Thoughts on Prayer, Part 2

        Clearly I have given in to the doldrums of summer.  I'd planned to quickly follow up that last post ("A few thoughts on Prayer, Part 1") with some wonderful suggestions for prayer from John Piper.  But then here we are...several weeks later.  Where, oh where, has the summer gone?? 
        If ever there's proof that I need a schedule to coral my laziness and tendency to waste time, well, here it is.  Sigh.  I do love summer with it's exploding beauty, languid timeline, and simple joys like--

(Oh yes--when God created the Dairy Queen butterscotch dip ice cream cone, He surely said, "It is mighty good!")
         But there comes a time when you've gotta take yourself by the scruff of the neck and say, "Okay. Enough! Time to get back on track!"  That time is now. 
         So even while dreaming of that ridiculously delicious ice cream cone, I wanted to share John Piper's suggestions for how to pray for the soul (yours as well as those you love)--

"1. The first thing my soul needs is an inclination to God and His Word. Without that, nothing else will happen of any value in my life. I must want to know God and read his Word and draw near to Him. Where does that "want to" come from? It comes from God. So Psalm 119:36 teaches us to pray, "Incline my heart to Your testimonies and not to gain."

2. Next I need to have the eyes of my heart opened, so that when my inclination leads me to the Word I see what is really there and not just my own ideas. Who opens the eyes of the heart? God does. So Psalm 119:18 teaches us to pray, "Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law."

3. Then I need for my heart to be enlightened with these "wonders." I need to perceive glory in them and not just interesting facts. Who enlightens the heart? God does. So Ephesians 1:18 teaches us to pray "That the eyes of your heart may be enlightened."

4. Then I am concerned that my heart is fragmented and that parts of it might remain in the dark while other parts are enlightened. So I long for my heart to be united for God. Where does that wholeness and unity come from? From God. So Psalm 86:11 teaches us to pray, "O Lord, I will walk in Your truth; unite my heart to fear Your name."

5. What I really want from all this engagement with the Word of God and the work of His Spirit in answer to my prayers is that my heart will be satisfied with God and not with the world. Where does that satisfaction come from? It comes from God. So Psalm 90:14 teaches us to pray, “Satisfy us in the morning with Thy steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.”

6.But I don’t want my happiness to be fragile or weak, but to be strong and durable in the face of the worst adversities. I want to be strong in joy, and persevering during the dark seasons. Where does that strength and durability come from? It comes from God. So Ephesians 3:16 teaches us to pray, ‘[That] God would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man.’

7. I do not want my strength in Christ to simply be fruitful for me, but for others. Clearly, ‘it is more blessed to give than to receive’ (Acts 20:35). So I want to produce good deeds and works of love for others, so that the glory of God will be seen in my life, and others will taste and see that the Lord is good. Who produces these good deeds? God does. So Colossians 1:10 teaches us to pray, "That [we] will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord . . . bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”

8. Finally, lest the ultimate aim of it all be missed, I pray day after day—as a kind of banner flying over all my prayers—‘Hallowed be Thy name’ (Mt. 6:9).  Lord, cause Your name to be known and feared and loved and cherished and admired and praised and trusted because of my life and my ministry.

All this I pray "in Jesus' name," because God gives these things to my soul only because Jesus died for me and removed the wrath of God so that the Father might "freely give me all things" (Romans 8:32).

Lord, teach us to pray, from beginning to end, in a biblical way with a biblical view of how You act in the world. Show us Yourself and how You work so that we might pray as we ought. And teach us to pray as we ought so that we might see how You work.”

        Good stuff! May Piper's words (which are all just based on God's perfect Word) encourage and reinvigorate our prayer lives.  (Because I, for one, know that I need all the help I can get!)
         Thank You, Father, for summer, for forgiveness, for fresh starts, for the gift of prayer, and for the unfathomable joy of knowing that You--the Almighty God of heaven and earth--still delight to hear from us and speak to us.  Amazing, amazing grace.  Teach us to pray, Father.  Help us to pray.  Or perhaps we begin by simply and humbly admitting and asking--please give us a will and a desire to pray.   We love You, Abba. 
          To God be the glory.