How often do you pray? How rich is your prayer life? Are you like me and often find yourself praying the same general prayer daily?
Deep, rich prayer has long been a struggle for me, even with intentional efforts to slow down and expand my prayers beyond surface level. Sure, I pray through the list and pray for our church, leaders, partners, our country, my family, but it more often than not becomes routine instead of a genuine conversation with my Heavenly Father, even when striving hard to do so.
I don’t think this is due to a lack of faith or doubt. I have witnessed God answer countless prayers. I think it is usually more due to busyness, routine, pride, self-reliance, and I have noticed my conversations with people sometimes have the same surface-level tendencies. We talk about the same things and answer the same questions each time.
It is a bit silly (scary?) how easily pride and self-reliance slip back into my life.
Gratefully, God is gracious to gently remind me that I don’t, in fact, “got this on my own.”
As I have continued through the Precepts Bible Study on Romans 12, it recommended the always helpful idea of praying Scripture back to God. Specifically, Romans 12:9-21:
9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.2 Never be wise in your own sight. 17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it3 to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (ESV).
As I consider and pray through this list, I realize how terrifyingly short I fall. Self-reliant? On what? Myself? The irony is that I'm only self-reliant at focusing on myself - that's the limit of my self-reliance. Maybe, it’s helpful if you ask yourself these same questions along with me?
Do I:
Genuinely love others?
Truly abhor what is evil and hold fast to what is good?
Love one another with brotherly affection?
Outdo one another in showing honor?
Avoid slothfulness and serve the Lord fervently?
Rejoice in hope, exercise patience in tribulation?
Pray constantly?
Contribute to the needs of others and show hospitality?
Then, the list gets tougher! Do I:
Bless those who persecute me and not curse them?
Live in harmony with one another?
Avoid haughtiness and associate with the lowly?
Live humbly and avoid being wise in my own sight?
Don’t react and repay evil for evil but do the honorable thing for all to see?
Live peaceably with everyone?
Never want retribution but fully rely on God for vengeance?
Feed and provide drinks to my enemy?
Resist temptation and evil and overcome it with good?
There are very few times when I long to go back to my school days, but I wouldn’t mind getting graded on a curve for these. I score tragically low on this list.
Here was the eye-opening truth to me this morning. I cannot score higher. At least, not on my own. I am an ordinary guy, not a Super Saint. And, that is the point. I am a broken and sinful person.
The list is self-defeating. I cannot try harder, be a ‘better’ or ‘good’ person and satisfy the list and that’s the point.
If I could focus all my effort and achieve some of these things, I would fail anyway. Why? Because succeeding by my own effort would make me wise in my own sight. I'd become prideful, glory in myself, pray less, and fail at other items on the list.
Thank God he doesn’t require me to do this of my own efforts and ability. There is literally no possible way for me to achieve a perfect score. But, God sent Jesus to take my horrifically low score on this, and the rest of my sinful life, and through his death, burial, resurrection, ascension, defeating Satan, sin and death, he gives me His perfect score!
Then, as Paul started in Romans 12, through the transformation of my mind (12:2), through dependence on God, prayer, the power of the Holy Spirit, I can humbly live this reality for the glory of God.
Thad Cardine has a great section in this post (he also has a helpful framework on how to execute scripture focused prayer - PDF download):
This lesson in the Precepts study ends with, “This will be an assignment blessed of God if you will take the time to do it. Devote yourself to prayer.”