Elisabeth Elliot: Prayer is one of the necessary wheels of the machinery of providence.

Lisa Barry: If you were to poll all Christians in the world, and asked them what the most challenging discipline of their spiritual life was, I think I know what the answer would be. Prayer. It seems much easier to listen to a pastor speak or volunteer in the church, but when it comes to prayer, it's a spiritual battle.

All this week on Gateway To Joy, Elisabeth Elliot will be addressing that issue by giving us practical ways to transform our prayer life. We all agree we don't do enough of it, so let's make a decision here and now to let the things Elisabeth is about to say, be the very things we apply tomorrow. Let's get started.

Elisabeth Elliot: "You are loved with an everlasting love." That's what the Bible says, "and underneath are the everlasting arms." This is your friend, Elisabeth Elliot, talking today about the subject of prayer. And I hope that there are lots of little children listening to me. Because I want to tell you that when I was a little girl, every night I would be tucked into bed by either my mommy or my daddy and they would always sing with me:

"Jesus, tender Shepherd, hear me;
Bless Thy little lamb tonight;
Thro' the darkness be Thou near me,
Keep me safe till morning light."

And every evening when we went bed at night, either our mother or our father would be there to sing a hymn with us again. And we chose different hymns. We loved "Safe in the Arms of Jesus." And there were very many others.

But I have a lovely book here by a man by the name of Terry W. Glaspey, G-L-A-S-P-E-Y. And these are a collection of prayers from people throughout the ages. Many, prayers of ancient people and it's called Pathway to the Heart of God. In his introduction Mr. Glaspey says, "If you're looking for quick and easy answers, you're looking in the wrong place. This book will not offer simple formulas that are guaranteed to lead to more powerful prayer.

"Like you, I'm a learner in the school of prayer. I can tell you, however; that my own prayer life has grown considerably from ruminating on the reflections of those far more advanced in the experience of prayer than I am. In the course of writing this book, my own prayer life has been radically transformed and deepened. I hope to share with you some of what I have learned, mostly in the words of those who have taught me.

"If, like me, you realize that you have a lot to learn and really desire to make your prayer life more meaningful--then I invite you to join me in meditating on some of the most profound and life-changing words ever written about prayer. By no means is this a complete collection of thoughts on prayer. Nor does it express everything that each of these writers wrote about the subject. Rather, it's a sampling of riches, an assortment of precious nuggets of insight for us to mull over, meditate upon and practice. It's a guided tour written to stir our hearts and cause us to fall to our knees in prayer.

"I've concluded each section with a prayer that I have written, which attempts to put these truths into practice. For it does us no good to think about prayer or read about praying if we don't actually pray."

Now if there are children listening and I got your hopes us that the whole program was going to be for children, it's not. But I'm sure that some of you are old enough to listen to some of these wonderful prayers.

The starting point of any study is found in careful definition. With prayer, many definitions have been offered. Some of those that we find in classic Christian writings are theologically and philosophically profound--the result of careful reflection.

A Frenchman by the name of Blaise Pascal said, "God has instituted prayer so as to confer upon His creatures the dignity of causality." Ponder that phrase--"The dignity of causality." God allows us to cause things to happen. And God has ordained that we should have the dignity of causality. Then a Scottish man by the name of Alexander White wrote, "to give us a touch and a taste of what it is to be a creator."

"Why has God established prayer," asks Pascal. And Pascal's first answer to his own great question is this: "God has established prayer in the moral world in order to communicate to His creature the dignity of causality." And again, Mr. White says, "That is to say, to give us a touch and a taste of what it is to be a creator."

Charles Spurgeon, the great Baptist preacher in London, said, "Prayer is one of the necessary wheels of the machinery of providence." "Prayer is one of the necessary wheels of the machinery of providence."

Phillips Brooks, who wrote "O Little Town of Bethlehem," said, "Prayer in its simplest definition is merely wish turned Godward."

John Bunyun, who wrote Pilgrim's Progress, said, "Prayer is a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of the soul to God through Christ in the strength and assistance of the Spirit for such things as God has promised."

