How To Pray In Difficult Times?

1.         Prayer in the midst of trouble

The Bible has many examples of how to pray in difficult times.  In Jeremiah 32:17-25, we have a record of Jeremiah’s prayer in the midst of trouble.  Jerusalem was surrounded and would be conquered by the Babylonians.  But God told Jeremiah to buy a field; to engage in commercial transaction.  This commercial action was to show that although Jerusalem would be conquered, God would finally restore it and bring back economic activities to a desolate city.

2.         How to pray?

Even as he faced these difficulties, Jeremiah prayed to God and we can learn from him how to pray when in trouble:-

(i) Focus on God

Instead of being pre-occupied with his troubles, Jeremiah focused on God.  In verses 17 and 18, he focused on God’s control, God’s faithfulness, God’s love and God’s justice.  Jeremiah acknowledged that God is sovereign and in full control despite how bad the situation was.

(ii) Remind yourself that nothing is too hard for God

Jeremiah said in verse 17, “Nothing is too hard for you.”  With God, nothing is impossible (Mark 10:27).  God can do anything.  Although the situation seemed so bad, God can still make it good.  We need to trust that nothing is too difficult for God.

(iii) God has a purpose

In verse 19, Jeremiah prayed “great are your purposes”.  Like Jeremiah, we need to acknowledge that God has a purpose for our lives (Jeremiah 29:11).  He will always fulfill His destiny for us.  Once we are in His will and truly submissive to Him, He will work out the events, and bring to us the people who can help us.

(iv) God has helped you before

Although the present situation seemed difficult to solve, remember that God who has helped you before can do so again.  In verses 20-22, Jeremiah remembered how God brought the Israelites into the Promise Land and could do so again even if the Israelites were dislodged from the land.

When facing present difficulties, look back at the past help from the Lord.  He is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).  He will help you like He did before.

(v) A future hope despite present hopelessness

What God says will happen (Jeremiah 32:24).  He is a God who fulfills what He promises.  Therefore, we need to pray and believe that whatever He says in His word, He will do.  In Jeremiah 32:25, Jeremiah saw that although Jerusalem would be handed over to the Babylonians, God still asked him to buy the field because ultimately, it is God who would bring back life to the city.  There is always a future hope despite our present hopelessness.

Tips On Prayer (C)

In my last two blogs, I said that your prayer life can be further enhanced by doing the following:-

(i)         use Bible verses as prayer

(ii)        listen to God when you have a ‘prayer pause’

(iii)       groan in prayer without saying a word i.e. “prayer groan’

For this blog, I will list a few more tips on prayer.

(iv)      Pray in your heart

Prayer need not be spoken to be heard by God.  Our Father hears the prayers that are in our hearts.  In 1 Samuel 1:1-20, we read of the prophet Samuel’s mother called Hannah who prayed to the Lord to give her a son.  She “was praying in her heart and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard” (1 Samuel 1:13).  Even though she was silent, God heard her prayers and answered her by giving her a son called Samuel.

In another incident involving Nehemiah, we read that he wanted to get permission from his boss, King Artaxerxes to go back to Jerusalem to rebuild its walls.  But he didn’t know how to broach the subject.  As he was struggling with his inner thoughts, the king asked him why he looked so sad and whether he needed anything.  Before he replied to the king, Nehemiah prayed in his heart to get the Lord’s help.  God answered the prayer in his heart and his king allowed him to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall.

Both Hannah and Nehemiah show us that God hears the prayers in our heart.  Pour out your thoughts and feelings to the Lord and He will hear you.

(v)       Pray humbly

Your attitude in prayer is important.  The Lord taught in the Parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9-14) that prayers that are humble will be heard by God.  In the parable, the tax collector dare not even look up to heaven but beat his breast as he pleaded with God to have mercy on him, a sinner (verse 13).  Jesus said that his prayer was heard because he humbled himself before the Lord.  Therefore, when you pray, be humble.  It’s a privilege to come to talk to our Lord.  When you realize that the Creator of the Universe will want to hear from you, such knowledge will keep you humble as you pray to him.

(vi)      Pray continually

Another tip is that you should pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17).  Pray in your heart wherever you are.  Talk to God about the people you see, the people you are about to meet, the people who share with you their thoughts etc.  Talk to God about every one of them.  Talk to God also about what you are experiencing.  God wants to hear from you.  So pray continually under your breath verbally or silently  in your heart.

(vii)     Pray for God’s will to be done

Finally, in all your prayers, always pray that God’s will be done (Matthew 26:39-42).  It’s not what you want that matters.  It’s what God wants that truly matters.  Therefore always submit to His will when you pray.  His will is always what’s best for you. Follow Jesus ‘ example. He prayed in two parts -” If it is possible… yet not as I will but as you will.” He concluded his prayer with ” if it is not possible…may your will be done “. Be humble and submissive to God . He  will hear you.

Tips On Prayer (B)

In my previous blog, I said that prayer is simply having a conversation with God.  If you find prayer difficult, you can use the Bible verses you read and turn them into your prayer.  For instance, we could use Colossians 1:9-14 and use the verses as prayers for yourself and others.

(ii).       Prayer Pause

Here’s another tip on prayer which I call the ‘prayer pause’.  This is done when you pray either verbally or in silence and after a period of time, you simply pause and remain quiet.  You don’t say or think of anything else.  You just keep quiet.  Then listen to what comes into your mind.  These are the moments in prayer when you can ‘hear’ God’s voice within you.

Isaiah 30:21 says, “your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, “This is the way “walk in it”.  Whatever you ‘hear’ in your prayer pause, check it against Biblical truths.  Do these ‘thoughts’ that come in your prayer pause fall in line with Scriptures?  If they do, then you have learned the art of having a conversation with God.   You talk to Him with your words or thoughts and He replies to you during your ‘prayer pause’.

