Having God’s Ear

            Conversation is an important part of any relationship. Consider the closest relationship you have. How sustainable would that relationship be if the other person involved did not communicate with you? We can all agree that it would not be very healthy. Similarly, God has spoken to us—in the Bible. As we saw previously, this is where we hear God’s voice. Prayer is the way we respond. It is our side of the dialogue.

            We can think about it like this: before we trusted in Jesus Christ we were opposed to God—we were his enemies. However, God did not want things to remain this way. Instead of allowing us to die in our sin, he sent his own Son to take our place. Jesus took the punishment that we deserved when he died on the cross. Thanks to this work, our sin is forgiven and we are restored to relationship with God.

Since we have been restored to God, he gives us his Spirit, who fills us and gives us new desires. Because of this, when we read the Bible, we can truly hear God’s words. It used to be obscure, as if a “veil” covered our eyes, but now it’s made clear (2 Corinthians 3:14).

Yet, every relationship is a two-way street. We don’t just hear God’s voice in his word; we also bring our voices before God’s throne in prayer. In the book of Hebrews, we read that we can “draw near to the throne of grace” and “find grace to help in time of need,” all thanks to Jesus (Hebrews 4:16). This is what prayer is. It’s drawing near to God’s throne and talking with him.

Throughout the remainder of this post we will look at how to do this well. Anyone who has attempted to grow in prayer can tell you it’s difficult. The above truth doesn’t discount this. We need to learn how to be divine conversationalists. It is a part of our growth in Christlikeness. Just like all things in the Christian life, we learn over time, and with the right practices how to pray. So what practices can we implement to grow in prayer?

Solitude

            The first spiritual discipline I would like to suggest is solitude. Solitude often gets misconstrued as merely “being alone”. This leads people to think that there is something inherently spiritual about nature walks or isolation. This isn’t true. David Mathis writes, “There is benefit to be had in just letting your spirit decompress and getting out of the concrete jungle, enjoying nature, and letting your soul breath fresh air. But there’s nothing distinctly Christian about that.”[1] So if solitude isn’t just being alone, what is it?

            The best place to learn about solitude is the New Testament. Looking at the life of Jesus, we see him do this a lot. A great example of this is found in Luke, “But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray” (5:15–16). At the height of his ministry, Jesus departs from the crowds to be alone. Yet, notice his purpose. He does this so that he can pray. The goal is not solitude; the goal is prayer.

            This makes intuitive sense. Imagine trying to pray with a large crowd pressing in on you and making various demands. It would be next to impossible! In a similar way we can’t pray effectively while we’re distracted. Solitude allows us to pray in an undistracted way. So the first order of business, is finding a place of solitude where we can pray.

Silence

             Similar to solitude, this discipline helps create a hospitable environment for prayer. Unfortunately, this discipline has also been misconstrued. This happens when people treat silence as the end goal. The most dangerous form of this is called “listening prayer”. Advocates of listening prayer teach that, through silence, a person can learn to hear the audible voice of God. Unfortunately, there is little biblical warrant for this. God speaks whenever he likes, not because you are silent. Likewise, we already have God’s word—the Bible. We don’t need anything more than this. Silence is simply the practice of finding a quiet place to be with the Lord. Both solitude and silence boost our prayer by creating its ideal conditions.

Fasting

            Another aid to our prayer life is fasting. Fasting is the practice of abstaining from food for a period of time. In the context of prayer it is not done for health reasons, but for spiritual reasons. We also see fasting mentioned multiple times in the New Testament. In fact, even Jesus assumes that people will fast. He says, “when you fast do not . . .” (Matthew 6:16). He assumes that people will fast.

            So what is the purpose of fasting? How does it help our prayer life? Fasting helps our prayer life by expressing our longing for God. Donald Whitney writes, “Fasting can be a testimony—even one directed to yourself—that you find your greatest pleasure and enjoyment in life from God.”[2] When we fast, we are communicating to God that we desire communion with him even more than food. Prayer is our communication with God, fasting shows God how serious we are in that communication.

            Yet practically, what does fasting look like? I don’t think it needs to be as challenging as we imagine it to be. For example, we might skip breakfast one day a week and use that extra time for extended prayer. Or we could skip lunch and use that time to go for a prayer walk. These are both fasts and legitimate ways to utilize this discipline for extended periods of prayer. The main goal of any fast is to spend more time praying and relying on God for our daily needs.

Journaling

            The last discipline I will recommend is journaling. Journaling is exactly as it sounds. It is taking up the pen, writing things out, and expressing our thoughts to God. This discipline is especially useful for those of us who struggle to focus.

I don’t know about you, but when I sit down to pray my mind often wanders. I start thinking about what I need to get done that day, the issues I might face, and so much more. Yet, when I sit down to write, my mind remains sharp. I can focus on what I want to say. This is how journaling can help us as we pray.

This doesn’t mean we need to go and buy a moleskin and calligraphy pen. I keep a prayer journal on my phone. I type out prayers there throughout the day. This helps me focus on my prayers and avoid distractions.

Conclusion

            We began by outlining what prayer is: talking to God. We spent the remainder of our time outlining spiritual disciplines which help us to do this. But what would this look like for a normal schedule? It might look something like this.

            Continue to practice your habits of reading, studying, meditating, and memorizing God’s word. If you are unfamiliar with those disciplines read the previous blog post. We must begin there because all prayer is a response to what God has spoken to us. In addition to these things find a time of solitude and silence where you can talk with God. If you find that your mind wanders, try journaling. Finally, try fasting once a week. Start by simply skipping a meal and using that extra time to pray longer. In doing something similar to this you will develop a robust prayer life.

[1] David Mathis, Habits of Grace, 138.

[2] Donald Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, 214.