The Priority and Practice of Prayer

The Servant Pastor - Spring 2011

                Prayer is among the highest privileges of every Christian. It is utterly amazing to realize that because of Christ's all-sufficient atoning blood shed on Calvary's cross, open communication with an infinite holy God is possible for finite sinful human beings. To consider that access in prayer to our Almighty Eternal God, Creator of the "heavens and the earth" is actually available is absolutely incredible! But prayer to our loving Father in heaven is much more than an awesome phenomenon and amazing privilege. Prayer is an indispensable part of the ministry of every believer---including the servant pastor.

v The Priority of Prayer

                The thrilling account of the first 30 years of the New Testament church life in the Book of Acts illustrates both the priority and the power of prayer in ministry. From the 120 men and women gathered for prayer in the "upper room" prior to Pentecost (Acts 1:14), to the prayer-supported missionary journeys of the Apostle Paul and his party (Acts 13:1-3), it is evident that humble dependence upon God in prayer marked the personal and corporate lives of these believers (Acts 2:42; 3:1; 12:5; 4:24-31).
                With the burgeoning growth of the congregation in Jerusalem under the Spirit-filled preaching of Law and Gospel (e.g., Acts 2:14-40), the apostolic servant leaders became over-burdened with responsibilities. Some of the widows in the congregation were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. Immediately responding to the problem, the congregation was asked to select seven qualified men to assist in this neglected ministry.
                Why was it so important to the apostles that they be relieved of some of their ministerial responsibilities in the congregation? The answer they gave underscores what should be the priorities of every servant pastor: "But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word" (Acts 6:4). In tandem with commitment to preaching and teaching the Word of God was devotion to prayer. They were convinced that not only is the Word of God powerful for effective ministry, but so is the Word of God powerful for effective ministry, but so is the gracious avenue of prayer. Martin Luther expressed the correlation between Word and prayer in this way, "For next to the preaching of the Gospel (whereby God speaks with us and offers to us all His grace and blessings) the highest and foremost work is indeed that we, in turn, speak with Him through prayer and receive from Him. Moreover, prayer is in truth highly necessary for us; for we must, after all, achieve everything through prayer…" ^S.11.1
                Many people do not think that prayer makes much difference. They like to think of prayer merely in terms of meditation or spiritual fellowship. When this is the case, there is little or no expectation in regard to God answering prayer. Rather, what is anticipated at most is a heightened sense of well-being in one's spiritual life. In stark contrast to this popular conception of prayer, God's Word clearly instructs us to expect that prayer does, indeed, make a difference as we ask.
                There are two principal words in the New Testament translated "ask". One of these words means to inquire, as in asking questions. But the word used in reference to prayer denotes to crave, to desire, to call for, always in the sense of asking for something. Our Lord used the work "Ask" in this sense repeatedly during His earthly ministry. For example. "Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will  do it" (John 14:13-14, cf. Matthew7:7-8, John 16:24).

