David Erickson
World Missions
Spending the past twenty-two years in a pioneering Muslim context has grown my prayer life. Reading the Word? Now, that’s easy and enjoyable. But praying? That’s always been more difficult. Because I am a practical person, here are several practical takeaways from the past two decades.
CONSISTENTLY. Early on, I remember being amazed at the devotion of my Muslim friends, who pray consistently five times a day. I was also sad discovering that they had no clue what they were praying. I know I need consistency, too! But what stuck with me over the years is the personal and relational nature of prayer. As believers in Jesus, we come to God as we are with our praises, needs, and requests. We are in a relationship with the God who saved us, continues to sanctify us, and wants to commune with us. Our prayers should reflect this reality and cause us to humbly, thankfully, and even consistently come to him (Matthew 6:6-11).
ALOUD. As an extrovert (dare I say, extreme extrovert), typical prayer postures like sitting alone and praying quietly in my head are not easy. My mind wanders, I am easily distracted, and after just a few minutes, I’m ready to jump up and move on to the next “active” thing. However, I find praying aloud engages my mind and body along with my heart. It keeps me focused on God. I “feel” my prayer more significantly this way. Not only can I pray for longer stretches, but I stay attuned to my Savior through this prayer (Lamentations 3:55-57).
CORPORATELY. I am blessed by corporate prayer. Our team prays together virtually twice a week. The elders from our church pray together once per week, and so does the U.S. Missional Enterprise team. Hearing others, seeing others, and joining together in prayer is incredibly uplifting, and God uses these times of corporate prayer to draw me closer to Him (Matthew 18:20).
So much about prayer remains a mystery to me this side of eternity. But we know that every relationship needs communication, we know that God hears, and we know that God changes our hearts as we pray. For most of my Muslim friends, their prayer life is devout but lacks true communion with the loving and gracious Father. Because of Jesus, we have the ability for our prayers to be a part of our intimate relationship with God. God wants us to come to him. God hears us. And God answers! So, let’s pray!
