Reviving Prayer

Reviving Prayer
Many churches no longer have dedicated prayer services any more. Those that do have them are usually not well attended. There are many factors that go into this reality, but one that we might think about is what do the prayer services focus on? Many times prayer services turn into a laundry list of medical issues, many of which are good concerns to pray for. Yet, you also have situations where you end up talking about Aunt Bernice’s bunions for fifteen minutes. Certainly there are times and situations where it is good and proper to lift up the physical burdens of our brothers, family members, and more to the Lord. However, if this is the only portion of the prayer service, then it would seem that we have missed something critical. 

The Lord Jesus taught His disciples how to pray. This is often referred to as the Lord’s prayer. Both Matthew and Luke record this prayer for us, and the first petition of the prayer is of vital importance. However, let us not miss that we are addressing our Father in heaven. How splendid and comforting is the thought that I am not praying to some abstract deity who cares little or nothing for me. Rather, I am praying to my Father in heaven who loves me.
The first petition of the Lord’s prayer is that the name of God be hallowed. Another way of saying that is that we ought to pray that the name of God be honored as holy. You might be thinking to yourself, “Well, of course we should pray for that!” However, in all honesty, very few Chrisitans give attention to this in their regular prayers. When was the last time you prayed to your Father in heaven asking that His name be honored as holy? 

What would it look like for the people of God to pray for the name of God to be honored as holy? This alone could consume our entire prayer lives for eternity. Even so, let’s conclude with a few examples. We could pray that the name of God would be honored as holy in our personal lives; the way we live, think, act, speak. We could pray that the name of God would be honored as holy in and among our families. We could pray that the name of God would be honored as holy in our church, community, nation, schools, and more. So then, let us revive prayer in the heart of the Church. Let us regularly pray that in all things the name of God would be hallowed.

Grace be with you,
C. R. Hamilton