The Work of Prayer

Sometimes prayer may feel like we're trying to break a
bat with our bare hands! Yes, it can be work. 

Scripture:

Psa. 17:15    As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness;

when I awake I shall be satisfied, beholding your likeness.

Observation:

The Psalmist has been wrestling in prayer. It has physically consumed his body and it’s culmination seems to be an exhausted sleep. However, after finishing the work of prayer, he is able to lie down and sleep. He has come to know that the grace of God comes again and again. There isn’t just one time of prayer, but there will be continual seasons of prayer.However when when one season ends, there will be another and we are able to see that God comes over and again. Together with the Psalmist we can trust that we will be able to behold the face of our Savior. All of our tomorrows, no matter how difficult, are in God’s hands and when the dawn breaks, we will see the Lord, face to face, and know that this new day belongs to God. 

Application:

I’m an achiever and I like to tick things off of my to-do list. The temptation is to embrace prayer in the same way, as if it’s something that I have to get finished. Unfortunately, in that way it becomes something perfunctory, when in reality, God wants it to be as natural as the air we breathe. At the same time there is an effort to prayer, and it can become a work in our lives. The Psalmist was troubled in many ways and had to pray through the very physical nature of the spiritual battle, which meant that prayer became spiritual work. 

The idea of prayer being work may not sound too pleasant but we are facing battles which require us to put on our spiritual armor, and this is done through prayer, both individually and corporately. We need prayer meetings where we focus on the spiritual battles and the need for Christ to intercede for us with the Father. Our whole bodies participate in these prayers when we begin to see and experience what is happening in the spiritual realms. We cry out for our children and our grandchildren, asking for them to be protected from the evil one. We pray for intervention in the spiritual lives of our loved ones. We intercede for those who have wandered far from the faith, etc.

It’s often in the night hours that I pray, and then in the early morning as I am awakening. There, the presence of God seems so real and the Lord brings challenges to my own mind, encouraging me to pray about things that are new to my mind. Sometimes its simply in the silence that God moves, and when I awaken, I am satisfied, knowing that I have beheld his likeness. 

Someday I will awaken and see him clearly, face to face. That is also the promise of this Psalm. In the resurrection we will be eternally satisfied and filled with joy as we behold our Savior’s face. 

In the meantime, there are days that this journey feels like work, but we live in the promise that we will be satisfied. 

Prayer:

Lord, today I awaken and I behold your holy presence with a heart of gratitude. Amen.