And
pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With
this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
—Ephesians 6:18
We know we are supposed to pray. We’re supposed
to pray everywhere, everything, always. But how often do our churches really
practice and teach prayer? Something we’ve learned from John Wesley, Martin
Luther, Calvin, and others, is that God really wants us to learn how to pray and
to pray in simple ways. We can learn from other prayer warriors.
Luther set an example for prayer. He began each day
with three or four hours of prayer. That fact discourages and intimidates me in
many ways! But I want to learn how to pray. I don’t want to try to be him; I
want to learn what God wants ME to learn and to become the kind of prayer
warrior He wants ME to become.
Luther’s friend, Veit Dietrich, described Luther
praying, and said he prayed devoutly as one who talked with God with hope and
belief, as one speaking to his Father…he leaned hard upon the promises in the
Psalms, as if everything must certainly come to pass which he desired. Luther
was a man of praise.
Martin Luther gave great advice on prayer. He
taught us to pray the Lord’s Prayer. He taught us to pray through the Ten
Commandments. He used the three major points of the Apostles Creed. Martin
Luther taught that we should pray the Psalms, and learn to use biblical
language.
Pray
through the Apostles Creed or through a psalm, and ask God to help you “pray
in the Spirit on all occasions.”