As Christians, we know prayer is important – so we check it off our list, say a quick thanks before a meal, and maybe a few minutes before we fall asleep.
But do you actually have a burden, a passion, for prayer? Do you long to spend time in prayer … or is it a duty a chore, an obligation?
Pray isn’t meant to be a “have to” – prayer is a “get to” – we get to spend time with the King of the Universe. We get to have intimacy and oneness with Jesus.
In this day, as things grow increasingly more dark and difficult, it is all the more imperative that Christians rise up and gain God’s heart and burden for the world – that we become passionate about prayer.
In this episode, we discuss the importance of having a passion for prayer and look at a few examples throughout Christian history of individuals who were willing to give themselves to prayer.
As EM Bounds so rightly stated, “These days of ours have [desperate] need of a generation of praying men, a band of men and women through whom God can bring his great and his greatest movements more fully into the world. … A breed of Christian is greatly needed who will seek tirelessly after God—who will give him no rest, day and night, until he hearkens to their cry. The times demand praying men who are all athirst for God’s glory, who are broad and unselfish in their desires, quenchless for God, who seek him late and early, and who will give themselves no rest until the whole earth be filled with his glory.”
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Show Notes / Additional Resources
- Isaiah 59:14, 16 – Justice is turned back, And righteousness stands afar off; For truth is fallen in the street, And equity cannot enter. … He saw that there was no man, And wondered that there was no intercessor; Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; And His own righteousness, it sustained Him.
- Hebrews 7:25 – Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
- E.M. Bounds – These days of ours have sore need of a generation of praying men, a band of men and women through whom God can bring his great and his greatest movements more fully into the world. The Lord our God is not straitened within himself, but he is straitened in us, by reason of our little faith and weak praying. A breed of Christian is greatly needed who will seek tirelessly after God–who will give him no rest, day and night, until he hearkens to their cry. The times demand praying men who are all athirst for God’s glory, who are broad and unselfish in their desires, quenchless for God, who seek him late and early, and who will give themselves no rest until the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Examples of People Who Had a Passion for Prayer
Thomas Haire
- A.W. Tozer said of Thomas Haire – The two characteristics that mark Tom Haire as unusual are his utter devotion to prayer and his amazing spiritual penetration. Three months after his conversion, when he was sixteen years old, he formed the habit of praying four hours each day. This practice he followed faithfully for many years. Later he added one all-night prayer session each week. In 1930 these weekly all-night prayer times were increased to two, and in 1948 he settled down to the habit of praying three nights of every week. He gets along on very little sleep. In addition to the three nights each week that he stays awake to pray he is frequently awakened in the night seasons by a passage of Scripture or a burden of prayer that will not let him rest. “And almost always,” he says, “the Lord wakens me early in the morning to pray.”
Leonard Ravenhill
- Jacob Aranza said of Leonard Ravenhill – Leonard’s passion for God fueled his prayer life. He was often in prayer hours each day. Many men have talked about the amount of time Ravenhill spent in prayer. There is no need to try to calculate it. The reality is it was often, consistent, and hours every day. Prayer was not a part of his life—it was his life…I can still remember him saying to me, “I don’t want to meet a man who has written more books than me or is a better preacher than me or who has preached to more people than me. I want to meet a man who has more of God on his life than I do. That’s what I long for.” Unlike most preachers today, Leonard spent more time with God alone than he did with anyone else.
John Hyde
David Brainerd
Edward Payson
- Leonard Ravenhill said of Edward Payson – Edward Payson, better known as praying Payson of Portland, was another great prayer warrior. He used to kneel at the side of his bed and pray, and pray, and pray. When they washed his body for burial, they found great big pads on his knees like a camel has. Tradition says that James had camel’s knees, but it’s a living fact that Payson had them. When they were washing him, somebody said, “What abnormal knees. They’re heavy with callouses.” That’s because he used to pray at the side of his bed with energy – and he wore two grooves about six or seven inches long into that hard floor where he used to pray and make intercession.
The Disciples Want Jesus to Teach Them One Thing: Prayer
Luke 11:1 – Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when He finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, …”
Quotes on Prayer
- Leonard Ravenhill – No man is greater than his prayer life. The pastor who is not praying is playing; the people who are not praying are straying.
- Leonard Ravenhill – The true man of God is heartsick. He is . . . grieved at the worldliness of the Church, grieved at the toleration of sin in the Church, grieved at the prayerlessness in the Church.
- Samuel Chadwick – It would seem as if the biggest thing in God’s universe is a man who prays. There is only one thing more amazing, that is, that man, knowing this, should not pray.
- Unknown Christian – If there are any regrets in heaven, the greatest will be that we spent so little time in real intercession.
- Leonard Ravenhill – I believe most of us will need the tears wiped from our eyes when the books are opened at the judgment bar of God, and our personal prayer record is read.
Join the Conversation
Question: Tell us about your burden and passion for prayer.
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About NRJohnson
NRJohnson (Nathan Johnson) is a Christian who has an overwhelming passion for Jesus, the Gospel, and Studying God’s Word. He is a writer, teacher, and communicator who helps other believers understand and apply the Bible as they grow and mature in their faith—desiring that they gain greater intimacy with Christ, experience the victorious Christian life, and transform the world through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Read more about him here.
About the Deeper Christian Podcast
Many Christians feel frustrated because they don’t grow spiritually. The Deeper Christian Podcast helps equip Christians to understand the Word of God and cultivate a passionate love for Jesus that turns the world upside down.
Whether you want to learn how to study God’s Word, grow in your faith, cultivate a powerful and effective prayer life, share the Gospel boldly, deepen your intimacy with Jesus, live victoriously, or transform the world through the indwelling life of the Holy Spirit, the Deeper Christian Podcast with NRJohnson (Nathan Johnson) will encourage and equip you to grow spiritually and live a Christ-centered life.