Last week, we explored the difference between “mechanical praying” and real, intimate communion with God in prayer, and we noted a few Scriptural expressions that describe that communion:
- Communion is the enjoyment of God’s presence (Genesis 3:8, Psalm 16:11).
- Communion is a meeting with God (Exodus 33:7).
- Communion is time alone with your heavenly Father (Matthew 6:6).
- Communion is drawing near to God’s throne (Hebrews 4:16).
Do you struggle to pray with your heart involved? Do you lack enjoyment or a sense of nearness and intimacy in prayer? Consider the following suggestions to develop communion in prayer:
1. Marvel at the price of this communion.
We were made for communion with God, but our sin has broken that communion. We were separated from Him. The door was closed. We can push, and work, and carry out religious rituals, but we cannot open the door to God’s presence. Yet we have “boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus” (Hebrews 10:19, KJV)! Through His sacrifice on the cross, where He suffered the just wrath of God in our place, Jesus opened the door to the throne of God to sinners like us. We can confidently draw near through Christ. Nothing stirs us more to truly draw near than the remembrance of what Jesus has done to give us this access. When our hearts are cold and prayer is a chore, the answer is not to give up. The answer is not to work ourselves into a frenzy to try to get back the experience. The answer is to meditate on our guilt, our separation from God, the judgment we deserve, and the precious blood of Christ by which we can draw near to the throne and be received as children. This stirs us to enter.
2. Believe that “none but Christ can satisfy.”
The Psalmists open their hearts to us and let us know their perspective: “There is none upon earth that I desire beside thee” (Psalm 73:25, KJV). Dwelling in the Lord’s presence and beholding His beauty is the “one thing” David desired and sought (27:4). “My soul thirsteth for God” (42:2). “My flesh longeth for thee” (63:1–2).
These and other texts reveal that what we are really after is God Himself. I’m not praying merely because I want things, or because I need strength or health or power or wisdom. I’m not even praying merely to see God's purposes fulfilled. I’m praying because I want Him and because He is the only Thing that can satisfy my thirsty soul. He is my portion. I want to appear before Him, today, tomorrow, every day, and draw near to Him, because He satisfies the thirsty soul. Prayer allows me to be near to the only One who can fill my every longing and meet the deepest needs of my heart.
3. Understand this communion as your secure privilege.
I love the Lord’s words to Martha in Luke 10:42. Mary, by sitting at the Lord’s feet and listening to Him, chose “that good part, which shall not be taken away from her” (KJV). Jesus says that this is the one necessary thing, and that it cannot be taken away. Communion with God is our one secure possession. Take away my health, and I have Christ. Take away my loved ones, and I have Christ. Put me in prison, and I have Christ. Take away my life, and I have Christ. You can’t take Him away. It is my secure privilege. Praise God!
4. Anticipate the joy of eternal communion.
In the Bible’s final chapters, as we glimpse into the New Jerusalem, we read these words that make the believer’s heart pound with anticipation: “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them” (Revelation 21:3, NASB 1995). His dwelling will be among His people forever. Communion with God in prayer on earth is a foretaste of what we will do for all eternity.
5. Keep communion as the goal of prayer.
Work to keep true communion, the experience of nearness to God, as the goal in prayer. Consistency is not the goal. Don’t be satisfied with anything less than consistency, but don’t be satisfied with mere consistency. Going through a certain method is not the goal. Getting through your list of requests is not the goal. You can do all these things with the lips and not the heart. Our longing is to be near to God. When our goal is to get through a list or simply be consistent, prayer can become boring, dry, and distracted. But communion is never boring.
6. Persevere in prayer, even when you don’t have a sense of delight.
All believers go through seasons when prayer is extra difficult and frequently lacks this sense of the Lord’s presence. These times are often tests from the Lord to probe our willingness to increase our own efforts at pursuing Him. Do we want Him enough to give still more time to seeking His face until He grants new freshness? God often rewards such perseverance with increased delight. Let Brainerd help: “I have generally found that the more I do in secret prayer the more I have delighted to do and have enjoyed more of a spirit of prayer.”1
7. Plead with God to grant this communion.
This is the desire of our hearts, but it is beyond our reach. We cannot simply decide to enjoy His presence. We cannot flip a switch. It is truly out of our hands. God must grant this communion. Let us plead with God to allow us to enter in and find sweetness and delight in communion with Him in prayer.
1 Jonathan Edwards, ed., The Life and Diary of David Brainerd (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1989), 126 (italics mine).