Only Weak People Pray
Something beautiful is happening at 212 S Ludlow St. in Dayton, Ohio. A noon musical prayer meeting is attracting the attention of heaven and softening the heart of the city.
A few of us visited the Student House of Prayer (SHOP) recently and enjoyed connecting with some old friends who’ve been committed to the prayer effort in their city for years. They’ve been faithfully keeping the fires of prayer burning, whether by few or many. It was wonderful to stand, sing and pray with them in their space and see how it’s redeeming the inner city. You should check it out. (daytonshop.org)
The next day I found myself again praying with a handful back home, asking God to pour out His wisdom and power on His church in Cincinnati. Our prayers felt short and though our voices were clear as we prayed the scriptures, I didn’t feel as empowered as I’d hoped. Our words didn’t roll off the lips as eloquent as some, but they were honest.
Earlier that day, I was pacing in the auditorium while the noontime devotional prayer meeting was going on. I was praying God’s word back to Him out of Colossians chapter one. “…that God would fill you with the knowledge of His will through all wisdom and understanding as the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way…” I was working to strengthening the muscles of my inner man but so aware at how weak I felt.
Truth is, some days are like that, perhaps a lot of them, but it’s not the reality. It would be wrong to assume that because we don’t feel anything in our prayers, God doesn’t either. Our weak prayer times may not move us, but they move the heart of God.
Years ago, in a conversation, a man once told me that, “Only weak people pray.” To him, prayer seemed like a waste of time and an excuse for not acting. He believed that if there was a God, which he questioned, He would help those who helped themselves.
God is big enough to have things any way He wants. It just so happens that he has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He has chosen the perceived weakness of prayer to be the vehicle He uses to accomplish His mighty purposes in the earth. Agreeing with this weakness is what God calls wisdom.
If only we could see what God sees in these times; even just a glimpse can make all the difference.
Our weak prayers move the heart of God
Mike Bickle speaks of just such a time in his excellent book, Growing in Prayer, where he recounts a life-changing encounter at a Saturday morning prayer meeting he was leading:
“He arrived early, taking note that the only two cars in the parking lot belonged to the young guys running the sound system. Approaching the building, he heard something like the “Hallelujah Chorus” in Handel’s Messiah. It was glorious and beautiful, but terribly loud. Those guys will surely blow out the speakers having the volume up so loud, he thought. However, when he opened the door, everything was completely quiet inside. What’s going on? he thought.
Walking into the sanctuary, he found the two young guys praying together at the front of the sanctuary. Perplexed, wondering what he had just heard, it suddenly dawned on him… he had literally heard angelic choirs singing.
He could hardly wait for the prayer meeting to start, thinking something astounding, powerful might happen. When a few others gathered, he stood at the microphone in anticipation, but the prayer went on as normal, it was almost boringly predictable. In fact, it was a regular run-of-the-mill prayer meeting, like every other Saturday morning.
At the conclusion, when everyone left, he sat quietly by himself, thinking. Hearing that angelic choir was one of the strangest things he’d ever experienced. What did it mean?
Suddenly, the Lord impressed on him, “This happens every time a few of My people gather to pray.” A shocking revelation. He understood that angelic choirs rejoiced every time God’s people gathered to pray, even in small, seemingly uninspired, Saturday morning prayer meetings.”
There’s such great encouragement in knowing that even when our private times of prayer or our public prayer meetings fail to move us, they always move the angels. We can never measure our prayers by what we feel. When we pray in agreement with God’s will, our weak prayers move the heart of God even if they don’t move ours.
After that prayer set in Dayton, my friend said, “I often feel as if a window is being opened in heaven and the angels are joining us as we sing and pray, therefore it doesn’t matter whether our room is full or not, the audience is immense.”
How weak are you today?