"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16).
On a recent road trip I was reminded that interstate travel is a good time for intentional praying. That is particularly true if you have just agreed to write an article on prayer as I had done a few days earlier. So just what is intentional praying? It may be the kind of praying we do least, but it is praying that genuinely seeks an answer.
Our prayers take different forms. Most Christians are experts at crisis praying, which is our natural response when something goes wrong. David spoke for all of us when he wrote, “In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God” (Ps. 18:6a). We also are proficient with habitual prayers when we arise in the morning or sit down to a meal. It is fitting that we should have a habit of praying since Paul wrote, “Pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thess. 5:17–18).
In addition to these, however, the discipline of prayer should include intentional prayer that is focused, reasoned and intense. This is the kind of prayer we find in John 17, often called Jesus’ High Priestly prayer. Timing was critical — just a matter of hours before His arrest. The prayer was marked by urgency and reflected His concern for His followers. It was a prayer of submission and commitment to the Father’s plan.
Jesus’ intentional prayer
The intentional prayer of Jesus looked back to His time with the Father before the world existed. It looked forward to the time when many would believe through the words of the apostles. Jesus lifted up His eyes to heaven, even though He had recently announced that the Son of Man would be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Jesus’ intentional prayer is focused and tightly wound. For three years He had taught the multitudes, healed the sick and confronted the religious leaders with the tenets of true religion. He earned the titles of Master Teacher and Great Physician. He came to seek and to save the lost. But in this hour, His prayer is about His concern for the spiritual well-being of His disciples: “I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours” (John 17:9). In this prayer He also petitions the Father for all who would ever come to believe in Him through the words of the apostles. He models the discipline of intentional prayer.
We find other examples of intentional praying in the Bible. At the dedication of the temple in Jerusalem, Solomon knelt on his knees in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven. This was a public prayer that the people of God would remember Him and obey Him. That day the emphasis was not on the dedication address but the intentional prayer that the people would use the holy temple properly (2 Chron. 6).
In the New Testament, within days after the resurrection, the congregation at Jerusalem prayed intentionally for the apostles who faced opposition as they preached the gospel in the city: “Now, Lord, look on their threats and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word” (Acts 4:29).
The familiar story of Paul’s thorn in the flesh is an example of an intentional personal prayer: “Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me” (2 Cor. 12:8). Paul’s words are not recorded but we sense the urgency of his need and the reality of an unexpected answer to prayer.
Biblical prayers are instructive for us if we want to pray effectively. Intentional praying is not broad-brush praying that makes sure no topic is left out. It is not praying by a formula. Rather it is prompted by a particular issue and focused on one subject. Prayer should be natural because we are invited by God the Father. It should be focused because we are instructed by Jesus the Son. We pray with confidence because we are assisted by the Holy Spirit.
Being a disciple of Jesus means more than just believing in Jesus. A disciple wants to learn from the Master in order to live and love like the Master. The disciplines of the Christian life are those practices which shape us into the likeness of Christ. They begin to shape our conduct, influence our priorities and determine our character. The Bible describes us as the clay which is formed by the potter.
The Lord’s Prayer
Prayer must certainly be a discipline of the Christian life, but our prayers can easily become routine. As the Twelve spent time with Jesus they recognized that His prayers were different from theirs and they asked Him to teach them to pray as He did. His answer to their request is the Lord’s Prayer which is the appropriate starting place for us to learn to pray.
The Bible tells us what Jesus taught His disciples, how He modeled praying and what He is doing for us right now. The writer of Hebrews reminds us that we ought to draw near to the throne of grace with boldness. We can do that because “we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God.” We can pray intentionally to the Father through our Mediator, Christ Jesus, with the aid of the Holy Spirit. We can have confidence that the Father will answer our petitions for our good and for His glory.
If we are serious about the discipline of prayer we will seek to know God’s will and ask Him to accomplish that in our personal lives, our families, our congregations and throughout all creation. For His glory.
Cook is pastor of Dogwood Grove Baptist Church, Adger. After retiring, Cook and his wife, Elaine, served as International Mission Board missionaries in South Asia. He then earned a master of divinity degree from Samford University’s Beeson Divinity School. The couple has three daughters and three grandchildren.
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