Stuff That Has Worked for Me

Yesterday I pointed out that I was going to launch a big prayer offensive this week. It’s nothing radical. I’m setting time aside every afternoon for concentrated prayer. I fasted yesterday, but I don’t plan to repeat that unless an angel appears between me and the TV and knocks the doughnut box off my belly.

I am already seeing results. I wish I could go into details about the problems besetting my family, but I think that’s a bad idea. I can say general things, though. I am suddenly seeing more peace and compassion and cooperation.

I don’t think modern Christians understand prayer very well. I am trying to learn how to do it right. I can tell you some things that have been helpful so far. I think they’re probably sound, but I am no expert.

First, the more time you spend praying in the Spirit, the better off you will be. We are supposed to have the fruit and gifts of the Spirit, and if I read the Bible correctly, prayer in tongues acts like a weight routine. It somehow magnifies the power of the Spirit within you, the way watering a plant every day makes the plant bigger. I believe the first psalm refers to this metaphorically. Lots of Old Testament stuff which had a literal or a primary symbolic meaning to the ancient Jews has a secondary and different symbolic meaning to Spirit-filled Christians.

My morning prayer routine was getting to be a little bit of a drag, but recently, I got an idea that helped a great deal. I absolutely hate jumping out of bed when the alarm goes off, even if I feel good and have things to look forward to. And once I’m up, I can’t manage more than 15 minutes of praying in the Spirit. But if I start as soon as the alarm goes off, without getting up, I can go 30 minutes, easy. And during that time, my body comes to grips with the fact that I have to get up. I also feel strengthened and energized (better than coffee). Then later, during my regular morning devotion, I can omit this part, making things easier.

This isn’t costing me anything, because I used to spend this time trying to convince myself to get up.

Second, when you have a problem you can’t shake, it’s a great idea to set aside time and seclude yourself and hit it with prayer until you feel a breakthrough. And this is what you’re supposed to do when you fast. Don’t sit around watching TV, thinking God will help you just because you’re hungry and miserable. When I fast, prayer is the last thing I want to do, and I think that’s because something that fears fasting is trying to get me to ruin the experience by failing to pray enough.

Third, don’t make yourself crazy declaring a long fast in advance. Instead, fast until you get your breakthrough, and then quit. I think I’m going to start taking this approach instead of going 36 hours or 60 hours or 84 hours, which is what happens when you skip entire days at the table. Dinner to breakfast is roughly half a day, and then breakfast to breakfast is a day, and that adds up to a day and a half. That’s a long time, and it only makes sense if the misery is accomplishing something. If you get where you need to be by 2 p.m., why suffer until the next morning?

Fourth, use a prayer list. Praying without a list is like doing a different workout every day. It’s a very bad idea. You should keep hitting the same targets over and over until you get somewhere. Jesus said, essentially, to keep pestering God until we got what we needed. He said we shouldn’t get into “vain repetitions,” but judging from the rest of the New Testament, he was not referring to praying repeatedly about the same thing. He probably meant we should not babble rote prayers as though they were magic spells, without connecting to God in the process.

Fifth, try to have time when you just talk to God, without asking for stuff. Just relax and socialize with him in a respectful way. This seems to be very helpful. You will find yourself concentrating more on him and less on needs. Prayer shouldn’t always be a chore.

Fred Stone says that when we are told to “pray without ceasing,” it means to talk to God throughout the day. That sounds believable to me. The more I do this, the less I have to worry about finding that I have been far from God’s addictive and satisfying presence for too long a time.

Sixth, spend time praising and thanking God. Praise is a strange requirement, and it may seem forced at first, but eventually, you will find you have an urge to do it.

I can’t swear I’m right about all this, but it’s working, so I don’t think I’m far wrong.