When You Pray you Stay

What the Bible says about the Good Life- part 4

A man bought a donkey from a preacher. The preacher told the man that this donkey had been trained in a very unique way, (being the donkey of a preacher). The only way to make the donkey go is to pray, "Hallelujah!" The only way to make the donkey stop is to pray, "Amen!"

The man was pleased with his purchase and immediately got on the animal to try out the preacher's instructions. "Hallelujah” loudly prayed the man. The donkey began to trot. "Amen!" he shouted. The donkey stopped immediately. "This is great!" said the man. With a "Hallelujah", he rode off very proud of his new purchase.

The man traveled for a long time through some mountains. Soon he was heading towards a cliff. He could not remember the word to make the donkey stop. "Stop", said the man. "Halt!” he cried. The donkey just kept going. "Oh, no...'Bible!....Church!...Please Stop!!" shouted the man. The donkey just began to trot faster. He was getting closer and closer to the cliff edge. Finally, in desperation, the man said a prayer..."Please, dear Lord. Please make this donkey stop before I go off the end of this mountain, In Jesus name, AMEN". The donkey came to an abrupt stop just one step from the edge of the cliff.

"HALLELUJAH!" shouted the man. That is not exactly how prayer is suppose to work. It is suppose to add to our lives and be a part of the “Good Life”

This life that God promises that is the real “good life” involves Him coming to our assistance regularly. This good life is good because the Creator of the Universe gave a man or woman grace (unmerited favor) or what we might call –preferential treatment. Daniel regularly drew from this source of grace through his life by consistently praying. Along with Daniel’s excellent work ethic, commitment to God and godly friends, he was a man who knew he needed to pray.

”10 When Daniel learned that the decree had been signed and posted, he continued to pray just as he had always done. His house had windows in the upstairs that opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he knelt there in prayer, thanking and praising his God.” (Daniel 6:10 MSG)

Daniel lived the good life; promoted at an early age to prominence in the government of Babylon, he outlived his critics and lived in the favor of God his entire life. You can too. If you have ever said you do not have time to pray, Daniel’s life and practice displays a glaring contradiction to that. As the chief governor of the greatest empire on the earth at the time, his responsibilities were vast. Yet he maintained a consistent prayer life. I hear people say all the time,”I just can not make myself pray.” Not true. You eat, go to work, talk to people, brush your teeth, and bath (I hope) everyday don’t you? Just like you have made these other things a part of your life, you could also pray; you just have not made it a part of your lifestyle yet.

He also set aside specific times for what has become a lost art in Christianity these days. He gave time to just seek the Lord in prayer and fasting. These were times of making sure he was going in the right direction, or needing a special answer to a concern he had. “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.” (Daniel 9:2-3)

When Daniel was faced with a great question he did not understand he sought the Lord through a special season of prayer and fasting. God would regularly answer him with comfort, or encouragement or wisdom in these times. Just like Daniel we can do this too. A great resource awaits the man or woman who sets aside time just to seek the Lord. It is uncanny but true. I don’t know exactly how this works but I know it does. It is as though God has a sincerity-meter in heaven that tests to see if that prayer was REALLY important to us. Fasting is like underlining your prayer request, saying “No really God, I need help!!” God always comes through to the man or woman who seeks Him. In our church we have a saying, “Those who pray – stay. Those who fast- last!

”10 The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing” (Psalm 34:10 NIV). Let me encourage you to make praying a consistent part of your life. You can do it. There are many good Christian books on prayer to read to get you started. Consider setting aside a special time- a day or so just to seek the Lord. Right down those things that are such trouble and concern to you and spend that time just seeking Him. You will be amazed at what our God can do!