The Pleasure Of Prayer

Hello, this is Will Hardy with ManTalk Radio.

We are all about breaking down the walls of race and denomination. Your chosen Truth Network Podcast is starting in just a few minutes. Enjoy it.

Share it. But most of all, thank you for listening to the Truth Network Podcast. At any time, about anything. On Encouraging Prayer, Dr. James Banks, author of the bestselling Prayers for Prodigals and many other books on prayer, provides weekly biblical insight to help you learn to love to pray.

And now, here's James. So what a fun topic for today, especially the day right before Father's Day. So today we're going to talk about the pleasure of prayer, and I love that because I don't think we hear enough about that, right, James? Yeah, Robbie, sometimes when people talk about prayer, you just feel guilty, you know, because it seems like it's all about doing more, praying more, trying just a little harder. And don't get me wrong, I know I need to do that sometimes, but if it's only about the quote-unquote worth of prayer, I'm missing the point. I mean, how would my wife feel if I told her, Carrie, I'm going to do the work that's going to be worth my time? I can just hear that, right?

I can hear, well, thanks a lot, James. I think this is so important because you're right. I mean, we can make prayer all about drudgery and do's and don'ts, and God wants it to be so much more than that, especially tomorrow, you know, James.

It's going to be, you know, who doesn't want their kids home for the holiday. Exactly. You think about that. God wants us only. He wants our company. And there's a pleasure for prayer, and we don't want to miss that because God moves through it, and he wants to give us more of himself when we pray. Just think about David saying things like, I'm still as quiet as myself, just to be with God. Or, you've given a greater joy than when the new wine abounds, or where can I go to be with my God?

All of that. You know, you hear that heartbeat of longing there, and this shows us some of the best parts of prayer. There's genuine pleasure in being with God.

So could you, you know, go into that a little bit more, kind of explain what you mean? Yeah, because, you know, I think this is so down-to-earth, is that sometimes people, when you talk about this thing, oh, well, you're being mystical, and they immediately rule it out, but God wants it to be that way. I think this is more like, you know, when you sit down to a good meal, I'm sure you got to do the work of lifting your fork from the plate, you know, but if it's good food, when you're praying, you know, likewise, there's a safer tool. So this past week, I came across an old poem about prayer I hadn't seen in a while. It's from the medieval English poet George Herbert, and he describes prayer in several different ways. He refers to our prayer, and he calls it reverse thunder, which is a great term.

I mean, you really have to think about it. And he refers to how our prayers can affect the will of God by calling it engine against the Almighty. You know, in other words, how God will allow our prayers to interact with his will.

And, of course, that's only because God wants it to be that way, but he wants to give us that power when we pray. And he also refers to the way it touches God. He calls it God's breath in man returning to its birth. So God breathes life into us, and as we're praying back to God, you know, he leads us in life again. Pretty profound stuff, but then there's this line, softness and peace and joy and love and bliss, exalted man, gladness of the best, heaven in ordinary, man well-bressed. And so, you know, basically, he's talking about who we are, you know, dressed in Christ's righteousness, being able to meet with God and to hear him now. That's what he means by heaven is yours to pray. And in all of that, he's pointing to the pleasure of just talking with God, just being with him, the ways God gives us himself when we're really talking with him. Oh, that's so good and really so true. God has ways of meeting us when we pray that really are so sweet. Yeah, yeah, and we've talked about that word before, and how often you hear that in your own prayer, you know, sweet hour prayer, or it's just so sweet to trust in Jesus, or think about this old man that's about 90 years old, from Bernard and Claire Foa of Jesus, the very thought of me with sweetness fills my breast for the better part of my faith to see and my presence rest.

And at the end of that, you know, there's that relationship. And this is all about what God's word points to when it says the spirit affirms with our hope that we are God's children. Just like our earthly fathers, they're good fathers. They want us to be with them.

They love to spend time with us. And that's just a pale reflection of our heavenly father's heart and his image we're made. So imagine how God loves to be with us, longs for us, and we go there. You know, if we pray sincerely and just being real, he'll really need us and give us the word himself. And this isn't just about experiences, because the word of God shows us this happening. And, you know, as an example, I mentioned several from the Psalms, so you can't discount experiences either, even though our faith doesn't rely entirely on it.

It can be important. I'd love just for the rest of this talk, a couple minutes, to share some of the pleasures of prayer personally, so we're not just talking about this theographically. But, you know, in spending time with God in prayer, how about that?

Are you in? Oh, am I ever. I mean, I could share something really just from the last couple days. You know, God has given me this, I don't know, a wonderful thing that we do every year where he gives me a word of the year. And it's sort of, he gives me that in prayer, and then as I join him in that adventure throughout the year, it's amazing how he brings that to life to see, you know, what he's doing in my life for the year as he's kind of given me an advanced idea of what that might be. And this year, his word of the year was, for me, was to be gathered in great faith. And, you know, as things come to pass this year, I have two weddings. Both my daughters are being married this year, so talk about being gathered in great faith, and then even more amazing to me that I get to officiate my younger daughter's wedding here this coming Saturday.

Yeah, especially. And so as I see these things come true that he kind of told me in the head, that's where we're going, and then as I'm working on officiating these, of course I'm terribly nervous and concerned about saying the right thing and all that. So every morning this week, as I've just laid in his arms actually in the morning trying to, God, where do we go, what is it that, you know, that light that I could bring to the ceremony in some way, and oh, he gave me this picture of it's just not good for a man to be alone.

And the idea that he never was, you know, he always had God with him. You know, I hope to encourage our listeners to want to go there, really, to know the pleasure of God's company, because really, you know, there's nothing better. That's so good.

That's great. Father, God bless us in heaven with God. Help us to come to you. We just love you. Thank you. Amen. You can hear more from Pastor James by visiting his website, jamesbanks.org, or by visiting Peace Church in Durham, North Carolina. May God bless you and encourage you as you pray.