If you’re like me, you are always searching for spiritual secrets. Secrets that will help you pray more effectively. Secrets that will help you bring God’s mighty power into places of need so that His will can be done on earth as it is in heaven.
In the prayer life of the apostle Paul, there is a pattern that reveals just such a secret. It is a pattern of praise and thanksgiving. Lately, the Lord has highlighted that pattern to me. Although I’ve known for years that Paul was a great man of prayer; although I’ve read, studied, and prayed many times the prayers he penned for the New Testament Church; these days it seems I am especially impressed by how much he praised and gave thanks to God.
Judging by the scriptural record, Paul never prayed without giving thanks. Never.
Read the following verses and you’ll see what I mean:
We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers … (1 Thess. 1:2)
We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you… (Col. 1:3)
I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day…. (2 Tim. 1:3)
I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy.… (Phil. 1:3–4)
Paul not only cultivated an attitude of continual praise and thanksgiving toward God in his own life, he taught other believers to do the same. He told the Thessalonians to give thanks “in everything” (1 Thess. 5:18). He instructed the Ephesians to “give thanks always” (Eph. 5:20). He urged the Philippians to make “every prayer and supplication with thanksgiving” (Phil. 4:6). And when he wrote the Colossians, he said, “…whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Col. 3:17).
Considering the power of Paul’s life and prayers, we should pay close attention to those instructions. We should be eager to follow his pattern of praise.
Scripture Reading: Psalm 100:1–5
Source: Devotions for the Praying Heart by Lynne Hammond.
Excerpt permission granted by Lynne Hammond Ministries
On the chilly March night in 1972 when Lynne Hammond took her first step into a life of Spirit-led prayer, she had no idea what was about to happen. All she knew was the hunger in her heart for God wouldn’t let her sleep. In the few short months she’d been born again, her desire to fellowship with Him had grown so strong she could hardly contain it. “Help me, God!” she cried. “I want to know you. I want to be able to talk to you. Please, teach me to pray!”
Suddenly, a heavenly presence flooded the room. Lynne sensed waves of spiritual fire sweeping over her and a beautiful language began to flow like a river from within her. Although she’d never heard of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, she knew instantly, without a doubt—this was God!
What began that night soon blossomed into a life of prayer that ultimately became a ministry of prayer when, in 1980, Lynne and her husband, Mac, founded Living Word Christian Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Under Lynne’s leadership, the prayer ministry at Living Word has become an internationally recognized model for developing effective pray-ers in the local church.
A teacher and an author, Lynne publishes a newsletter called Prayer Notes, has written numerous books, and currently serves as the national prayer director for Daughters for Zion. Her passion for inspiring and leading others into the life of Spirit-led prayer continues to take her around the world to minister to believers whose heart cry, like hers, is “Lord, teach me to pray!”