How I Think Affects My Prayer Life
When you first read the title, you might think I’ve gotten it backwards – that it’s my prayer life that affects how I think. Definitely, an effective prayer life affects my thoughts. If you will stay with me on this, however, I think you will come to see that it works the other way, as well.
Are you a busy person? Most of us say a resounding “Yes” to that question, for many different reasons. Some work, take care of children and home, stay involved with their church and their community, etc. Others just thrive on being busy, getting one thing finished on a long list of things to do so they can move on to the next item on the agenda. We get such a feeling of accomplishment in making the list and then checking off the completed items! Oops! I just gave myself away, didn’t I? When we live such busy lives, regardless of the reason, what are we bringing into our prayer lives?
I have “to do” lists that help me keep focused and remind me what I need to be working on and preparing for each day. I set goals that I believe the Lord puts in my heart at the beginning of each year, both personally and for the ministry, and I check them as the year goes along to try to stay on track. Because my mind works in this way, when I try to spend time with the Lord, too often I find that, rather than praying or sitting quietly in His presence, I’ve just spent much time thinking about what I’m going to do after I’m finished. My body is there, but my mind isn’t. At some point, I “come to,” realize that’s what I’ve done, repent, and try again. There are times that I am able to still my racing mind, and other times that I give up, deciding just to pray as I go that day, for I’m not “accomplishing” anything.
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 “4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” NIV
The way I use my mind throughout each day comes right into my prayer life. For me, this means that I approach my prayer time as another thing to accomplish and check off my to-do list. The verses above tell me that I can fight this pattern, this mindset, so that my thought life will not drive me, but the Spirit will lead me and help me take authority over my thoughts. In order to demolish the arguments, the out-of-balance planning and goal orientation, I must take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ, by comparing those thoughts with the Word of God. When they aren’t in line (in this case, being anxious and trying to keep control of everything,) I must submit them to the specific Word of God. I repent for being anxious and walking by the flesh, not by the Spirit (Phil. 4:6, Rom. 8:5,) receive the forgiveness of the Lord, and start over. It’s not a one-time thing, but requires consistent effort and practice to demolish this stronghold in my life completely. It is doable, however, in the strength of the Lord and by His Spirit!
What’s important to note is that this is not just to be practiced in my prayer time. It must be practiced all day every day in order to complete this demolition. The more I take captive every thought to the obedience of Christ and His Word as I go through my day, the more I will be able to stay focused in my prayer life, and the more effective it will be. No more will my prayer time be one more thing on the agenda for the day. It will become that special part of my day when I get to meet with my Father, uninterrupted by life’s activities. This will take practice, but I am determined to have my thought life positively affect my prayer life for the glory of God!
© Copyright 2006 Kay V. Stocking
