The Discipline of Prayer
Arise to Mission Devotional
The Discipline of Prayer
Dr. A.D. Beacham Jr.
January 10, 2024
Psalm 55:17; Acts 3:1
The poet Carl Sandburg penned, “Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.”
Most of us use the end of a year and the start of a new year as a time of reflection. In recent weeks I have been thinking about time, how I use or misuse it, how easily I am distracted, how undisciplined I feel about quiet time with Jesus through prayer and Scripture.
There’s something about the hard work of discipline that is essential to a life that brings glory to God. I want to be, and be known as, a disciple of Jesus. That desire of the heart runs into the reality that “disciple” is another form of “discipline.” Without the hard work of discipline, it is difficult to be the kind of disciple that shows forth God’s glory.
This is why time is so important in our walk with the Lord. The more I read about God’s people in the Bible, the more I discover how they disciplined their lives.
Firstly, the Biblical Sabbath was an entire day given weekly to trusting in the Lord for all provision. It is more than a commandment and certainly more than a tool of legalism. It is the recognition of divine grace, provision, and God Himself setting aside the distractions of daily life so that we can engage in true communion with Him.
Secondly, the Lord’s people were led to focus on certain periods of the day for “time-out” with God. The passages from Psalm 55 and Acts 3 identified those times as “evening, morning, and noon.” The Bible doesn’t call us to be legalistic about this in terms of being “right on time,” or even feeling guilty if we are unable to pause at a certain time. It’s not about how many seconds or minutes we spend in prayer. We are not competing against others in prayer. The point is not rigidity but relationship with God. Identifying daily time(s) with God begins the process of disciplining all our time. It leads us into acknowledging our daily dependance upon our Creator and Redeemer for wisdom and strength.
Sandburg identified the challenge we encounter in these “time-outs” with God. The world presses in to “spend that time,” robbing us of the renewal, repentance, and refreshing that comes from time with God. The practice of these times of prayer, commonly known as morning, noon, mid-afternoon, and evening prayer, is something God’s people in the Temple era, the synagogue, and the church have done for centuries. It is part of what it means for us to order and discipline our lives as the Word and Spirit work together to form “Christ in us, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).
Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, thank You for entering our experience of time and showing us the importance of a disciplined life rooted in the divine Word and empowered by the Holy Spirit. I ask You to help me live a more time-disciplined life in every aspect of my life. Teach me how to set aside time for You and Your life-giving Word each day. Each day may more of Your divine power that pertains to life and godliness be given to me as I grow in Your knowledge (2 Peter 1:2, 3). Amen.
