Examining our prayer lives

[Nathan_L]

Hi folks!

A question on prayer that I've asked myself before, but have never really felt completely satisfied with any answer I've came up with.

How are we to examine our own prayer lives in light of those who are considered great prayer warriors - I'm thinking of the likes of David Brainerd, John Welsh, Martin Luther etc - without cornering ourselves into a legalistic approach to prayer (i.e I absolutely must pray 4 hours a day everyday) but also not simply assuming a lackadaisical approach (i.e they were afforded a special grace for God's purposes to pray that way, that's not me so I don't have to worry about it)?

The mindsets I gave in parenthesis are obviously extremes at either end of the spectrum, and of course a balance must be struck, but what exactly does that balance generally look like?

 

[Ryan&Amber2013]

I'm not exactly sure, but I know there's going to be a difference between somebody that works full-time in ministry, and somebody that has to work in the world. Basically 5 days a week, I am busy with life's tasks from about 7:30 in the morning to 9:00 at night. So my formal devotion time is nowhere near somebody whose calling is devotion to the word and prayer. I would say most of my praying throughout the day is informal, where I am basically just conversing with God about various things.

 

[Deleted member 6112]

Hi folks!

A question on prayer that I've asked myself before, but have never really felt completely satisfied with any answer I've came up with.

How are we to examine those who were considered great prayer warriors - I'm thinking of the likes of David Brainerd, John Welsh, Martin Luther etc - without cornering ourselves into a legalistic approach to prayer (i.e I absolutely must pray 4 hours a day everyday) but also not simply assuming a lackadaisical approach (i.e they were afforded a special grace for God's purposes to pray that way, that's not me so I don't have to worry about it)?

The mindsets I gave in parenthesis are obviously extremes at either end of the spectrum, and of course a balance must be struck, but what exactly does that balance generally look like?

We should certainly aspire to imitate those who have gone before us, but recognize that their prayer lives were fueled by a hunger for communion with God and for the prosperity of the kingdom of Christ.

That is not to say that their prayers were all spontaneous. They intentionally consecrated time to prayer, but it was their spiritual hunger that drove them thus to prioritize prayer. It wasn't a slavish commitment to x number of hours per day.

Here is a recent related post: https://www.puritanboard.com/threads/prayer-life.113945/post-1365452

One more thought: if you have time to devote to social media and entertainment, you have time to devote to prayer. We're quick to excuse our prayerlessness, but in reality it's a question of priority. If you absolutely can't pray during the day, you can always give up an hour of sleep to stay up and pray.

 

[Aretha]

Lloyd-Jones encouraged believers to always respond to every impulse to pray, as these promptings are often the Holy Spirit's way of leading them into deeper communion with God. https://banneroftruth.org/us/resources/articles/2018/dr-lloyd-jones-on-praying-in-the-spirit/