As Christians walk through their lives, they encounter an enemy called the flesh. The flesh can be very strong, and many people genuinely want to pray but become discouraged because they find prayer difficult. Pastor Kim explains that the struggle may be connected to the heaviness and weakness of the flesh.
He wants to give encouragement to those who are struggling with prayer: living in prayer may not be as difficult as they think.
Jesus Lived in Prayer
Throughout the Bible, Jesus repeatedly isolated Himself to make time to pray to the Lord. However, Pastor Kim says that the character who impressed him most concerning prayer is Jesus Christ Himself.
Jesus did not merely dedicate specific periods of time to prayer. He lived and breathed in prayer.
Daniel, for example, deliberately made time to pray three times a day. Jesus certainly prayed during dedicated times as well, but He also prayed in the middle of His ordinary activities. He could speak to the Father in the middle of a conversation or situation, sometimes in only a sentence or two.
Pastor Kim points to Luke 10 as an example.
Luke 10:17, 21-22: “And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.”
Jesus was speaking with His disciples, and yet in the middle of the activity He turned toward the Father in prayer.
This illustrates the difference between merely having a prayer time and living in prayer.
Prayer Is Not a Machine
Pastor Kim believes one reason many Christians struggle with prayer is that they think prayer always requires setting aside a specific period of time.
Of course, believers should have quiet time in which they deliberately set aside time to pray. But if that is the believer’s only prayer time, then he is not really living in prayer.
For example, someone might receive a message from a brother or sister asking for prayer. Perhaps the believer is driving when he receives the request, so he immediately prays for that person while driving. Afterwards, he might feel guilty and wonder whether it was a lazy prayer.
Pastor Kim says that even people who are not lazy in prayer can pray this way because prayer does not have to occur only while kneeling or bowing before the Lord. Prayer is not a machine that requires a particular setting before it can operate. Prayer is living in communion with God.
A Christian can pray while driving. He can pray before eating. He can pray while brushing his teeth. If an accident happens and someone is bleeding in front of him, he can cry out to the Lord in tears. That is living in prayer. Prayer is not merely something that is switched on during a scheduled period and switched off when the period ends.
Pray Without Ceasing
Pastor Kim emphasizes that dedicated prayer time is still important. Christians should set aside time to pray to the Lord.
But they must not think that their scheduled prayer time is the end of prayer for the day.
1 Thessalonians 5:17: “Pray without ceasing.”
Even if someone were to pray for five hours on his knees and fast before the Lord, that does not mean that he has finished praying for the day. Prayer is meant to continue throughout life.
Pastor Kim encourages believers to begin living in prayer rather than treating prayer like a machine. At first, a spontaneous prayer may feel like a “lazy prayer,” but if the believer keeps doing it, prayer begins to become a habit and eventually a natural part of life.
Prayer should become like the air a person breathes.
“Lord, Teach Me to Pray”
If someone says, “It is so hard for me to pray,” there is a very simple prayer he can make: Ask the Lord to help him pray. The flesh is weak, and precisely because the flesh is weak, the believer should cry out to Jesus: “Lord, help me to pray.”
The disciples themselves asked Jesus to teach them to pray.
Luke 11:1: “And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”
Pastor Kim encourages Christians to make this a genuine part of their prayer life: “Lord, teach me to pray.” Even someone who considers himself a strong prayer warrior can continue asking God to teach him to pray.
A Prayer Warrior Is Not Someone Who Simply Sounds Impressive
Pastor Kim cautions against confusing impressive-sounding prayers with genuine prayer. He refers to people who may talk about extraordinary fasting or prayer accomplishments and who pray in an extremely deliberate manner. Their prayers may contain impressive King James English and sound highly spiritual. But that does not necessarily make someone a prayer warrior. A prayer warrior is not defined by how many old English words he uses or by how impressive his prayer sounds.
Pastor Kim refers to Charles Spurgeon and emphasizes the simplicity of genuine prayer. Prayer should not become a mechanical exercise in which someone constructs elaborate language in his head. Instead, it should come simply from the heart.
He also refers to George Müller and the way his prayers were closely connected with the Word of God. Müller read the Scriptures and then prayed, allowing the language and truth of Scripture to shape his prayers. This is the difference between machine prayer and living in prayer.
Machine Prayer Versus Living in Prayer
Pastor Kim suggests that the real issue for many people is not simply that they are “struggling in prayer.” The deeper problem is that they are treating prayer like a machine. They think they must create the perfect environment, use the perfect words, set aside the perfect amount of time, and perform prayer correctly. But prayer is supposed to be living.
If a person feels that he is not a prayer warrior because he cannot pray in an impressive or highly structured way, Pastor Kim encourages him to stop treating prayer like a machine and begin living in prayer.
