By Rob Skinner, May 15, 2024
4 In return for my friendship they accuse me,
but I am a man of prayer. Psalm 109:4
How do you want to be known? Can you say of yourself, “I am a man of prayer?” For many men, this is the hardest challenge of all and yet it’s absolutely necessary if we want to multiply the gifts that God has given us.
Prayer Is Necessary For Revival.
They all joined together constantly in prayer, Acts 1:14
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Acts 2:42
Consistent and intentional prayer powered the explosive growth of the early church. The same will be true today. Jesus said that “apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5). In the wake of the pandemic, there is nothing more important than men of prayer both individually and even more importantly together with other men of prayer. In order for our church to thrive, we have to devote ourselves to prayer like never before. That’s why we are devoting 30 minutes every midweek to crying out to God for revival.
Heartfelt Prayer is Needed
3 They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.” 4 When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. Nehemiah 1:3-4
Nehemiah was broken when he considered the situation his people were in. He himself enjoyed comfort and privilege. However, his heart went out to his own people and the shame and disgrace they were facing.
His first response was not forming a plan or trying out a new technique, it was letting his emotions feel. He let the hurt in. He thought about the situation. He first went to prayer and only later did he come up with a plan to save his people. Just as Jesus displayed forty days in the desert praying and fasting, prayer precedes all our plans and efforts.
Patient and Persevering Prayer is Needed
10 Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. Daniel 6:10
Daniel’s enemies had made it against the law to pray to anyone but King Darius. Daniel ignored the law and maintained his devotion to God in prayer. What was the result? He was thrown into a den of lions-and then rescued!
“…When Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.” Daniel 6:23b
Daniel had a prayer habit. He forced himself to pray three times a day. He persevered when he was busy, tired and overwhelmed. He never quit praying and God delivered him. This is the prayer of a multiplying disciple of Jesus.
So often, we don’t pray because we get anxious, run out of things to say, feel awkward or our minds run wild. We aren’t in shape spiritually and so our prayer lives are brief, sporadic and shallow. Blaise Pascal was right when he wrote, “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”
There is no shortcut to being a man of prayer without discipling yourself to sit, kneel or stand in the presence of God consistently. Here are some things that help me:
- Dedicate time each day for prayer
- Set a timer
- Get a kneeling bench
- Keep in mind Satan doesn’t want you to pray
- Don’t give in to anxiety and worry, let it be. Don’t give in to impulses (coffee, phone, checking on things etc.)
- Take some deep breaths
- Think about Jesus
- Remember that the “Great I Am” is with you (Matthew 28:20)
- Don’t beat yourself up if you aren’t “good” at prayer
- Ask for what you want, not for what you should want
- Develop prayer to the point it becomes enjoyable
- Keep a journal of things to pray for
- Pray for other people, especially your own family
- Ask God for revival for the church
Just like no one starts out massive the first time in the gym, no one is powerful in prayer initially. It takes time, effort, patience and perseverance. Over time you will become a “man of prayer.” Men and women of prayer are what’s needed in this day and age we live in. There is nothing more powerful than prayer that moves God, the most powerful being in the universe. Prayer is the most highly leveraged activity you can do every day.
When we lived in Tokyo, I went through a period of barrenness. I wanted to save more souls, but nothing was happening. One night at midweek I announced that I was starting a prayer group once a week before work to pray that God would help us to save souls. About six other disciples joined and we met for an hour every week. In the next six months that group of six people helped 13 people become Christians and two married couples got baptized on the same day.
A multiplying disciple or a “multiplying” disciple is a praying disciple. Devote yourself to growing in your prayer life. In time you will see the fruit of a powerful life of prayer.