Prayer – the breath for the soul

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During youth group, a prayer meeting is announced for next Sunday. What are my first thoughts when I hear this? Do I think, "Another prayer meeting..."? Or do I look forward to entering into fellowship with my Lord? Perhaps I find it inappropriate—or even a burden?

A conscious decision

Objectively speaking, prayer is a very simple topic. However, upon closer examination, many facets become apparent. Prayer should always be a conscious decision, one that I must make anew each day. It is a firm resolve to enter into communion with my Creator. External influences should not play a significant role in this. But unfortunately, these are precisely our greatest enemies.

Even if we firmly resolve to seek the Lord's face in prayer each morning before leaving the house, things inevitably arise that try to distract us from our intention. And how often do we then catch ourselves thinking: "Oh, I'll pray in the car."

Postponing prayer until evening can sometimes be detrimental. The fatigue that reaches its peak at the end of the day becomes a major obstacle. This can lead to us living out our prayer life haphazardly. Imagine if God, who holds everything in His hands, were to shape fellowship with His creation according to chance.

At the very latest, this thought should make it clear to us that such fellowship would bring us great harm. Let us look at the beginning of the Bible, when God created humankind. Even there, He sought fellowship with His creatures in the evening (cf. Genesis 3:8a). If God took the time for this, how much more should we, who are completely dependent on God, set aside a specific time to seek Him.

Jesus also set a good example for us. In the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 14, we read about the great miracle of the feeding of the five thousand and how Jesus taught the crowd all day. In the evening, Jesus sent his disciples to the other side of the lake, while he dismissed his listeners.

What would we have done in Jesus' place after such a day? We certainly would have taken a break. But what did Jesus do? "And when he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. And when evening came, he was there alone" (Matthew 14:23). After such a strenuous day, Jesus still went to the trouble of climbing a mountain to enter into fellowship with His Father alone. Even Jesus, the Son of God, took time for prayer in the evening.

The fight

Sometimes a prayer flows easily from our lips, and our soul feels joy. But there are also moments in our prayer life when we can't think clearly. It's precisely in such situations that we often limit our prayer to the bare minimum and turn our attention to other things. Yet it's no secret that a spiritual battle takes place during prayer.

The Apostle Paul vividly describes this in the sixth chapter of his Letter to the Ephesians. From verse 10 onward, the armor of God and its individual components are presented. He points out in verse 11 that we need the entire armor to be able to stand against the "crafty schemes of the devil."

After the entire suit of armor has been presented, Paul writes: “Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:18). This means that prayer is an integral part of the armor, even though it is not given a figurative component. In prayer, therefore, we learn how to use our armor correctly.

If we now add verse 12 for explanation, we read that we are not fighting against something visible, but "against the rulers and authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Ephesians 6:12b). If the battlefield lies in the heavenly realms, then we should be in constant contact with the one who oversees this realm in order to distinguish the spiritual forces of evil from the spiritual forces of good.

Another example shows us Jesus shortly before his crucifixion in the Garden of Gethsemane. There we read of a struggle Jesus waged in prayer. “And he was in agony, and prayed more earnestly; and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground” (Luke 22:44).

Here we see the intensity of Jesus' prayer. Its effects were even visible in his body. After returning from his struggle to his disciples and finding them asleep, Jesus warned them to stay awake so as not to fall into temptation themselves (cf. Luke 22:46).

We can therefore conclude that a supernatural battle takes place during prayer, which we sometimes do not perceive, but which has a very great effect. For the dark world fears the weapon of prayer because it disarms it.

Prayer posture

Overburdened with everyday worries, our prayers often only go in one direction: requests like 'Please give me,' 'Please protect me,' 'Please don't let this happen,' or 'Why is this happening? I don't understand it' – and much more. Ultimately, it is our privilege as children of God to be able to ask our Father for something.

For Jesus himself taught his disciples in the Lord's Prayer to also bring their requests to God. However, prayer does not begin with a request, but with the glorification of the all-reigning God (cf. Mt 6:9). Immediately afterward, Jesus indicated that God has the final word.

Finally, we are to pray: “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10b). The positions of the one asking and the one giving are clearly distinguished. And that is good for us, because God knows our future better than we do and always decides for the best for His children.

Moreover, the Word of God directly calls us to bring our requests before God's throne with thanksgiving: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God" (Philippians 4:6). Maintaining this attitude in prayer is sometimes not so easy.

This became clear to me personally after an experiment. During my youth, my youth group and I started an experiment in our daily prayers, setting aside our requests and combining them with thanksgiving. Inspired by the biblical passage in Psalm 42:5, where the psalmist urges his soul to be calm and place its hope in God, because it would thank God in the future, we changed the form of our prayers.

Instead of praying, “Please help me with the test,” we prayed, “Thank you, God, that you will help me with the test.” All requests were to be accompanied by thanksgiving. The test lasted a week. We were surprised how often we found it difficult to offer God a sacrifice of thanksgiving during that time, before experiencing the effect. We repeatedly caught ourselves letting the requests and self-pitying prayers take over.

But giving thanks is a lovely offering to God and an encouragement for our soul.

Another enemy of a sincere attitude towards prayer is formalism. Who hasn't experienced this: sitting at the table, frantically wondering whether the grace before meals has already been said. So, just to be on the safe side, you say it again – only to hear: "But we already said it."

Our quick answer? "Whatever, better safe than sorry." But secretly we know: Some prayers are so routine that we recite them mechanically – without heart, without thought. And this is precisely where the crucial question arises: Is such a prayer truly pleasing to God?