Watch and Pray
Matthew 26:40-41: “And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
The disciples’ problem was that their flesh was weak. Yet Jesus gave them a key for dealing with the flesh: watch and pray. Pastor Kim emphasizes the word “watch.” To watch means to be alert, reflective, careful, observant, and prepared. Many people struggle in their prayer lives because they are not watchful.
They allow the circumstances of life to determine whether they pray. They become consumed by work, exhaustion, responsibilities, and other pressures, and then their flesh dictates what happens to their prayer life.
Watchfulness Helps Defeat the Flesh
Pastor Kim gives the example of knowing that at a certain time of day the flesh will become tired. If a person knows that he normally becomes exhausted around 5 p.m., he can prepare himself for that. Rather than simply allowing his tiredness to determine what he does, he can watch and be ready. Watchfulness means anticipating the weakness of the flesh instead of being surprised by it. When the believer watches, he becomes more prepared to pray.
Jesus told His disciples to watch with Him for one hour. Pastor Kim then takes the idea of watching literally and asks the listeners to imagine seeing Jesus Himself praying fervently in the Garden of Gethsemane. If Simon Peter and the other disciples had watched Jesus praying throughout that time, would that not have affected them?
Pastor Kim says that seeing someone pray fervently can stir the Holy Spirit within another believer and motivate that person to pray.
Watch Prayer Warriors
Pastor Kim encourages believers to watch prayer warriors pray. When he hears the prayers or sermons of certain prayer warriors, he says that he cannot help but fall on his knees and pray himself. Therefore, when the flesh is tired and a person feels that he cannot pray, he can listen to a sermon about prayer or listen to someone praying. Such examples can motivate him to pray.
Pastor Kim specifically mentions Leonard Ravenhill and says that even short clips of Ravenhill praying can stir a person to pray. He also refers to an all-night prayer meeting and the way watching other brethren pray can motivate believers and help them conquer the flesh.
The Flesh must be Dead
He believes that Christians often do not fully understand what Romans 6 teaches concerning the flesh. In order to conquer the flesh, the flesh must be dead, while the Spirit must be alive within the believer. He recommends his basic doctrine teaching on the victorious Christian life, which deals with conquering the flesh and living in victory through the Spirit.
He summarizes three steps:
- Know that you are dead.
- Reckon or apply that you are dead.
- Yield to the living Spirit.
The believer must understand that the flesh has been crucified with Christ, reckon it to be so, and then yield to the Holy Spirit.
Yield to the Living Spirit
Pastor Kim gives a practical picture of how this works.
Suppose a Christian has gone through an exhausting day. Perhaps he has experienced persecution, his flesh is tired, and his joy seems to have disappeared. The believer can nevertheless remember that the Holy Spirit is within him. He can think about the power of God available through prayer and remind himself that God can move mountains. Rather than allowing his physical tiredness and emotional state to determine everything, he can focus on the living Spirit within him.
Pastor Kim describes the effect of believing this truth: when the believer genuinely thinks and believes that the Holy Spirit is alive and working within him, it changes his relationship to the flesh.
The believer begins to see prayer differently. He realizes that he is approaching the throne of God Himself and bringing a request before the One who can answer mightily. He remembers who Jesus Christ is—the One who spoke peace to the storm, raised the dead, and fed thousands with a small amount of food. This realization leads the believer to yield to the living Spirit.
Living in Prayer
When the believer yields to the living Spirit, the flesh becomes dead in practical experience, and prayer begins to make more sense as a way of life.
This is what it means to live in prayer.
The problem is that many people are not living in the Spirit. They are living in the frustrations and pressures of the flesh:
- the drudgery of traffic,
- work,
- family problems,
- school problems,
- church problems,
- health issues,
- and the ordinary burdens of life.
When these things control the believer’s mind and emotions, he is living according to the flesh rather than the Spirit. Pastor Kim acknowledges that he does not consider himself the most spiritual person and that he is still learning to comprehend these things. Yet he says that he has begun to see the threshold of glory and the movement of the Spirit.
As he prays, he is beginning to recognize how the Holy Spirit moves and to see patterns in what is happening in daily life and in church ministry. The reason he is beginning to recognize these things, he explains, is that he is starting to live in prayer.
Prayer Becomes Your Breath
When a believer lives against the flesh, walks in the Spirit, and allows prayer to become his breath, it begins to affect every part of his life.
It affects his thoughts.
It affects his emotions.
It affects the way he moves and acts.
And ultimately, it affects the way he speaks, behaves, and interacts with other people.
The filling of the Holy Spirit is therefore not supposed to be isolated from ordinary life. The goal is to live a prayer life—to live in prayer continually, allowing the Spirit and prayer to permeate everyday life.
Live your prayer life.