v The Practice of Prayer

                What are some of the areas of Christian endeavor where our asking is so necessary and so instrumental? Our Lord indicates that it is through prayer that Christian workers are sent out into the harvest fields of service (Matthew 9:37-38). In his book on prayer ,Ole Hallesby underscores the importance of prayer in this regard. "If the right man gets into the right place, there is almost no end to what he can do" (O. Hallesby, Prayer, Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1931, p.72).  He mentions by way of example how God used people like Martin Luther, Hans Nielsen Hauge (revival leader of Norway), William Carey (early missionary to India) and Hudson Taylor (pioneer missionary to China) for widespread fruitful and enduring ministry.
                As we consider the great need for faithful servant-pastors and missionaries in our church fellowship, let us continue in prayer for people to step forward in the train of Isaiah the prophet, echoing his open-hearted response to God's call, "Here am I. Send me" (Isaiah 6:6). And let us continue in fervent prayer that our gracious Lord will lead more men to respond to His call to prepare for ministry at the seminary (James 5:16b: "The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much").
                Coming to God with our requests is also sorely needed as we prepare for corporate worship, for congregational Bible studies and fellowship meetings, indeed, for every occasion and ministry of the congregation. Is it the case that in our planning for the variety of ministry events, we often give meager attention to prayer? If this is true, is it little wonder that we experience negligible spiritual impact despite all our planning and preparations otherwise? In affirming their ministry in the congregation at Jerusalem as centered in "ministry of the Word and prayer," these early servant-leaders indicated that prayer was indispensable if the work of the congregation was to prosper spiritually.
                In our laudable zeal as servant pastors to be diligent in "accurately handling the word of truth"           (II Timothy 2:15b) with the goal of fulfilling our God-given mandate to "feed the flock" (I Peter 5:2), are we at the same time realizing how indispensable prayer is in all our preaching and teaching? We read in Mark 1:35 how our Lord "in the early morning, while it was still dark… went away to a secluded place, and was praying there."
                This is but one of many references to the prominent place of prayer during His earthly ministry. While it is certainly true that one can pray at any time and at any place, our Lord's apparent frequent example of morning prayer is exemplary for us. Many whom God has used in effective ministry have followed our Lord's example in prayer at the start of the day. As he faced the great challenges of each day as the primary leader of the Reformation, Luther indicated his dependence on prayer, "I am so busy now that if I did not spend two or three hours each day in prayer, I would not get through the day")^S.11.2. He felt a need for prayer during the day. He solved that by awaking each night at 2 a.m. and praying until 4 a.m. before going back to sleep until morning. These and many others with them down through the history of the Church discovered the need and value of devoting themselves "to prayer and the ministry of the Word".
                During our Lord's earthly ministry, there were sustained periods of prayer. In the Gospel of Luke, we read, "It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God" (Luke 6:12). We have no reason to assume that all-night prayer was the regular practice of our Lord, but it is evident that there were occasions when He went apart to devote Himself to prayer for longer periods.
                Certainly we must not seek to emulate our Lord's example in a legalistic way. If one imagines he is going to earn God's favor by lengthy prayers, he is legalistic. But there may be times of special need when we are led to spend longer periods of time in prayer. This was apparently true at times during Luther's ministry. There is an account of a person who was hired to spy on Luther with the aim of ensnaring him in a compromised situation. During one of his ministry excursions, Luther spent the night at an inn. This man checked into a room next door. The next day the spy reported to his employer that Luther prayed throughout most of the night. He stated that he could never bring down such a man in defeat and resigned his commission.
                Since our sufficiency as under-shepherds of our Lord is not of ourselves, but of God alone, it is vital that we ask God to give us enlightenment and understanding as we prepare to nourish our congregations with the Word (Ephesians 1:18). We need to pray for spiritual wisdom that we may preach and teach in truth and purity (James 1:5). Luther is remembered for emphasizing the importance of prayer in the life of any pastor seeking to be a minister of the Word, he writes:
                "You should know that the Holy Scripture is a book compared with which the wisdom of all the other books is foolishness, for it alone teaches of eternal life. Therefore you should utterly despair of your own knowledge and understanding, for with that you shall never attain it… Rather go into your closet, and bend down your knees, and very humbly and earnestly pray to God that He may through His Son give unto you His Holy Spirit, who shall enlighten and guide you and give you the true understanding even as David does in the 119th Psalm saying, "Teach me, O Lord, give me understanding, make me go in the path of your commandments."^S11.3
                Among the three basic ingredients that combine to bring about a productive servant pastor according to Luther was prayer (oratio), the others being study of the Scriptures (meditatio) and suffering afflictions (tentatio). In reference to the place of prayer in this necessary trio, he said "Much prayer is half of one's study" (Fritz, p.4). The Latin motto, Ora et labora (pray and work), captures Luther's emphasis in this regard.
                But  not only is it necessary to bathe one's ministry with prayer; it is important that prayer is solicited and secured from the congregation, as well. The Apostle Paul realized the value of prayer for his ministry and urged fellow believers to pray "that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ… that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak" (Colossians 4:2-4). Elsewhere, he asked that others would pray that he would speak the Word with boldness.
                In the account of the 18th century spiritual revival in the New England states, it is noteworthy and significant that the oft-mentioned catalyst for that awakening, a sermon preached by Jonathan Edwards titled, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God", was preceded by an all-night prayer meeting of many believers. The famed English preacher, Charles Spurgeon, whose sermons at his Metropolitan Tabernacle in London were used for the evangelization of untold numbers of people, had upwards of 300 people on their knees praying in the lower auditorium while he preached. These preachers and their congregations realized the important place of prayer in connection with the ministry of the Word and reaped a rich harvest of eternal souls who were brought to salvation.
                There is a great need today for renewal in recognizing the essential place of prayer in ministry as servant pastors in combination with the preaching of God's dynamic Word. But it is not only a matter of affirming the need for prayer. There can be a huge gap between professed belief and actual practice. God would impress upon us all our complete helplessness to fulfill our calling without Him, our calling to serve our congregations as under-shepherds of Christ----evangelizing, discipling, nurturing, equipping, counseling, exhorting and encouraging. At the same time that our Lord reminds us that without Him we are unable to fulfill our calling, He gives us the gracious invitation and promise, "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified in this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love" (John 15:7-9).