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THEME: FOUNDATIONS FOR SPIRITUAL RENEWAL
By Rt. Rev Emmanuel Egbunu
Topic 1. Private Prayer Readings: Psalm 102; Daniel 9
Of all the disciplines of the Christian life, perhaps none is so difficult to cultivate as the discipline of a robust private prayer life. And yet none is as vital to true spirituality that glorifies God, edifies the Church, beautifies the world, and terrifies the devil.
For any saint who has made any significant impact in God’s Kingdom – both in the biblical and post-biblical eras, the secret power behind their lives is found in their closets – that place of earnest, deep, and sweet communion with God, which sometimes includes wrestling with Him on the one hand, or, on the other, wrestling with the world, the flesh and the devil.
If there ever was someone who did not need to pray, it was the Lord Jesus during His earthly ministry. And if there ever was anyone whose prayer life was a powerful demonstration of the priority of private prayer, it was He (See Luke 6:12,13; Matt. 4:23; Luke 11:1 among others)..
Psalm 102, one of the readings for Morning Prayer on Ash Wednesday, presents the Psalmist in a desperate situation in which he cries out for the Lord’s intervention and deliverance. The New Living Translation (NLT) captions the Psalm with these words: A prayer of one overwhelmed with trouble, pouring out problems before the Lord. The opening words indicate that the context is personal prayer: “1 Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry for help come to you. 2 Do not hide your face from me when I am in distress. Turn your ear to me; when I call, answer me quickly.”
However, even as a personal prayer that pleads for God’s mercy, it does not stop merely at personal concerns. If anything, the personal plea is intended as a penitential prelude for more effective prayer for the nation, which becomes dominant from later in verses 12-17:
12 But you, O LORD, sit enthroned forever; your renown endures through all generations. 13 You will arise and have compassion on Zion, for it is time to show favor to her; the appointed time has come. 14 For her stones are dear to your servants; her very dust moves them to pity. 15 The nations will fear the name of the LORD, all the kings of the earth will revere your glory. 16 For the LORD will rebuild Zion and appear in his glory. 17 He will respond to the prayer of the destitute; he will not despise their plea.
Similarly, Daniel 9 shows Daniel in intense personal prayer in Babylon where Judah had been exiled on account of their sins and rebellion against the Lord. There too, we see an indication of how the private study of the Holy Scriptures can bring a revelation that inspires meaningful prayer. Godly priorities, rather than selfish ambition, shaped Daniel’s prayer:
Daniel 9:2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. 3 So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.
Both the Psalmist in Psalm 102, and Daniel, pay much attention to the Person and character of God: He is the holy and awesome God who should not to be approached flippantly by men and women with defiled lives. Personal confession comes in quite early in his prayer too: I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed…” The beauty of private prayer is that though we are in the closet, the floodlights of heaven’s throne room are all turned on us, and as satan accuses us about the blemishes in our lives and the Holy Spirit points us to our Saviour and High Priest who makes access to the Father possible, we cannot but confess our sins and ask for mercy. The closet has no space for pretence. It is a place for frank outpouring of our hearts without holding anything back. It is a place to take off the masks of hypocrisy. Daniel opened his prayer with these words:
Daniel 9:4 "O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with all who love him and obey his commands, 5 we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. 6 We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. 7 "Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame-- the men of Judah and people of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you. 8 O LORD, we and our kings, our princes and our fathers are covered with shame because we have sinned against you.
The place of private prayer is the place to receive divine insight into unsolved mysteries and tangled problem situations. The sexuality crisis that is splitting our communion down the middle calls for earnest prayer in this holy season of Lent. Daniel, in his confession, said, “All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you. Then he received this insight:
"Therefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against you. 12 You have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing upon us great disaster. Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem. 13 Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us, yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth. 14 The LORD did not hesitate to bring the disaster upon us, for the LORD our God is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not obeyed him.
Daniel who was bold before kings and lions approached the Lord with trepidation. He was conscious of the presence of the awesome God and then, with utmost reverence presented his request:
Daniel 9:15 "Now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made for yourself a name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong. 16 O Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our fathers have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn to all those around us. 17 "Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, O Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. 18 Give ear, O God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. 19 O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For your sake, O my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name."
Many in our day fast for several days without creating time for deep and meaningful private prayer. Many are active in Christian service and public prayer but have no tangible record of private prayer with great results. Many are so obsessed with the glare of secular and religious media publicity that private prayer in the closet holds no attraction for them.
In this Lenten season, the Spirit of the Lord calls us through these passages to the discipline of private prayer which is focused on the priorities and pattern of heaven. We must intercede for our troubled Communion and our agonizing world. We must pray for much fruit from the preaching of the gospel around the world. We must intercede for Christians and others in leadership positions. As John Ellerton puts it:
Work shall be prayer, if all be wrought
As Thou would have it done;
And prayer, by Thee inspired and taught,
Itself with work be one.
Make a covenant with God to set apart certain periods of the day for private prayer – not for the usual personal requests, but for revival in the Church and the wellbeing of our nation. Satan will fight against this resolve, but a good way to forge ahead is to get someone to whom you can be accountable, and who values the exercise.
Collect for Ash Wednesday
Almighty and Merciful God,
You hate nothing that you have made
And forgive the sins of all those who are penitent.
Create and make in us new and contrite hearts,
that lamenting our sins
and acknowledging our wretchedness,
we may receive from you, the God of all mercy,
perfect forgiveness and peace;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.