I'm sure that many of my listeners will want to hear a little bit about this chapter called "God Answers Prayer," because if there's one question that people ask about the matter of prayer, it is why doesn't God answer my prayers.

Mr. Glaspey says, "If we fail to see the power of prayer and perceive of it only as a meaningless devotional exercise, we will always ask this question in our heart of hearts, 'Why pray?' Are we just fooling ourselves? Just going through the motions, trying to prove something to ourselves? If prayers are not answered, then perhaps we're living in self-deception. If God is not a reality, then there can be no answered prayers because there would be no one to hear them. But there is a God who lives and whose ears are opened to us."

Remember that, won't you? There is a God who lives and whose ears are opened to us.

Martin Luther said, "Let this be the first and most important point. That all our prayers must be based and rest upon obedience to God irrespective of our person, whether we be sinners or saints, worthy or unworthy. And we must know that God will not have it treated as a jest or a joke, but be angry and punish all who do not pray as surely has He punishes all other disobedience.

"Next, that He will not allow our prayers to be in vain or lost. For if He did not intend to answer your prayer, He would not tell you to pray and add such a severe commandment to it. In the second place, we should be the more urged and incited to pray because God has also added a promise and declared that it shall surely be done to us as we pray. He says in Psalm 50:15, 'Call upon Me in the day of trouble. I will deliver thee.'"

And then here, a man by the name of Origin who lived way back in the beginning of the early centuries, he went into great detail to explain four key elements of prayer. "There are four topics," he says, "that need to be sketched out and that I have found scattered in the Scriptures, indicating that each one should organize one's prayer according to these topics. This is what they are.

"In the beginning and the preface of the prayer, something having the force of praise should be said. Begin with praise. Then general thanksgivings, bringing forward for thanksgiving the benefits that God has given. Then confessions of our sins. And then adding requests for great and heavenly things that God may want to give us."

There's one prayer particularly in this book that I cherish because it's so much like my own experience. It's written by a poet named John Donne. His description of his own prayer life is this:

"I throw myself down in my chamber," or my bedroom. "I throw myself down [in my bedroom] and I call in and invite God and His angels thither. And when they are there I neglect God and His angels for the noise of a fly, for the rattling of a coach, for the whining of a door. I talk on in the same posture of praying--eyes lifted up, knees bowed down--as though I prayed to God. And if God or His angels should ask me when I last thought of God in that prayer, I cannot tell.

"A memory of yesterday's pleasures, a fear of tomorrow's dangers, a straw under my knee, a noise in my ear, a light in my eye, an anything, a nothing, a fancy, a shimmer in my brain. It troubles me in my prayer. So there's nothing, nothing in spiritual things perfect in His world. I turn to hardy and earnest prayer to God, and I fix my thoughts strongly as I think upon Him. And before I have perfected one petition, the spirit of slumber closes my eyes and I pray drowsily."

Lisa Barry: I think we can all relate to that. But the good news is, is that there is help. As we close today's program, I want to let you know that another place you'll discover motivation for prayer is through the book Elisabeth has written called Keep a Quiet Heart. It's a collection of readings all designed to keep your heart quiet and trusting in God's ability to guide you. And as a special thank-you gift, we'd also like to send along the booklet called And When You Pray. It's yours free when you purchase the book Keep a Quiet Heart. Here's our address:

Gateway To Joy, Box 82500, Lincoln, NE, 68501. We'd also welcome your financial gift, if God prompts your heart to give. If it weren't for people like you, our ministry would have a very narrow scope. It's only when we partner together with you in God's strength that the job gets done. That's unity, and that blesses God. Our address again:

Gateway To Joy, Box 82500, Lincoln, NE, 68501. Or, call toll-free 1-800-759-4JOY. That's 1-800-759-4569. We're also on the Internet at gatewaytojoy.org. Gateway To Joy is a listener-supported production of Back to the Bible.

Tomorrow, Elisabeth talks more about the transformation of our prayer life through confession. This is Lisa Barry, thanking you for joining us today. And be sure and be with us when we meet next time for Gateway To Joy.