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2 MARCH/APRIL 2020

Committed to PRAYER

BY THE REV. DR. MARA LIEF CRABTREE

Sharing A Journal of Christian Healing

3Sharing A Journal of Christian HealingMARCH/APRIL 2020

Prayer as a Lifeline

Prayer is a lifeline to spiritual growth and effectiveness in all forms of ministr y. It supports our spiritual roots, allowing them to absorb the nourishment God graciously provides for us in prayer. This nourishment then extends to ever y “ branch” of our lives: spiritually, intellectually, emotionally, physically, relationally and ministerially.

Praying with Integrity

Prayer def ines the nature of our relationship w ith God. One of the most impor tant aspects of that relationship i s honest y. We are of ten concerned about the out ward dimensions of prayer, yet it i s the inward motivations of one’s hear t , including the sincer it y and passion of our love for God and for others, that def ine tr ue prayer. We of ten compare ourselves to others w hen it comes to prayer, and thi s can only lead to either pr ide or di scouragement. If we think our prayers “sound good and holy,” then our prayers become lack ing in humi lit y and feeble in power. If we feel di scouraged because we think others pray much better than we do, then the enemy tempts us to become di scouraged w ith our prayer life. Unless humi lit y and love for God and others motivate our prayers, we mi ss the joy resulting f rom spir itual grow th in prayer. A s we embrace simplicit y and sincer it y in shar ing our thoughts, petitions and intercessions w ith God, we beg in to ex per ience the miracles and wonders emerg ing f rom lives w hich dai ly ex press the g if t of prayer. In doing so, those lives become vessel s for the healing mini str y of Jesus Chr i st.

Prayers: Ancient and New

God created each of us as di stinct indiv idual s; and therefore, we each have diversities of g if ts in prayer, ways of pray ing that ex press w ho we are and our ways of interacting w ith God. No matter our age or our ex per ience in prayer, we w i l l always be our Father ’s chi ldren. Therefore, we should pour out our hear ts to our Abba w ith complete abandon, tr ust , honest y, and the sincer it y and openness of a chi ld. A chi ld i s not self-aware but speak s f rom the hear t of their tr uth. Thi s chi ld li ke tr ust and abandon in prayer make a dif ference in the ef fectiveness of our petitions and intercessions. Those sublime prayers in Scr ipture, such as the L ord’s Prayer (Matt. 6: 9-13), and the many great liturg ical prayers of the Church, w r itten

centur ies ago, although beautif ul in their lang uage, ev idence simplicit y of tr ust in God’s goodness, merc y and love, and the w i l lingness to br ing ever y human need, great or smal l, to the L ord. These ancient prayers, w hen prayed w ith sincer it y, lif t our thoughts to God and help us ex press those need s that , in many situations, seem inex pressible. We of ten think of prayer as spoken, yet si lent , word less prayers that may involve deep emotion, even tears, are impor tant in our lives of prayer. Many times, throughout var ious seasons of life we may feel inadequate to pray; for those thoughts that weigh on our hear ts seem inex pressible. God know s the word less intentions of prayer w ithin our hear ts; and He hears, in Hi s hear t of love, w hat we cannot out ward ly ex press to our L ord. Our prayers, w hether ancient and liturg ical, new and spontaneous, spoken or word less, def ine an impor tant element of Chr i stian spir itual formation, conformation to God’s w i l l, and transformation through the renew ing of our mind s. In the dai ly di scipline of prayer, we continue our grow th in Chr i st. A s we are nur tured by the L ord in prayer, our f r iend ship and fel low ship w ith the Holy Tr init y deepens; and we ex per ience the joy of tr ue conversation w ith God.

Strengthening Our Commitment

Commitment to prayer is developed over time, throughout our lives. Prayer is meant not merely as a spiritual discipline but as an unending commitment to a way of life. W hen we pray the Psalms or the Lord’s Prayer, or the liturgical prayers of our denomination or faith tradition, we strengthen that commitment. W hen we pray w ith others, we are encouraged and strengthened by the power of Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit in Christian community; and our prayers

A person who brings the good news of Jesus’ healing and offers praise and thanksgiving to God for the Lord’s gifts of healing (1 Cor. 12:9) requires a solid grounding in the soil of prayer.

MARCH/APRIL 20204 Sharing A Journal of Christian Healing

The Rev. Dr. Mara Lief Crabtree has served as a Chaplain for the Tidewater OSL Healing Community and currently serves as Region 2 Representative for Virginia OSL Healing Communities. She is an Associate Professor teaching in the areas of Christian Spirituality and Formation at the Regent University School of Divinity, Virginia Beach, VA.

give glor y to God. How wonderf ul it is to contemplate that at all times of night and day, throughout all the diverse places of the world, the Lord’s Prayer is prayed somewhere by someone or by some group. In private, spontaneous prayers are rising night and day, throughout the world, as gracious missiles of light soaring their way to the Father ’s hear t.

Diversity in Prayer

There are many diverse ways to pray. For ex ample, we petition God to meet our human need s. Other times we intercede for the need s of others. Prayers of intercession are essential to the mini str y of healing. Sometimes our prayers are those of prai se, honor, thank sg iv ing and adoration to the Holy Tr init y— Father, Son and Spir it. Prayers that ex tol l the L ord make way for r ivers of deep joy to f low w ithin us, for in those prayers we are doing w hat God has created us to do: to live now and throughout eternit y g iv ing glor y to Him w ho i s Per fect L ove.

Prayer in the Vocation of Healing Ministr y

Those cal led to the mini str y of healing , to the joys of fel low ship w ithin a communit y of healing , must live out their vocation w ithin the fer ti le soi l of prayer. A person w ho br ings the good new s of Jesus’ healing and of fers prai se and thank sg iv ing to God for the

We come before God in prayer with hearts and minds focused on simply listening to our Leader, our Light, our King and our Law.

L ord’s g if ts of healing (1 Cor. 12:9) requires a solid grounding in the soi l of prayer. W hy ? One must interact in and through prayer and Holy Scr ipture to know God. Prayer i s dialog ical, for the di scipline of prayer informs our relationship w ith God. We come before God in prayer w ith hear ts and mind s focused on simply li stening to our L eader, our Light , our King and our L aw. It i s in the contex t of li stening to God, as we read, study and meditate on the Holy Scr iptures, that we beg in to di scern the tr ue nature as wel l as the meaning and value of our prayers. We must never move away f rom Biblical tr uth as our g uidebook in learning how to pray and w hat we should pray as we ser ve the L ord through Hi s mini str y of healing. The Holy Spir it , w ho w rote the Scr iptures, w i l l open our eyes and our hear ts as we focus on the Word of God to know the ways of prayer.

A Day of Renewed Commitment

J. Hudson Taylor, the famous British missionar y who founded the China Inland Mission, a ministr y which brought thousands to Christ, exhorted fellow believers that “The prayer power has never been tried to its full capacity. If we want to see mighty wonders of divine power and grace wrought in the place of weakness, failure and disappointment, let us answer God's standing challenge, ‘Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not.'" ( Jer. 33:3) For all those called to Jesus’ ministr y of healing , may we begin this day to rededicate our lives, renewing our commitment to living , working , and ministering within the lifestyle that follows Christ’s loving and powerful example of prayer.