The Infant Samuel At Prayer, Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792)
First Things First! John Piper has some excellent advice on How to Pray. I am
reminded of Adrian Rogers when he tells us to “pray like David!” I will capture the main points and the scripture, then turn you over to John at the end…
Pray from the soul. “The first thing the soul needs is an inclination to God and his word. Without that, nothing else will happen of any value…” Psalm 119:36 verifies that we need to do this…
"Incline my heart to Your testimonies
And not to dishonest gain.”
Next, our eyes need to open. Mr. Piper sites Psalm 119:18, for we need always to know where it is stated in His word:
“Open my eyes, that I may behold
Wonderful things from Your law.”
Then, we need to open our hearts to the wonder of God. John brings us to Ephesians 1:18 for scriptural affirmation:
"I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened,
so that you will know what is the hope of His calling,
what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints…”
Our hearts are always in ten places at once. Dr. Piper suggests Psalm 86:11 to rein in our scattered state:
“Teach me Your way, O Lord;
I will walk in Your truth;
Unite my heart to fear Your name.”
“What I really want from all this engagement with the Word of God and the work of his Spirit in answer to my prayers is that my heart will be satisfied with God and not with the world.” He brings us to Psalm 90:14 for this most important lesson on how to pray…
“O satisfy us in the morning with Your lovingkindness,
That we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.”
Ephesians 3:16 teaches us to be full of joy and as happy as possible, in order that we may be strengthened in the Holy Spirit. To be "strong in joy" is to be "durable in the face of threats or adversity." Where do we get our backbone? "It comes from God."
"...that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory,
to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man,"
How do we expand ourselves to produce help for others so that “the glory of God will be seen in [our] lives? Who produces these good deeds? God does.” Piper sites Colossians 1:10:
“…so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects,
bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God…”
And finally, we pray in the name of Jesus “because God gives these things to my soul only because Jesus died for me and removed the wrath of God so that the Father might "freely give me all things."“ (Romans 8:32)
John's encouragement reminds me of the way David prayed, always giving glory to God. We can see it in his psalms. Excellent advice from John Piper! I shall follow it each and every day. Visit Desiring God for many more good lessons on prayer.
"How to Pray for the Soul" at Desiring God , the Ministry of John Piper
First Things First! John Piper has some excellent advice on How to Pray. I am
reminded of Adrian Rogers when he tells us to “pray like David!” I will capture the main points and the scripture, then turn you over to John at the end…
Pray from the soul. “The first thing the soul needs is an inclination to God and his word. Without that, nothing else will happen of any value…” Psalm 119:36 verifies that we need to do this…
"Incline my heart to Your testimonies
And not to dishonest gain.”
Next, our eyes need to open. Mr. Piper sites Psalm 119:18, for we need always to know where it is stated in His word:
“Open my eyes, that I may behold
Wonderful things from Your law.”
Then, we need to open our hearts to the wonder of God. John brings us to Ephesians 1:18 for scriptural affirmation:
"I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened,
so that you will know what is the hope of His calling,
what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints…”
Our hearts are always in ten places at once. Dr. Piper suggests Psalm 86:11 to rein in our scattered state:
“Teach me Your way, O Lord;
I will walk in Your truth;
Unite my heart to fear Your name.”
“What I really want from all this engagement with the Word of God and the work of his Spirit in answer to my prayers is that my heart will be satisfied with God and not with the world.” He brings us to Psalm 90:14 for this most important lesson on how to pray…
“O satisfy us in the morning with Your lovingkindness,
That we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.”
Ephesians 3:16 teaches us to be full of joy and as happy as possible, in order that we may be strengthened in the Holy Spirit. To be "strong in joy" is to be "durable in the face of threats or adversity." Where do we get our backbone? "It comes from God."
"...that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory,
to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man,"
How do we expand ourselves to produce help for others so that “the glory of God will be seen in [our] lives? Who produces these good deeds? God does.” Piper sites Colossians 1:10:
“…so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects,
bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God…”
And finally, we pray in the name of Jesus “because God gives these things to my soul only because Jesus died for me and removed the wrath of God so that the Father might "freely give me all things."“ (Romans 8:32)
John's encouragement reminds me of the way David prayed, always giving glory to God. We can see it in his psalms. Excellent advice from John Piper! I shall follow it each and every day. Visit Desiring God for many more good lessons on prayer.
"How to Pray for the Soul" at Desiring God , the Ministry of John Piper
