Prayer is an area I fall very short in, becoming easily distracted or falling into “vain repetitions,” which often leads to discouragement or feeling like a failure. Sometimes I become overwhelmed by all the prayer requests I ought to pray that I either skip through them briefly or skip them altogether. I want to know what it means to allow the Spirit to direct my words, thoughts and hearts and thus, effectively “praying in the Spirit.” I’ve recently been reading a book by Dr. Bill Thrasher titled A Journey to Victorious Praying, and I’ve been very encouraged by his practical insight on how to experience a biblically modeled prayer life. My hope (and prayer) is to take the wisdom he shares in the book and learn how to effectively apply it to truly experience “victorious praying.”
One of the most eye-opening chapters discussed the inseparable link between Scripture mediation and prayer. Quoting Thrasher, “In meditation we see the vital link between the discipline of Scriptures and the discipline of prayer. Without prayer, the study of Scripture can turn into a merely intellectual exercise. Prayer without meditation will lack the needed motivation and guidance.” That couldn’t better describe my personal prayer and Scripture life. Sure, I go through the motions of diligently reading my Bible and praying every morning, but how I often treat them as separate Spiritual disciplines, boxing them off as two separate categories. This sparked a thought in my mind: if I want to improve my prayer life, I have to improve the way I study Scripture. Not merely reading it and gleaning one or two nuggets of truth from it but truly searching a section carefully and thoroughly to truly try to grasp the depth of its meaning for the purpose of prayerfully applying it to my daily life. When I think back to my school year at Jackson Hole Bible College, we often had to practice this type of deep studying when writing papers for various classes. I have never gleaned so much from Scripture as I did that year. But now that I no longer have deadlines to compete with or grades to manage, I’ve lost the motivation to dig deep and have settled into a spiritual apathy, otherwise known as laziness. So, with that in mind, I have decided to embark on a journey to study—truly study—the passages on prayer and apply them in my personal life. It will probably be a slow process since I have no pressing deadlines from professors, but I hope by God’s grace to apply the same vigor and care to this personal endeavor as I would when a GPA depended upon it. The riches to be dug will be well worth it I know.
Speaking of God’s grace, that was one of my first “aha” moments since deciding to start this project. Continuing in Thrasher’s book, he explained the importance of praying for growth in God’s grace. It dawned on me in a new way that it is impossible to do the will of God without the grace of God. And since “praying without ceasing” is a large part of the will of God, it is impossible to accurately pray without imploring His grace. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:10, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I but the grace of God with me.” And what is more, it’s impossible to receive the grace of God without a spirit of humility. James 4:6 says, “But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, ‘God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.’” So, if I’m having trouble praying or studying Scripture, it’s very likely that I have some hidden, unconfessed pride in my life, blinding me to the reality of my true spiritual status and hindering my growth. I couldn’t believe how I had missed this before. And it is so clear in Scripture—every apostle begins and sometimes even ends his letter with an admonition to grow in grace. It’s not just the fashionable greeting of the apostles. It’s a fundamental truth and principle to Christian growth, specifically in the area of spiritual disciplines. How pitiful of me to daily strive to live for Christ in my own strength when I am utterly dependent on His grace and His grace alone!
So, with these tools now in my hand—meditation and grace—I’m looking forward to diving into this study, and I hope it can be an encouragement for you as well!
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