In the morning my prayer comes before you.
Psalm 88:13
Through the ministry of Imago Dei we encourage the practice of daily prayer. Our hope is to also testify to its benefits in our own lives. There is such a direct relationship between the practice of contemplative prayer and its evident fruit that we cannot help, out of love for others, but encourage it in their lives as well. Here, more than anywhere, does the adage of “one beggar telling another beggar where he has found food” apply.
The life-changing benefits of prayer are, of course, available to all. As I often and confidently say, if a person commits to praying for at least 20 minutes each day, I guarantee they will become a different person, and live a different life than if they didn’t.
The early 20th century preacher Andrew Murray knew, in his own life, the benefits of daily prayer. He wrote beautifully about it in his book, A Life of Obedience, where he highlights the delight of such daily encounters with God saying,
- To meet with God, to yield ourselves to His will, to know that we please Him, to have Him tell us His desires for the day and lay His hand upon us—this is what we can expect from our time of quiet and devotion. It is what we will come to long for and delight in.
For Murray, the most beneficial offering we can make to God is the time we spend with Him in the morning. There, we establish the foundation that secures us for the rest of our day. He writes,
- It is worth noting how in the morning hour the bond that unites us with God can be so firmly tied that during the hours when, amid the rush of responsibility, we can scarcely think of God, the soul can be kept safe and pure.
Morning prayer establishes a deep keel in our lives which then secures us as we negotiate the unexpected winds and waves of our day. We have renewed this relationship at the onset of our day and, in turn, our recent memory of God assures us that, in spite of the inevitable wanderings of life, we will not stray too far from home. Even sin will have little ground to root in us if we are returning to God each day for direction and redirection. For the simple practice of daily prayer will save us from the foolishness of overly leaning to our own understanding.
In prayer, we work out not only our salvation, but also the assurance of our victory. Our commitment to its daily practice also gives us the assurance of a sanctified life. As Murray notes,
- It is in the place of quiet, where we are alone with God, that our spiritual life is both tested and strengthened. There we enter the battle field where it is decided every day whether God will have all of us and whether our life will be one of absolute obedience. If we truly conquer there, committing ourselves into the hands of our Lord and finding a refuge in Him, victory in the rest of our lives will be certain.
With such a daily “rhythm of return” in place, we can be confident that continual spiritual growth will be the natural fruit of our abiding in the vine. Murray celebrates such confidence saying,
- What cause for praise and joy that the morning watch can so renew and strengthen our surrender to Jesus and our faith in Him that the life of obedience can not only be maintained but also go from strength to strength. The desire for a life of total obedience that such prayer fosters in us will give new meaning and value to the time we spend alone with God, just as it will provide the motivation and persistence needed to maintain this discipline.
Prayer sustains the motivation we need in order to continue in this discipline. In other words, prayer begets more prayer. It inspires a return to itself. As we commit to its daily practice, our desire will not only be upheld, but it will increase, as will our longing for intimacy with God.
Let your closet be your classroom; let your morning watch be the study hour in which your entire dependence on and submission
to the Holy Spirit is your aim.
-Andrew Murray
Rob Des Cotes
Imago Dei Christian Communities
FOR GROUP DISCUSSION:
- How do you feel as you read of Andrew Murray’s relationship to his own prayer practice? Do you envy it? Or do you have a similar relationship to this practice from which you feel kindred to his sentiments?
- What relationship do you experience between your morning prayer (or lack of it) and your subsequent strayings throughout the rest of the day? How does prayer anchor you in your day? Or could the lack of such a foundation be the cause for too much wandering in your life at this time?
- How do you relate to Murray’s statement that prayer is a “battle field where it is decided every day whether God will have all of us, and whether our life will be one of absolute obedience?” How does this battle, which is won or lost during prayer, affect the outcome of other battles in your life?
FOR PRAYER: Take time to speak with God about your present relationship to the practice of prayer. Tell him what you most enjoy about it as well as what you wish was different. If you do not have such a practice in place, talk to the Lord about your hopes for such in the days to come.