Guys,
now that we are a few days into the "Prayer Challenge," I wanted to ask how is it going? Please share encouraging experiences you are having and any tips or advice you think might be of help to each other.
I want to make another general call to read Piper's sermon on Prayer. His theology of prayer is very biblical and thus very encouraging. He has some very good pratical points. One practical point that I took away was to break up my scheduled times of prayer throughout the day. In other words, 30 minutes of prayer each day can be broken into three ten minute sessions.
Blessings,
Steve
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One of the anxieties on my heart at the outset of the prayer challenge was a fear of being able to fill 30 minutes a day with meaningful prayer. Wouldn't I quickly run out of things to pray about or new ways to praise God's name?
I looked to Romans 8 for inspiration and encouragement in this area (which perhaps may have served to sustain the soul of a Christian or two over the past two-thousand years...). Verse 26 says, "the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered."
Yes, on my own my prayers probably would fall flat. But we have a Holy Spirit who is with us and for us when we pray. Though our prayers are incomplete and confused, the Spirit perfects our prayer through a means beyond what we can understand.
I can testify that the Spirit has in fact done this for me over these past few days. I have found it easier than expected to fill my 30 minutes, often realizing that this was not enough time to even pray everything that I could have. During prayer, my heart has been prompted to pray in ways that I hadn't anticipated, and I attribute this to the help of the Spirit.
Seeking to verify my interpretation of the quoted verse, I came across this sermon on Romans 8:26-27 by Spurgeon, which you may find to be a helpful exposition of the Holy Spirit's act of Intercession.
http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/1532.htm
Two things:
First, Chris, thank you for directing us to a powerful sermon by the "prince of preachers." I would second his recommendation to read Spurgeon's words on Romans 8:26-27.
Second, I want to remind everyone that the challenge to pray for "30 minutes" is a way to encourage each other to be more obedient to the biblical command to pray to our God and not an insistence on a certain amount of time as the goal. I hope each one of you has been encouraged by these conversations. Blessings,
Steve.
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