Tim Chester -You Can Pray
Anna Coleman writes.....
If you're anything like me you may become easily distracted when praying, you’re not alone many people have the same problem. In fact, if you struggle to pray in the first place, that's not unusual either. There can be many things that prevent us from praying. When I saw this book on a local bookshelf and read the description on the back I thought it may help me with my difficulties in praying alone and with others. Tim Chester starts by telling us how we can be great pray-ers and he admits right from the start that that's a really bold claim. 'The secret of great praying has nothing to do with human effort or skill,' he explains. 'Lots of people would like to think that it does because they want to make prayer an achievement.' But he goes on to explain the secret of great praying is knowing three things about God:
- God the Father loves to hear us pray.
- God the Son makes every prayer pleasing to God.
- God the Holy Spirit helps us as we pray.
The following is just a wee excerpt from the book
“Perhaps this morning you found a moment to pray. What happened in that moment? Perhaps you tried to find a quiet spot, but you could still hear the children shouting. You tried to focus on God, but you kept circling back to the problems of your day. You tried to say something, but it sounded pathetic. After a couple of minutes your mind had wandered. You gave it another go. You prayed for a couple of friends and asked God to bless the mission of your church. Maybe you weren’t sure what to do next. So, feeling a little guilty, you gave up.
All this may be true, but it is not the whole truth or even the main truth. This is what was really happening in that moment. The Lord of the universe looked on you and saw his child. He thought of his Son. He remembered his death. And so he welcomed you into his presence. You may have been sitting on your sofa, but as you prayed, you stepped into the courts of heaven to stand before the Ancient of Days. You may have felt your sin, but the Father saw only the righteousness of his Son. You may have felt the inadequacy of your prayers, but in your faltering words the Father heard the echo of his Son. All your confused and selfish motives were purged by the blood of Jesus so that your prayers were transfigured into the most beautiful liturgy. As you spoke, the Father’s heart filled with joy. The Father gave his Son so that he could enjoy moments like this with you. Tim Chester ‘You Can Pray’
Reading this one page has really helped me to pray without fear of disapproval from God for my lack of ability to say the right thing. I can just pray just as I am no fear of judgement or condemnation. There is now only the knowledge that I am being heard because The Lord is greater than me, because of the work of Christ on the cross and when God looks on me he sees his Son Jesus. God wants to hear me pray and so He made it possible in and of Himself for me to do so. The gift of prayer is mine because of the grace that has been freely given to us.
Tim Chester also looks at: Why prayer is easy (how we pray), Why prayer is difficult (why we pray) and, The arguments and priorities of prayer (what we pray). Prayer is a child asking his or her father for help and that should be something we are all able to do.
The focus of this book is on the certainty that because we pray through Christ Jesus, because of His ultimate sacrifice, that we can boldly approach the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16), and with the aid of the Holy Spirit, our prayers lack for nothing. The lack usually comes in the shape of our own attitudes and weaknesses. Tim Chester discusses what makes prayer difficult and what makes it easy. Each chapter ends with a prayer based on Scripture passage for example
2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 “To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfil every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ” (ESV).
Tim then uses these verses for this prayer
“Our God, we pray that you make us worthy of your calling and that by your power you may bring to fruition our every desire for goodness and our every deed prompted by faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in us, and we in him, according to your grace and the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.”
I would recommend this book to anyone struggling with prayer and those that aren’t as it is a really good reminder of the fundamentals of prayer and the end focus of glorifying God.
