Inter-Varsity Press

Contents

Introduction to the twentieth-anniversary edition

GOD CALLS US INTO HIS PRESENCE

1. God of peace, God of power
2. God is willing
3. God is able

GOD INVITES US TO TALK WITH HIM

4. Heart-building habits
5. Praying like Jesus
6. A pattern for prayer
7. Mountain-moving prayer

GOD BREAKS DOWN THE BARRIERS BETWEEN US

8. The hurt of unanswered prayer
9. Prayer busters
10. Cooling off on prayer

GOD SPEAKS TO OUR HEARTS

11. Slowing down to pray
12. The importance of listening
13. How to hear God’s promptings

GOD PROMPTS US TO ACTION

14. What to do with promptings
15. Living in God’s presence
16. The needs around us

Questions for reflection and discussion
A guide for private or group prayer

Introduction to the Twentieth-Anniversary Edition

Twenty years ago I reached a breaking point. I’d been a Christ-follower for more than a decade, Willow Creek was growing like a weed and in many regards the future looked bright – divinely bright even. But despite all the inspiring dynamics unfolding around me, my prayer life was gasping for breath. I knew the importance of prayer. I knew how to pray. And I even wanted to pray. I just didn’t pray, at least with the frequency and intensity I knew I should.

Determined to improve my own prayer disciplines, I delivered a sermon series on the subject. (I thought I’d drag as many people from Willow as possible along with me on the journey.) The series was well received and was eventually made into the book you are holding. I had no idea at the time that God would let this material hang around for so long, but I’m grateful for the run it continues to have. I’m sure part of the reason is that many of the big ideas God initially gave me for Too Busy Not to Pray are classic concepts, immune from the effects of time.

Although I hope I’ve matured in my prayer life since then, I still find myself returning to the simple practices of maintaining a consistent time and place to pray (chapter 5); organizing my prayers according to tried-and-true frame-works, such as ACTS (chapter 6); and listening for the Spirit’s promptings in my day-to-day quest for direction and wisdom (chapter 14). Not only has shoring up my prayer life improved my relationship with God, but as solid prayer practices have taken root, I’ve noticed my personal relationships reaching new levels of effectiveness as well.

For many years now, I’ve been travelling extensively on the international front. This often requires the use of translators, which can slow down the communication process dramatically. It’s something that frustrates me more than I should let it, but it’s amazing how prayer has served to bridge cultural divides, including the ever-present language barrier.

When I finish speaking in some faraway land, a line of people often forms that’s full of those who want to chat about what God is up to in their lives. On most occasions my translators have already packed up and headed home for the night, so I suggest with hand motions that we pray to God instead of trying to hack our way through an exasperating exchange.

Back and forth, in our native tongues, we talk to God. And even though we have no idea exactly what the other person is praying for, we know beyond the shadow of a doubt to whom we are praying. As a result of talking to the One we both consider to be all powerful, all knowing, all caring, all loving and all attentive to our prayers, we walk away from the conversation sensing a close bond in Christ. Pretty amazing. Recently I have sensed God calling me to dive deeper into helping address societal ills that threaten us today. If you’ve seen extreme poverty face to face – if you’ve held the hand of someone dying of HIV/AIDS, or stood beside food lines filled with families needing nourishment, or stumbled upon children who call a pavement their bed – then you know how overwhelming the needs are. Take an honest assessment of the awful situations all around, compared with our relative ability to do anything about them, and you are most likely left feeling hopeless and helpless and scared.

But here again prayer shows up and provides a bridge from despair to hope, from fear to confidence and, most critically, from spectating to participation. Chapter 16, ‘The needs around us’, was born out of my genuine desire to help Christ-followers (including me!) get off the bench and into the game as it relates to fighting injustice in all its forms. I believe God has a role for each of us to play, if only we’ll quieten the mind, bend the knee and take time to discover it.

I keep a prayer journal and frequently I’ll flip to the early pages to see what I was praying for during those days as well as how my prayers were answered. It’s always interesting to reflect on how the hand of God moved a mountain or calmed a sea on my behalf. And in my estimation there is no taller mountain looming, no stormier sea raging right now than the one called injustice. For Christ-followers who are as fired up as I am about righting the wrongs of a broken world, there is no better first step to take than prayer. I hope you’ll keep this type of big, world-changing vision at the front of your mind as you work through the chapters that follow.

Twenty years ago LaVonne Neff was instrumental in transforming my original sermon series into something immensely more readable, and Ashley Wiersma helped me to freshen things up for this twentieth anniversary edition. I’m grateful to them both. I am thankful also for the thousands of faithful, rank-and-file pray-ers I’ve met over the years. Your persistence in making your needs known to God, and your diligence in listening for and acting on his replies, inspires me more than you’ll ever know.

I often wonder what would transpire if every Christ-follower got serious about installing solid prayer practices into their lives. What kind of kingdom gains do you suppose would be made if each of us made pressing into God through prayer a non-negotiable part of our everyday experience?

I believe hearts would soften. Habits would shift. Faith would expand. Love for the poor would increase. Positive, purposeful legacies would be built. And a ravenous hunger would rumble through us all to get usable and to get used in significant ways by the one true God.

We can make this happen in our lifetime, friend. And it all starts with learning, and loving, to pray.