Greetings in the Name of All Names!
JESUS, TAKE THE WHEEL… I love that we can talk to God throughout the day. No appointment is necessary. There’s nothing too trivial or too intimidating for Him. When in a moment of crisis, we can cry out to God. “Jesus, take the wheel.” (We should maybe write a country song?) He listens, and He always responds. While I’m grateful for this open-ended conversation with Him, we will need a consistent and persistent prayer life for us to be trained by God for God. With it comes power, poise, peace, and purpose.
KING DAVID… The Psalmist, King David, said, “My voice, O Lord, will you hear in the morning, in the morning while I direct my prayer unto You and then wait, expectantly.” (Psalms 5:3) Amidst his crazy schedule of being the King of Israel, David knew that he needed to be alone with God to talk. Why? Because his strength wasn’t going to come from his armies; his strength wasn’t going to come from his family, and his strength wasn’t going to come from his giftedness. His ultimate substance, wisdom, and strength was going to come from the Lord.
I want to share with you 3 Tips to Help Build A Prayer Culture in your life.
1. It starts with a VISION.
You have to see yourself as a man or woman of prayer. I’ve met too many Christians who assume that I’m talking about somebody else or to someone with a different temperament, but I’m talking to you. You are a prayer warrior in the making.
Begin with the “who” before the “what.” See who you are in Christ. I believe that God will help you remove the blinders and revise how you see yourself.
2. You will need a dedicated TIME for prayer.
Notice what King David said, “My voice will you hear, O Lord, in the morning, in the morning….” He chose to meet with God at a specific time of the day. In the Western world, we prioritize our schedules, but we need to schedule our priorities for our soul exercises.
The key is attaching your new discipline to an existing habit. I make coffee for myself every morning, so it has become a kingpin habit for me. Much like I did with my reading scripture some years back, I attached my time of prayer with waking up and making myself a cup of joe. I don’t drink coffee in the morning without associating it with my prayer time now. You can do this.
3. You will want to have a PLACE to pray.
It can be beside your bed or at your kitchen table, or in a spare bedroom. In Mark’s Gospel, we read that Jesus got up very early in the morning and went to a solitary place to pray (Mark 1:35). You need a place free of distractions where you can practice articulating your heart to God without being self-conscious.
A place that is suited for talking out loud and being quiet to listen for God’s voice. I love how David gave us a visual on this: “…in the morning while I direct my prayer unto You and then wait, expectantly.” Imagine David after pouring out his heart, pausing to look up with great anticipation for God’s response.
Based on your life stage and any number of circumstances, this may not be easy. It may mean getting up extra early before the kids wake up. It may mean turning your living room into a prayer room after everyone else goes to bed. Just know this… any place can become a prayer room. You are not so much where God is as God is where you are. He will meet you anywhere at any time!
You need to have a VISION, a TIME, and a PLACE. Next week, I want to talk about the substance of your vision. Like physical exercise, training for godliness doesn’t happen overnight. Let’s keep at this and embrace the prophet Micah’s mindset: “Do not gloat over me, my enemies! For though I fall, I will rise again. Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light.” (Micah 7:8 NLT)
Don’t give up. We’re training for godliness, and you are not alone!!!
Rick Lorimer
Lead Pastor
Christ Place Church
“Our prayers lay the track down on which God’s power can come. Like a mighty locomotive, his power is irresistible, but it cannot reach us without rails.” – Watchman Nee
“The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, and prayer-less religion. He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.” – Samuel Chadwick
“Prayer is the highest use to which speech can be put.” – P. T. Forsyth (1848-1921)
