June's Spiritual Discipline is the Inward Discipline of Prayer. In The Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth, Richard Foster labels prayer as the most central discipline. Solitude and Silence enable us to listen to God, which is part of prayer. Worship allows us to praise God, which is also part of prayer. Guidance involves seeking God's voice when we come to crossroads and decisions, which is tied to prayer. Meditation, Confession, and Celebration are aspects of prayer. So even though prayer is the sixth Spiritual Discipline we're looking at, we have already touched on it and we will continue to touch on it for the rest of this year.
When we pray, we open ourselves up to God so that He can change us into more Christ-like disciples. Foster states that in prayer, we should think God's thoughts after Him. We put ourselves in sync with Him as our desires, loves, and wills fall in line with His.
Prayer is a Spiritual Discipline that has been practiced for millennia. There are many different ways to pray that have been practice over the centuries.
Some practice fixed-hour prayers. Traditionally, people have prayed at dawn (six), nine, twelve, three, six, nine, and midnight (12). Others practice a modified schedule by praying morning, noon, and night.
There are stories of spiritual "giants" both in the Bible and throughout our history. If we don't measure up to their examples, we can rest assured that God will meet us where we can start and move us closer to Him each day.
Foster touches on the many types of prayer that could be studied and practiced. These include discursive prayers, mental prayers, centering prayers, prayers of quiet, prayers of relinquishment, prayers of guidance, intercessory prayers, among others. Foster elects to focus on intercessory prayers and teaching us how to pray for others.
We pray for others by learning what God wills in a situation and then praying for that to come about. There is a time and a prayer to seek God's will and surround ours, but an intercessory prayer is a prayer interceding to God, on a person's behalf.
We pray for others while expecting God to move in the situation. Foster tells us that we should pray "with an expectation that a change should and would occur". If we pray and don't see results, we should reexamine if we are praying correctly. Are we praying with wrong motives? Do we need to change something within us as we intercede? Do we need to study prayer more and learn more principles on how to pray? Do we need to persistently and patiently pray? Are we in contact with God when we pray? Sometimes, we jump into praying without taking the time to connect to God.
We pray for others by quieting ourselves and listening to God. Listening to God must come before we can intercede. We need the prayer of guidance to go before and surround our prayers of faith asking God to intercede. Foster notes that we need to hear God's will, know God's will, and obey it ourselves before we can pray it into others' lives.
Foster recommends that we start to pray for small things first. There is a time and a place to pray big prayers, but we need to understand who God is and how He chooses to operate first. Then as we learn about Him, we are better able to pray for bigger and bigger things.
Our prayers should be rooted in compassion for others. This compassion will drive us to pray for others and will strengthen our faith as we get in touch with how God wants us to pray.
We should pray as a child asking their father. Children generally trust their parents and feel free to bring their requests to their parents. In meditation, imagination can be used as a tool, and Foster points out that we can use imagination in our prayers too. We can pray blessings over children.
Our goal in studying the Spiritual Discipline of Prayer is to make each moment and thought a prayer to God. We don't have to withdraw from the world in order to properly pray. We can pray for the people we see and those we hear in passing. We can cook, work, and play in an attitude of prayerful listening.
We should pray against evil. The Bible teaches us to pray to withstand the onslaught of the devil's attacks. We can pray for Christ and His power to surround and protect us and those around us.
Foster concludes by noting that we shouldn't wait to pray until we "feel" like it, but like other mandatory tasks (including household chores and work), we don't always feel like starting, but discipline can give us the push to start and our emotions will get in line as we continue.
So how do I plan to apply this discipline? I'll pray along with the saints of old, by using a book of common prayer throughout the day. I'll create space for silence to listen to God and for worship music to assist me in praising God.