In John 10:27, Jesus said, “My sheep (i.e. you) listen to my voice”.  Again in John 14:26-27, Jesus assures you, “The Holy Spirit will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you”.  Then in John 16:13-14, Jesus promises you, “the Spirit of truth will guide you into all truth…..He will speak only what He hears and He will tell you what is to come.  He (will take) what is mine and (make) it known to you”.  That’s the prayer pause.  It’s a special moment when you hear God’s voice responding to your prayer.

(iii).      Prayer groan

Sometimes we can’t speak our prayer or even think our prayer.  Sometimes in our ‘prayer pause’, you may not ‘hear’ anything.  It’s times like these when you feel your prayers are bouncing against the walls / ceiling and coming back to you.  It’s time like these when you can learn to have the ‘prayer groan’.

In Romans 8:26, Paul tells us that the Spirit helps us in our weakness.  We do not know what we ought to pray for but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express….the Spirit intercedes for us in accordance with God’s will.  This is an assuring truth.  The Bible tells us that even our groans are heard by God.  When you don’t know how or what to pray, just groan in God’s presence.  Your Father in heaven doesn’t need to hear or read your thoughts.  He can feel your groan and the Holy Spirit who lives in you will tell Him what you need.

As you can see, there are many ways to pray.  It’s not the method that is important.  What’s important is that you pray and know that God hears you.  In my next blog, I will give you a few more tips on prayer.

Tips On Prayer (A)

1.         Attend Bible Study or Prayer Meeting?

Many Christians find it hard to pray.  If they have to choose between attending a Bible Study or a prayer meeting, many would choose to attend a Bible Study.  Why is that so?

I believe many Christians feel that when they attend a Bible Study, they can read, reflect, share their thoughts and even write them down in their journal lessons they have learned from the Bible Study.  But when it comes to prayer, they feel they have nothing much to guide them.  They have no Bible to refer to and they have to speak out loud their prayer.  They may feel embarrassed to speak their prayers openly.  As such, prayer meetings can be more stressful than Bible Study sessions.

2.         Conversations with God

In this series of  blogs, I will be sharing some tips on prayer which will take away the stress associated with prayer.  Many Christians feel that when it comes to prayer, they need to sound spiritual.  They need a certain vocabulary and tone so that when God or others hear their prayers, they would be well-regarded.

But that’s not what prayer is all about.  Prayer is simply a conversation with God.  A conversation occurs when we have something to say to someone whom we are relating to.  Since the person we are relating to is God, He can hear us even if we don’t speak out loud.  So you can either speak out your prayer or think them out within you.

This will depend on your situation.  Obviously if you are attending a prayer meeting, you can’t be thinking out your prayer as the others in the meeting will not be able to join you in your prayer if you remain silent in your thoughts.  But if you are travelling on a bus or in the midst of a stressful meeting, you may not want to verbalise your thoughts in front of the others.  In such situations, it will be fine to think out your prayers as God can still hear you.

It is not whether you speak out or think out your prayers.  What is more important is that you are having conversations with God; like you would do with someone who knows you.  Just tell God what you would tell your friend.  Tell Him, “I am worried about my son’s  school work.  I hope my spouse does not stay out so often.  I wish my colleague would stop bothering me, etc”.  Prayer is a conversation you have with God.  It’s not complicated.  Just tell Him what’s in your heart.

To help you along, here are some tips on prayer:-

(i) Turn the Bible verses into prayer

If you would like to widen your prayer repertoire and go beyond just telling Him how you feel, there are a number of examples of prayer found in the Bible which you can follow.  For a start, you can use the Bible to help you pray.  This is suitable for your Quiet Time sessions.

For instance, you can use Colossians 1:9-14 as a prayer for others. As you pray for a friend’s well being, you can pray that she will know God’s will (verse 9), live a life worthy of God (verse 10), please God in every way (verse 10), bear fruit (verse 10), grow in the knowledge of God (verse 10), be strengthened by God (verse 11), persevere and be patient (verse 11) and be grateful for what she has (verse 12).

From this set of verses, you can pray for the well-being of yourself and any other person.  The example is there for you to follow.  As you read the passage, turn the Bible verses into a prayer.  You can do it especially with the verses from the Book of Psalms which are primarily the psalmist’s conversations with God.

In my next blog, I will outline a few more tips on how to pray and have simple conversations with God.

What To Pray For Others?

 

1.         Paul’s prayer

The Bible records many prayers spoken by men of God and Jesus.  The more well known prayers are the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13), and Jesus’ prayer in the Upper Room (John 17).  There is one prayer mentioned by Paul in Colossians 1:9-14 which is not as well known.  A few days ago, a friend told me he prays this Paul’s prayer for his children.  If you like to know what to pray for others, you can learn from Paul’s prayer in Colossians 1:9-14:-

2.         What to pray for?

Here is how Paul prays for people.  He prays that they will:-

 -Know God’s will with all the wisdom and understanding that His Spirit gives (verse 9).

 -Live as the Lord wants (verse 10).

 -Do what pleases God (verse 10).

-Produce all kinds of good deeds (verse 10).

-Grow in the knowledge of God (verse 10).

-Be made strong with all the strength which comes from God’s glorious power (verse 11).

-Endure everything with patience (verse 11).

-Give thanks with joy to the Father (verse 12).

-Have their share of what God has reserved for His people (verse 12).

-Remember God rescued us from the power of darkness (verse 13).

-Acknowledge that we have our sins forgiven and set free to be guilt-free (verse 14).

Reflect on Paul’s prayer and then use it as a guideline for your own prayer for others.