Spirit himself prays through you, and as he does so, he works to align your will and desires with those of Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:26–27).

If you are reluctant to pray, it just might be that you, like Adam and Israel before you, are hiding in the vegetation, ashamed to hear the rustling of the leaves that signals he is here.

—Tempted and Tried: Temptation and the Triumph of Christ, p. 171.


These words struck me for a couple of reasons. First, part of my struggle in prayer might be a indicator to me that I am moving from temptation to a pattern of sin. When I neglect to prayer, instead of recognizing that when I turned from sin to God and trusted or put my faith in the Lord Jesus that I was reconciled to God and now can live in connection or communion with God, I live as if none of that matters. And yet, I still know that I need the mercy and help of my high priest. And because of who my high priest is, the Lord Jesus, I can receive that help as I turn to Him. As Dr. Moore pointed out in the quote above, it is through prayer that we can experience that sympathy and help to exit the temptation expressway to sin and get on God's freeway to triumph in Jesus.

A second thought was when I pray, Dr. Moore also reminds us of the truth of Romans 8:26-27. The Holy Spirit also intercedes for us. When I pray, I have the incredible joy of participating withe Holy Spirit in a time of intimate communication with the Father. Romans 8 goes on, in verse 34 to be exact to say the Lord Jesus is also interceding for us. When we pray, we are joining in the conversation of the Trinity. When I am hesitant to pray, I am like Adam, hiding in the bushes, missing out on the relationship I was created to have, missing out on the relationships the Lord Jesus died and rose again to reconcile and the relationship the Holy Spirit is transforming me to enjoy. I do not want to live in the bushes. I want to live in relationship. Praying helps me make that change.