July 4, 2005 - Developing the Habit of Prayer

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Developing the Habit of Prayer
By Phillip Rhoads
July 4, 2005

One of the most powerful, effective things we can do as Christians is do develop the habit of consistent, effective prayer. Or, as Paul wrote it, “Pray without ceasing” (I Thessalonians 5:17).

A Contemporary Source
The following practical thoughts are taken from Stephen R. Covey’s book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

■ “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” –Aristotle

■ “Our character, basically, is a composite of our habits. ‘Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny,’ the maxim goes.”

■ “Like any natural force, gravity pull can work with us or against us. The gravity pull of some of our habits may currently be keeping us from going where we want to go. But it is also gravity pull that keeps our world together, that keeps the planets in their orbits and our universe in order. It is a powerful force, and if we use it effectively, we can use the gravity pull of habit to create the cohesiveness and order necessary to establish effectiveness in our lives.”

■ “For our purposes, we will define a habit as the intersection of knowledge, skill, and desire.”

■ “Knowledge is the theoretical paradigm, the what to do and the why. Skill is the how to do. And desire is the motivation, the want to do. In order to make something a habit in our lives, we have to have all three.”

■ “The power to make and keep commitments to ourselves is the essence of developing the basic habits of effectiveness. Knowledge, skill, and desire are all within our control. We can work on anyone to improve the balance of all three. As the area of intersection becomes larger, we more deeply internalize the principles upon which the habits are based and create the strength of character to move us in a balanced way toward increasing effectiveness in our lives.”

Let us take Covey’s comments concerning habits in general and apply them specifically to the habit of consistent prayer. Before we do so, however, let us look at some biblical examples of people who prayed consistently.

Biblical Sources
In Daniel 6:1-11, we find that Daniel prayed consistently, even when man’s law said he should not do so. He was put into the den of lions, but the lions could not hurt him. Daniel was faithful to God and God was faithful to Daniel.

In the book of Acts we read, “Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour” (Acts 3:1). According to Unger’s Bible Dictionary, “As early as David’s time, we hear of private prayer being offered three times a day (Psalm 55:17). This subsequently became an established practice (Daniel 6:10), the hours being at the time of the morning sacrifice, about the third hour (Acts 2:15), midday, about the sixth hour (Acts 10:9), and at the time of the evening sacrifice, about the ninth hour (Daniel 9:21; Acts 3:1).” Evidently the apostles had a definite time of prayer, and we see the results of that prayer through the things that are recorded in the book of Acts.

Finally, we see the Lord Himself as our greatest example in the habit of prayer. Consider the following verses:

■ “And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God” (Luke 6:12).

■ “And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him: and he asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am?” (Luke 9:18).

■ “And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples” (Luke 11:1).

Meld the Two…
We see from these and other passages that Jesus practiced the habit of praying. If He needed to pray, we certainly need to pray! Now let us go back to Stephen Covey’s comments concerning effective habits, and apply this information to prayer. “Knowledge is the theoretical paradigm, the what to do and the why. Skill is the how to do. And desire is the motivation, the want to do. In order to make something a habit in our lives, we have to have all three.”

■ Knowledge (what to, why to)— The Word of God tells us that we should pray and helps us understand the benefits of prayer.

■ Skill (how to)— If we do not know how to pray, we can learn through practice. The best way to learn to pray is to pray.

■ Desire (want to)— Many times this is the area we have the most trouble with. If we ask Him to, God can give us a greater desire to communicate with Him through prayer.

When we bring knowledge, skill and desire into balance, we can become effective in the habit of prayer. I challenge you to commit yourself to developing the habit of prayer. The following practical points may be of assistance to you.

1. Plan a time to pray.
2. Plan a place to pray.
3. Strive for relationship rather than ritual.
4. Be consistent.

Let us develop the habit of prayer and change our world!

ninetyandnine.com

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Phillip Rhoads is a UPCI missionary to Suriname, South America.