The PDF of a prayerful life!

We are in a world now challenged by innumerable issues from every phase of life. We are unable to see any light at the end of the present dark tunnel through which we all are moving. More than that, absence of physical churches and prayer fellowships have posed a great challenge to the prayerfulness in God’s children’s lives. This is a great threat to our faith life. We often tend to blame situations and people around for the same. But all this is never going to help us. The Word says that David was often left alone in miserable situations of life. Yet, he encouraged himself and thus refused to fail in spiritual life. Personal prayers is the foundation of any spiritual life. When this foundation is allowed to be hit hard, the structure built on it will soon tend to collapse. Its time to take heed to this foundation.

A prayerful life has three main aspects, which need to be taken heed of:

• Passionate Prayers
• Disciplined Prayers
• Fervent Prayers

1. Passionate Prayers: This expresses the love for the Lord. Prayers are not just presenting a list of our needs in front of the throne of grace. Instead, its also an expression of our love for the Lord. We pour out our heart and seek to hear His still small voice. We seek to feel His presence more and more. If this love factor is missing from our prayers, soon the prayers will be like muttering empty and vain words. Moses was a great intercessor. He was the mouthpiece of God for the Israelites. The moment any issue was faced by the people, they would complain to Moses and he would intercede faithfully for them. But this would have become weak if Moses did not have a deep love for God. In the midst of interceding for His people, Moses often expressed his passion for the Lord. 33:18, ‘And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory”. Such an heart’s desire which was met by the Lord Himself is a unique expression of love for each other. We ought to have more love for the Lord ; more than the love and concern for the issues we carry to Him. The passion for the Lord is the only thing that lubricates a prayerful life. Absence of this can cause much wear and tear. 

2. Disciplined Prayers : Dan.6:10, ‘’Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.’’ Daniel held an important position. He was preferred above presidents and princes. Yet, he never compromised when it came to prayers. He always set apart a time for prayers. Even when things went smooth in his life, he had a disciplined prayer life. This strengthened his faith so much so that even at the time of adversity, he did not stagger. He hoped in the Lord. A disciplined prayer life is a must to sustain and grow spiritually. Many things often come to hinder prayers. But we need to discern and move against the flow. Only a living fish can flow against the flow of the water in the stream. The dead fishes move along with the flow. Our personal prayer times are of so much worth that we cannot afford to go as per our mood and circumstance and make any compromise in it.
3. Fervent Prayers : 1 Kings 18: 42-44, ‘’So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees, ⁴³ and said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.”So he went up and looked, and said, “There is nothing.” And seven times he said, “Go again.”⁴⁴ Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, “There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea!” So he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ^[j]‘Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.’ Elijah chose to pray seven times i.e. he prayed till he saw the cloud in the sky. He refused to stop praying till he saw the cloud. Though the cloud he saw was small enough to be easily ignored by the world. But a prayerful person is able to take the smallest of signs as great announcements of great answers from God. Such a fervency in prayers alone can see God’s hands moving over our issues. Let us not give up so easily. Delays are not denials. He has His own ways to answer us. Fervent prayers can only overcome the weariness which the delays often bring in. Delays often bring in doubts as to ….whether our prayers are being heard and accepted by God…..whether God really loves us and cares for us……then why is He silent even after seeing the issues etc. But fervent prayers does not loose the faith in the love of God, even when delays and denials of our prayers are seen. ‘The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much’’ James 5:16. Fervency in prayers is an outcome of a righteous soul.

Its true that the birth pangs of the coming of our Lord is seen and heard loud and clear. And as the darkness of this world is increasing day by day, the light inside us also need to increase. This is possible only through growing in passionate, disciplined and fervent prayers.

 God bless us all

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