{"id":3400,"date":"2023-04-14T17:35:40","date_gmt":"2023-04-14T17:35:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/?p=3400"},"modified":"2023-04-19T21:34:49","modified_gmt":"2023-04-19T21:34:49","slug":"let-us-pray-help-in-prayer-from-d-a-carsons-praying-with-paul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/2023\/04\/14\/let-us-pray-help-in-prayer-from-d-a-carsons-praying-with-paul\/","title":{"rendered":"Let Us Pray: Help in Prayer from D.A. Carson’s “Praying with Paul”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Praying can often be challenging in many ways. Simply finding time to pray once throughout the day can be elusive, let alone trying to find and establish a rhythm of prayer. We find our time in prayer comes in fits and starts and often looks random as opposed to regular and rhythmic. Then once we do start praying, we find that our mind tends to wonder to-and-fro to the point that we often can\u2019t even remember what it is we\u2019ve already prayed for or haven\u2019t prayed for yet. What is the remedy? One very helpful and encouraging resource for building a regular rhythm of prayer in one\u2019s life is D.A. Carson\u2019s Praying with Paul: A Call to Spiritual Reformation<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The Introduction and first two chapters alone are a treasure trove of practical and biblical wisdom. First, Carson identifies the immense value of prayer. Then he offers some practical steps to help us start praying and to help us drown out the noise of everyday. And then he offers insight into building a biblical framework that helps guide our prayers. This practical wisdom helps eliminate distractions and the biblical wisdom informs and streamlines our prayers so that we pray in the Spirit, in accord with the heart of God as revealed by Scripture.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Need for Prayer<\/em><\/p>\n

We will not ever prioritize prayer or ever establish a rhythm of prayer in our lives if we do not recognize the immeasurable value of prayer. Carson notes, \u201cThe most urgent need of the church in the Western world is the need to pray.\u201d[1]<\/a> Carson acknowledges the swath of other areas the church needs to address and be prepared to respond to (Issues like overwhelming biblical illiteracy, cultural moral decay, the sexual revolution, the rise of cultural intolerance for those disagreeing with majority cultural virtues, unreached and unchurched people groups, etc.). However, he maintains \u201cthe one thing we most urgently need is a deeper knowledge of God. We need to know God better.\u201d[2]<\/a> And what is one of the primary ways in which we grow in our intimate knowledge of God? How do we know God better? We pray.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the foundational steps in knowing God, and one of the basic demonstrations that we do know God is prayer\u2014spiritual, persistent, biblically minded prayer.\u201d[3]<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So once we recognize its value, then the next natural step is to engage in the practice of prayer itself.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Practical Steps for Prayer<\/em><\/p>\n

I once had a track coach who offered powerful wisdom for improving one\u2019s running ability and speed. He could often be heard saying to us unfit, ailing, frustrated wannabe track stars, \u201cDo you want to know how you become a better, faster runner? You run.\u201d In chapter one, Carson makes much the same point with prayer. If we want to see improvement in our prayer lives, the first step is to pray. Or, to say it another way, we often struggle in prayer because we don\u2019t pray regularly. Carson addresses this point specifically in this way, \u201cMuch praying is not done because we do not plan to pray.\u201d[4]<\/a> He then offers perhaps one of the simplest yet most profound pieces of wisdom with regard to prayer: \u201cIt is better to pray often with brevity than rarely but at length.\u201d[5]<\/a> The first step to improving our prayer life is to pray.<\/p>\n

Carson then offers some simply practical steps to help eliminate distractions. Among these are: vocalizing prayers, praying through Scripture, making prayer lists to follow, journaling prayers, having a prayer partner, etc.[6]<\/a> The takeaway from these suggestions is that there are practical steps we can plan to take along with good and wise practices that help focus our prayer efforts. Some will find different practices to be more beneficial than others. The key is finding what works for you.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Developing a Framework for Prayer<\/em><\/p>\n

In chapter two, Carson urges us to develop a robust framework for our prayers. And as the title of his book suggests, he models this framework off of Paul\u2019s prayers. Specifically, he models it off of Paul\u2019s prayer for the Thessalonians in 2 Thessalonians 1:3\u201312. There, Carson points out that two elements make up Paul\u2019s framework for his prayer:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Thankfulness for signs of grace in the Thessalonians<\/li>\n
  2. Confidence and hope in God’s coming reign at Christ\u2019s return, and the justice it will bring<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    So, when we pray, we too should recognize the varying signs of grace that God has granted in us and our church family. And we make it a point to thank God for such gifts of grace. Such gifts could be increased faith, increased love, increased knowledge of God, growing maturity, perseverance in trials and suffering, people using their gifts to build up the body, confession and repentance, etc. When we recognize such graces, our instinct should be to thank God for them. As we develop this framework, we will likely find that we become more proficient at recognizing them. We will begin to identify God\u2019s gifts of grace where before we might of looked right past them. So when we pray, we infuse our prayers with thankfulness for signs of divine grace.<\/p>\n

    And, when we pray, we pray with a view to and longing for the fullness of God’s kingdom that comes with the return of Jesus. We anticipate not just the joy that comes with his presence but also the justice that comes with the consummation of his kingdom. All wrongs will be made right. God will vindicate all his people, and God will exact retribution on all the enemies of him and his people. Saints have always fit their prayers into the reality that God will deliver vindication and justice for his people, whom he knows intimately. Think of David\u2019s prayers to God in the Psalms (cf. Psalm 139, which we have recently memorized as a congregation). Therefore, when we pray, our prayers take on a tincture of hopefulness because Jesus will<\/em> return. And so in our prayers we raise up this plea to heaven, \u201cCome, Lord Jesus\u201d (Revelation 22:20).<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Let Us Pray<\/em><\/p>\n

    We must recognize the value and need for prayer. With Carson\u2019s help, we can find ways to plan for prayer and develop practices to eliminate distraction. And with Carson and Paul\u2019s helps, we too can begin to develop and build a framework for our prayers that infuses them with thanksgiving and hope. When we pray, we commune with God, grow in our knowledge of him, thank him for his varied gifts of grace in our lives, and joyfully anticipate Christ\u2019s return when he will right all wrongs. So the only thing left for us to do is to pray. So let us pray.<\/p>\n

    [1]<\/a> D. A. Carson, Praying with Paul: A Call to Spiritual Reformation<\/em>, Second. (Baker Academic, 2015), xi.<\/p>\n

    [2]<\/a> Carson, Praying with Paul<\/em>, xiii.<\/p>\n

    [3]<\/a> Carson, Praying with Paul<\/em>, xiii.<\/p>\n

    [4]<\/a> Carson, Praying with Paul<\/em>, 1.<\/p>\n

    [5]<\/a> Carson, Praying with Paul<\/em>, 2.<\/p>\n

    [6]<\/a> Carson, Praying with Paul<\/em>, 2\u201320.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Praying can often be challenging in many ways. Simply finding time to pray once throughout the day can be elusive, let alone trying to find and establish a rhythm of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,15,23,1],"tags":[2705,2702,743,830,867,1133,2701,1195,2700,1196,1547,1549,1550,2704],"class_list":["post-3400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","category-devotions","category-reading-recommendations","category-uncategorized","tag-2-thessalonians","tag-carson","tag-hope","tag-jesus-return","tag-justice","tag-paul","tag-pray","tag-prayer","tag-praying","tag-praying-biblically","tag-thankfulness","tag-thanks","tag-thanksgiving","tag-vindication"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3400"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3400\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3405,"href":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3400\/revisions\/3405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.desiringgodchurch.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}