A Fruitful Interior Life

…one’s prayer and devotional life cannot be reduced to a few simple rules.

Disciplines of a Godly Man, by R. Kent Hughes

Hughes covers the topic of devotion and prayer in two chapters. He links these two together, with the concept as noted in the title: together, these lead to a fruitful interior life.

Prayer changes our character and our will. The more we shine God’s light onto us (through direct communication with Him), the more that light burns into our character: His love, truth, compassion, integrity, and humility. Further, prayer bends our will to God’s will: we do not change God’s will by prayer, but our will aligns to God’s.

As noted, we should not reduce prayer to a formula, a few simple rules: meditation, confession, adoration, submission, petition. Yes, Jesus taught us to pray, and His prayer followed a pattern – but this isn’t the only method of prayer.

Life’s rhythms sometimes demand that we launch directly, for example, into petition, crying, “Lord, help me!” Other times will be spent almost entirely in confession, meditation, or adoration.

Meditation begins with listening. Psalm 40:6 offers that God has opened our ears. A more direct translation is “Ears you have dug out for me.” Apart from God’s work, we have a blockhead. Instead, God takes a pick and shovel to dig out the ears – perhaps demonstrating the importance of these two openings and demonstrating how otherwise hard-headed we are that ears had to be dug out.

Further, we should dedicate ourselves to continually reflect on select meaningful passages – to speak them openly such that they burn into our conscious. The Ten Commandments, the list of Beatitudes, or passages that might have a special meaning given our individual condition.

Then there is confession. There can be no ongoing devotion without confession – devotion is impossible if we are weighed down by guilt. Confess what we are: sinners. Then confess our specific sins.

…confession not only opens the heavens, it also enhances our intimacy with God…

Reverence for the awesomeness of God – we have access to the Creator, the God of Heaven. This requires focus – a mind clear of competing thoughts; in other words, a humble spirit that has worship as its goal.

We also contemplate God – as seen in His creation, through His mighty acts, when considering His attributes (His self-existence, eternity, grace, and holiness – some number God’s attributes at twenty or more). Participate in the stories: fall on your knees with Peter, James, and John at the transfiguration; consider what it meant to be present at the incarnation or resurrection.

The height of devotion is reached when reverence and contemplation produce passionate worship.

We can pray, read, or sing our worship. Many Psalms are perfect for this. Mary’s Magnificat is as well. Then this, from Colossians:

Colossians 1: 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.

Proper devotion ends with a conscious yielding of every part of our being; in other words, submission. Isaiah came to this point: “Here I am! Send me.” Jonah required a little more persuasion, but he also got there…

None of this should be considered formulaic. However, proper devotion takes both planning and commitment:

The reason many men never have an effective devotional life is that they never plan for it. They do not know what it is because they have never taken the time to find out.

All of this brings us to petition – petition with the right heart, the right frame of mind, the right focus.

…a soaring life of petitionary prayer that will call down God’s power upon our lives and the church.

This should be our objective – to call down God’s power on us, on our families and friends, on the church, on the world.

Pray in the Spirit. The Spirit both prays for us and joins us in our prayer. The Spirit tells us what we ought to pray for, helping us through His Word. By doing this, we receive the conviction that what we are praying for is in accord with God’s will. Patiently wait on the Lord, and the Spirit will give you prayers.

Prayer is to be continuous. This does not require the life of a monk – even monks have external tasks other than prayer. It means a posture of the heart: in whatever you do, are you in communication with God?

We are to have a perpetual inner dialogue with God.

John Wesley describes this as a heart ever uplifted to God, God in all your thoughts, walking with God continually.

Prayer is to be varied. We might pray for strength in particular situations, pray to resist temptation, pray for wisdom, pray for self-restraint, etc.

Prayer is to be persistent. We saw this in the parable of a widow coming to the judge repeatedly, asking for justice. Finally, the judge gave in to her pleas. We saw it at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus told us to ask, seek, and knock – a persistence in prayer, offered in present imperatives: in other words, now and always.

Finally, prayer is to be intercessory. We are to pray for all the saints. Believers in Jesus Christ are to have a large place in our prayers. The apostle Paul even asked others to pray in this manner on his behalf – to intercede with God for Paul!

That’s a lot to keep track of. For this, Hughes offers making a prayer list: the whos and whats and whys of our prayers. To be more effective, find a quiet time to pray, and a quiet place. Find a time to pray that works well for you – maybe not first thing in the morning if you first require a cup of coffee.

Conclusion

Candidly, prayer is work, not a sport.

The apostle Paul counsels:

Ephesians 6: 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.

This isn’t something to do only when we feel like it. It is work – or at least it begins that way. There is a part of us that wants to pray and a part that does not. Citing Dr. J. Sidlow Baxter, whose emotion did not want to pray even though his intellect and will did:

“As never before, my will and I stood face to face. I asked my will the straight question, ‘Will, are you ready for an hour of prayer?’”

He goes on to describe the battle of his will against his emotion. But he and his will stuck it out. It was a wrestling match that wore him out. Eventually, after a couple of weeks of this battle, he suddenly realized that his intellect, will, and emotion were all aligned, all of one accord regarding prayer.

Well, maybe starting with one hour isn’t necessary!