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Below is an article I wrote several months ago about a topic I confess knowing far too little about—prayer.
Fervent Prayer
A friend from church related the following story:
“We were having lunch with our SS teacher Dick and his family. His older boys were traveling back from a fair with their grandfather, who had a corn dog stand that they were hauling. Dick was always a very sincere and serious person in prayer, aware that he was speaking with our Heavenly Father. As he led us in prayer over lunch, he included his boys and their grandfather traveling home in his prayer. Suddenly his tone changed and in a louder, emotional voice, he began to pray urgently for them, and continued in this way until he had peace, then concluded his prayer. Soon afterward a phone call came in from the grandfather. The three of them had just been in a serious accident, but it turned out that they were all OK.”
The following happened to me as a new Christian:
I remember being on fire for the Lord as a Captain in the Air Force; I’d fearlessly talk with anyone about Him. One day a fellow Captain asked if I’d be willing to have dinner with her and her 35-year-old husband—she’d been praying for him and wanted me to share the gospel with him. We dined at a Mexican restaurant where I was able to share for close to two hours. He was polite and seemed somewhat interested, but surely wasn’t moved. On the way out to the car, I asked if it would be OK to pray for him; he nodded yes, after which I immediately placed my hand on his shoulder and boldly prayed that God would do whatever it took to get his attention. That was it—nothing more. Then we said goodbye. Two months later his wife told me he had a major heart attack and almost died.
I wish I could report that he also had a miraculous conversion experience but, sadly, I cannot. We lost touch and I didn’t hear from them again. What I do know is that God used me in a powerful way as I prayed for him in a manner I’m not used to. Do I believe he had a heart attack because of the way I prayed? I can’t say that, but I know God used me.
I remember once long ago, during a home group Bible study, our leader Marvin suddenly stopped the teaching and asked everyone to stand and hold hands. His daughter, Ohna, was quite ill and he decided to pray for her. After much hesitation amidst the silence, he said in a deep, penetrating voice, “Lord, heal Ohna . . . in Jesus’ name.” Not another peep from him—simply that. What’s funny is that I’ve never forgotten that prayer. It’s as vivid to me today as it was then.
Charles Spurgeon addressed fervent prayer in his January 14th Evening Devotion:
“Short prayers are long enough. There were but three words in the petition which Peter gasped out, but they were sufficient for his purpose [referring to Peter’s cry, “Lord, save me,” in Matthew 14:30]. Not length but strength is desirable. A sense of need is a mighty teacher of brevity. If our prayers had less of the tail feathers of pride and more wing they would be all the better. Verbiage is to devotion as chaff to the wheat. Precious things lie in small compass, and all that is real prayer in many a long address might have been uttered in a petition as short as that of Peter.”
I don’t pray fervently very often, sad to say—typically my daily prayers are fairly repetitious of previous ones, whether during my morning devotions, at meals, or just before bed. But I wonder if perhaps I need to think about this; should I be praying fervently more often? Elijah did: Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly [fervently] that it would not rain, and it did not rain in the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed [fervently, I suspect], and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops (James 5:17-18, bracketed words mine).
My Prayer: Lord, help me become more aware of opportunities you bring for me to pray fervently. May I be obedient then do just that, knowing You work mightily through such prayers. Thank You, Lord, for teaching me to enhance my prayer life.
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