Discipline of Prayer

This was indeed a thick chapter, as author Barbara Hughes well understands how much we as Christians often struggle with prayer. Instead of trying to summarize and give my own thoughts, I'm just going to quote what I found to be some of the author's most convicting statements.

...prayer bends our wills to God's will, which is what submitting our lives is all about. I never fully understood this until I heard an explanation by E. Stanley Jones, a missionary and man of prayer: "If I throw out a boathook from the boat and catch hold of the shore and pull, do I pull the shore to me, or do I pull myself to the shore? Prayer is not pulling God to my will, but the aligning of my will to the will of God." (pg.41)

Meditation is LISTENING (emphasis mine) to the Word... and MUTTERING God's Word back to Him in prayer. (pg.42)

If you've put off admitting your sins to God, confession may need to come first in your devotional time. (pg. 43)

Reverence--which is often missing--must characterize our time with God. And along with reverence we need concentration. (pg.44-45)

Our devotion results in a conscious yielding of every part of our personality, every ambition, every relationship, and every hope to Him. Submission to God's will is the true heart of worship. (pg. 46)

Two supernatural things happen when we pray in the Spirit. First, the Holy Spirit tells us what we ought to pray for, and He does this through the Scriptures. As He shows us what needs prayer, He gives us the absolute conviction that certain things are in God's will. (pg. 47)

Continual prayer is God's will for every Christian--no exceptions. We must always be looking up, even when driving to work or cleaning the house. (pg. 48)

(Matthew 7:7) Jesus' words actually read: "Keep on asking, and it shall be given to you; keep on seeking, and you will find; keep on knocking, and it shall be opened to you"...God answers persistent prayer. (pg. 49)

Petitionary prayers for others bring grace to their lives. Few people know, for instance, that the stupendous achievement of William Carey in India was fueled by his bedridden sister who prayed for him for over fifty years. (pg. 50)

Don't kill your prayer life with some legalistic commitment to pray for a lengthy, set amount of time. Often the best prayers are short and passionate. (pg. 51)

This discipline is a call to work! Prayer is work, not a sport. It is not something that you do if you like it or only if you're good at it. (pg. 52)*

*Hughes, Barbara. Disciplines of a Godly Woman