Some years ago, I was unhappy with my prayer life. I had been a follower of Jesus—and a pastor—for many years, and even preached and taught frequently on the necessity and value of prayer, but I didn’t pray with the frequency and the depth I craved.
So I prayed about it. I prayed for my prayer life. I prayed for the grace to start every day with prayer. And soon after I started praying that way, an idea came to me.
My friend Marlin, who attended the same church I did, lived just a block away. So I approached him about becoming my prayer partner. But my appeal to him was more specific than that.
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Marlin and his wife had preschool children in their home, so praying there was impractical—and just fine with me, because I had a plan. I asked Marlin to show up every weekday morning at my door at 7:00 a.m. (after my own children had already left for school). I told him I would have the coffee ready, and he and I could pray in my living room for a half hour. I also told him not to tell me when he couldn’t make it.
We would pray together every weekday morning, and on those mornings he didn’t show up, well, I was already out of bed anyway, already drinking my first cup of coffee, so I went ahead and prayed without him.
It did the trick.
He supplied the discipline I lacked to get up every morning for prayer (I like to think I did the same for him, but I think he just had far more self-discipline than I did).
In any case, it all started when I prayed FOR my prayer life. I told God that I was unhappy with my anemic prayer life. I told Him that I wanted “a closer walk with Thee.” I told Him that I longed to begin every day with prayer and establish a daily habit that would play a part in molding me into the man I wanted to be. And He answered.
By the time Marlin moved to a different state, a new prayer regimen had taken root in me, one that has lasted many years now. It was itself an answer to prayer—for my prayer life.
