Praying with Paul

I just finished reading "Praying with Paul" by D.A. Carson. While a fairly "academic" book, it also has a lot of wisdom if you persevere in reading. Carson takes a look at some of the things the apostle Paul prays for and about in his New Testament letters, and then expands on them, applying them to our own prayer lives. The basic idea is that if we want to pray better, the Bible is the perfect place to look for guidance - God himself teaches us how to pray and what our priorities should be in his own Word. What better source of teaching can there be on this subject? Listening to God in this matter isn't burdensome either but ultimately a joy. Praying with greater knowledge and greater love is good for us, and brings glory to God. We can pray to God knowing that he hears us and loves us in his Son Jesus Christ and that alone gives us great motivation to pray. There is already a relationship. 

Here are just five quotes I appreciated from the last few chapters (though rest assured there were very many more):

1) “In the same way that we give thanks to God when we recognize his quiet and effective work in our lives, so also we thank God when we hear of his work in others. If we hear of substantial numbers of people in another city or country who have been genuinely transformed by the gospel, we would not think of going to them to thank them for becoming Christians. Instead, we thank God for so working in them that they have become Christians.” (149) (Chapter 10 looking at Ephesians 1:15-23)

2) “We all know senior Christians who, as their physical strength is reduced, nevertheless become more and more steadfast and radiant. Their memories may be fading; their arthritis may be nearly unbearable; their ventures beyond their small rooms or apartments may be severely curtailed. But somehow they live as if they already have one foot in heaven. As their outer being weakens, their inner being runs from strength to strength.” (162) (Chapter 11 looking at Ephesians 3:14-21)

3) “In a culture where so many people are desperate for good health but not demonstrably hungry for the transformation of the inner being, Christians are in urgent need of following Paul’s example and praying for displays of God’s power in the inner being. In short, Paul’s primary concern is to pray for a display of God’s mighty power in the domain of our being that controls our character and prepares us for heaven.” (163) (Chapter 11 looking at Ephesians 3:14-21)

4) “It is possible to ask for good things for bad reasons… Has God become so central to all our thought and pursuits, and thus to our praying, that we cannot easily imagine asking for anything without consciously longing that the answer bring glory to God?” (180)  (Chapter 11 looking at Ephesians 3:14-21)

5) "Suppose, for argument’s sake, that every time we asked God for anything and ended our prayers with some appropriate formula, such as “in Jesus’s name,” we immediately received what we asked for. How would we view prayer? How would we view God? Wouldn’t prayer become a kind of clever magic? Wouldn’t God himself become nothing more than an extraordinarily powerful genie, to be called up, not by rubbing Aladdin’s lamp, but by praying? What an easy and domesticated religion...
This is magic, not worship; it is another power trip, not hearty submission to the lordship of Christ. It is superstition, not a personal relation with the Father God who is wise, good, and patient.” (199) (Chapter 12 looking at Romans 15:14-33)