Hammer on Anvil '

"Far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you" (1 Samuel 12:23).

This story of Samuel amazes and humbles me. He boldly brought the word of the Lord to the Israelites, and usually it addressed their sin and idolatry. This particular time, they sinned against God by demanding a king to rule over them.

Samuel lets them know this sin is grievous, and they beg him to pray and ask God to spare them (again). Rather than lecturing them about how much they deserved God's wrath, Samuel encourages them to forsake their sin and truly follow God. Then he says, "Far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you."

Wow. Prayerlessness is sinning against the Lord. It's not merely an admission of, "Gee whiz, my week was busy and I just couldn't fit everything in." Samuel knew his prayers for the Israelites were vital, and did not neglect to intercede for them.

According to blueletterbible.org, the word "prays" occurs 117 times in the Bible, "praying" occurs 36 times, and "prayer" 106 times. That doesn't include other ways prayer is talked about, like "seeking God" or "asking God." Suffice it to say that prayer is high on God's "to-do" list. The Early Church "joined together constantly in prayer" (Acts 1:14). Paul exhorts believers to be "faithful in prayer" (Romans 12:12) and "devote" themselves to prayer (1 Corinthians 7:5; Colossians 4:2). James says "the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective" (5:16). In Luke 18, Jesus tells a parable illustrating that we should always pray and not lose heart.

The depth of our love for Jesus is revealed in our prayer life. Superficial relationship reasons that we have fulfilled our obligation if we pray brief prayers at the beginning and end of the day, and at mealtimes. If our relationship with Jesus is intimate, however, prayer is the pulse of our lives. We are entirely given to God and His purposes, and He is free to wake us in the middle of the night to pray if He chooses. We pray little for ourselves, because God has enabled us to see the "big picture." We intercede for ministers of the gospel and for all our brothers and sisters in Christ, and we cry out to God to save the lost. We don't necessarily have set times for prayer, because we genuinely "pray without ceasing." Lifting our voice in prayer is as natural to us as breathing.

Neglect of prayer, then, is symptomatic of a seriously deficient spiritual life, and one of the major reasons that many Christians walk according to the flesh instead of according to the Spirit. A casual relationship with God is one in which we have never really encountered His holiness, and therefore have never come to grips with the depths of our own sinfulness. But when we encounter God and get a glimpse of His glory, everything changes. His holiness illuminates our sinfulness, and we cry out as Isaiah did, "Woe to me! I am ruined!" (Isaiah 6:5). When we reach this point of desperation, we realize we need not only the salvation that God offers, but constant communion with Him.

It is interesting to note that in Ephesians 6, after Paul describes in great detail the armor of God, he says, "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions" (6:18). Though prayer is not listed among the pieces of armor, it seems to be how Paul wraps up this section on spiritual warfare. If we hope to be effective soldiers for God, we must not be guilty of the sin of prayerlessness.