In James chapter 5, verses 16 to 18, James describes how God, through Elijah's prayer, closed the heavens, and the rain stayed away for three years and six months. What enabled Elijah to perform such a great act through a single prayer? The answer is found in verse 16b: "The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective." It is not the length or the chosen words that make the difference, but the sincerity and the necessary earnestness.

Quiet time: A non-negotiable commodity

We often hear about quiet time and how incredibly important it is to schedule it into our daily routine. But why is so much emphasis placed on it? And what are the benefits? To help us understand quiet time a little better, let me describe it with an example.

Imagine we're driving on a busy highway. We glance at the speedometer and see that we're about to stop for fuel. We ignore the warning and continue driving at a constant speed. From the outside, no one would guess that in just a few kilometers we'll run out of gas and then have to be towed off the highway, which would be a costly and expensive process. But when the tank's empty, it's empty.

This is roughly how quiet time can be described. It is an opportunity to pour out our hearts to God and also to receive strength for our journey ahead. It is precisely in such moments of togetherness that God reveals hidden things to us and strengthens our faith. But the enemy strives to keep us from this time.

In the Book of Daniel, chapter 6, we read that Daniel regularly sought prayer. He even risked his life in doing so. But why was Daniel so faithful in this matter? He knew that he was praying to the One who holds death and life in His hands and that he was completely dependent on Him.

And it is precisely this sense of dependence that we often lack. We believe we can master our life's journey alone and are surprised when things suddenly come to a standstill. Jesus also pointed out to His disciples that they should seek out their quiet rooms: “When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Matthew 6:6).

Especially during our youth, God gives us many opportunities to gather valuable strength for the rest of our lives. For when we start our own families, many other challenges arise that also demand our time. And we are all the more grateful when we can draw on the wisdom of the past.

Feelings should be treated with caution.

Everyone has probably asked themselves at some point whether God even hears their prayer. What do we base our decision on, whether God has heard me or not? When we have felt God's presence in prayer and our hearts are full of joy, then we are certain that our prayer has reached heaven. But there are also times when praying is very difficult and we feel as if our prayer doesn't rise any higher than the ceiling.

Of course, we must constantly examine ourselves and remove sin from our lives, which creates a separation between God and His creation. But making the effectiveness of a prayer dependent on our feelings can sometimes deceive us.

I once learned this lesson. During a difficult period filled with trials, I went to my room, feeling down, and poured out my heart to God. After the prayer ended, however, my state of mind remained unchanged. A short time later, I went back to prayer. I wanted to get rid of the feeling of oppression, but it didn't work.

During another prayer, God spoke to me through a vessel, saying that He had heard the prayers I had offered in my distressing situation. I learned from this that my personal well-being does not affect the power of prayer and is not decisive in whether God hears my prayer or not.

On the other hand, there is the filling of the Holy Spirit. Anyone who thinks that the absence of this filling is not a serious matter should be warned. There are periods in our lives when this filling is lacking. However, this should not become a permanent state.

As already mentioned, prayer is a struggle. And the striving for spiritual fulfillment should be the goal. For in such moments, the Spirit takes over the prayer, and one emerges strengthened. However, if we neglect the search for fulfillment, it can lead us to strive to experience it through other practices.

Unfortunately, the enemy has succeeded in spreading this false belief almost everywhere on earth. For example, attempts are made to create feelings through songs that resemble a true filling of the Holy Spirit. But anyone who has tasted the true filling of the Holy Spirit will agree that there is no greater joy than experiencing the nearness and glory of God in prayer.

Prayer for one another

“But we who are strong should bear up to the weak and not be complacent. Each of us should please our neighbor for his good and for his building up, for even Christ was not complacent” (Romans 15:1-3a).

"Youth, you are strong!" – many of us have surely heard this or a similar phrase before. But what does it really mean? Young people form a strong community when they live according to the teachings of the Bible. And that is precisely what constitutes their strength. As already mentioned, the Apostle Paul urges the church in Rome to support one another and not only look out for themselves, because Jesus himself was not concerned with his own well-being, but always had his fellow human beings in mind.

But what might this look like in practice? Imagine a youth member leaves the community and turns to the outside world. What kind of compassion does this situation evoke in us? Do we fall to our knees and stand in the way? Or are we so preoccupied with ourselves that we don't even properly perceive our surroundings?

Paul wants to warn us about this. Young people have the wonderful opportunity to support one another in prayer. And it is precisely in such strong prayer fellowship that God has moved many souls to conversion. I have witnessed this.

Faith plays a crucial role.

Faith plays a central role in our prayers. We must believe that God makes no mistakes and does everything to draw His children closer to Himself. The Letter to the Hebrews describes it this way: “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).

This means that it is impossible to encounter God without faith. Sometimes we find it difficult to accept something in faith through prayer. But even then, we can ask God to strengthen our faith. And we will find that faith will continue to grow through every trial.

Diploma

Certainly, this brief report hasn't fully illuminated all aspects of prayer. However, we see how seriously God takes prayer and fellowship. In short, we can say that a simple prayer, spoken in faith, can move mountains. God desires an honest and sincere relationship with His children. We don't need to pretend, especially not in prayer. He knows His children anyway.

This report is meant to motivate us to transform our prayer life, if it isn't already, into a firm pillar of our lives, through which we receive strength and guidance. We must be aware, however, that the enemy is already champing at the bit, trying to thwart our plans. But if we give him no opportunity, and instead actively engage in the battle through prayer, then Jesus will go with us.

Markus Berg

Municipality of Bremen-Vahr

Unless otherwise indicated, Bible quotations follow the translation by Martin Luther (2009).