Prayer and Revelation - Online Christian Library

Our culture favors the free expression of emotions, but the Bible teaches self-control. Yetthis is not to encourage what is called "repression," in which case the thoughts are merelysuppressed so as not to appear before one's consciousness, and doing this will supposedlycause problems later. Rather, in biblical contemplation and meditation we confront thesethoughts and we resolve them:The main art in the matter of spiritual living is to know how tohandle yourself. You have to take yourself in hand, you have toaddress yourself, preach to yourself, question yourself….And thenyou must go on to remind yourself of God, who God is, and whatGod is and what God has done, and what God has pledged Himselfto do….The essence of this matter is to understand that this self of ours,this other man within us, had got to be handled. Do not listen tohim; turn on him; speak to him; condemn him; upbraid him; exhorthim; encourage him; remind him of what you know, instead oflistening placidly to him and allowing him to drag you down anddepress you. 76Psalm 119:59 says, "I thought about my ways, and turned my feet to Your testimonies"(NKJ). It is by thinking, not praying, that anyone will turn to God, for even prayingpresupposes thinking:Before you can speak a single word of prayer, you have to think.You have to use your mind. You need to know who you're prayingto. You need to know what you're praying for. You need to knowthe basis on which you are offering these prayers. So if yourprayers are real, and not just some ritual of thoughtless words, theywill involve you in a vigorous use of your understanding….Whenyou actually speak with [the Lord], you will spend all the riches ofyour intelligence in thoughtfully adoring, praising, petitioning andthanking him. 77It follows that if "all the riches of your intelligence" is nil, then you cannot pray at all. Italso follows that to increase the effectiveness and meaningfulness of your prayer life, youmust first work on the intellect. And even when you pray, you must give priority toasking God for wisdom and understanding, as the apostles are prone to practice andrecommend:76 D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Spiritual Depression; William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2001(original: 1965); p. 21.77 What Happens When I Pray?; Grace Publications Trust, 1997; p. 38.73