Is your prayer life thriving or getting a bit stagnant?  

I recently heard John Wilthew preach at King’s Arms church (my home church) and as part of his message he talked briefly about the need to keep prayer fresh in his life throughout his over 50 years of ministry. I was immediately intrigued to hear this testimony. Someone who’s served for so long in God’s church has learned some keys to keep his prayer life flesh. I’m listening! 

But John didn’t have time to explain it - so I asked him to write for us. And here it is. If you need help keeping your prayer life fresh, you’ll be blessed! Over to John.

A Personal House of Prayer

Over the years, I've had a variety of strategies to keep personal prayer fresh, and one is my personal 'House' of Prayer.

Years back I came across Leslie Weatherhead's 'A Private House of Prayer' (1958), a book of prayers divided into seven rooms on each day of the week. But the real inspiration for my 'House' came as I considered Jesus' words "'When you pray go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father who is unseen." But why only one room? After all, we are exhorted to "pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests."

And so, I designed my own 'House' of Prayer in a pocket-size note book. I drew floor plans with rooms allocated to different kinds of prayer and numbered them so that I could turn to the relevant page, where I had written appropriate texts, quotes and the words of hymns and songs. I can now 'visit' a room to pray at any time, whether for a minute or much longer.

Over the years I have used a variety of floor plans", but a favourite is my PERSONAL PRAYER MANSION because I am, after all, a child of The King.

The Lobby

In THE LOBBY are words which never fail to help me from Thomas A 'Kempis to novice monks in the early 15th century:

"Christ will come to you and show you his comfort if you will prepare for him a worthy house in your heart. All his loveliness and his glory he keeps for the house of the soul, and there it is that he takes his pleasure. Many are the times he comes to the one who lives the inward life, and to him he grants sweet conversation, glad comforts, great peace and amazing friendship." ('The Imitation of Christ')

From the Lobby a variety of rooms are on offer to tune my spirit.

The Thanksgiving Room is where "I enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise." But there is also a Waiting Room, because sometimes I don't feel like drawing near to God; "the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." In this place I ask the Holy Spirit to stir fresh longings in me for Christ. John Piper's 'When I Don't Desire God' often helps me in this room. In the Quiet Room I can be still and know God's presence, while the Treasure Room is where I remind myself of the riches that are mine in Christ, and the Adoration Room, is a place to get lost in wonder love and praise, to sing and make music to the Lord.

There are corridors from the Lobby leading to some important day-to-day rooms:

The Family Room is a place to pray for those closest to me, including my church family. The Disciple's Prayer Room is where I can pray the Lord's Prayer slowly, using it as a framework and the Dining Room is a space to meditate on scripture and then turn it to prayer. I cannot live by bread alone - I need to feed on God's word and trust Jesus' promise: "If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." The Library is where I turn to books that help me in prayer e.g. 'With Christ in the School of Prayer', (Andrew Murray) 'The Pursuit of God' (A.W. Tozer) ''The Eye of the Eagle' (David Adam). And not forgetting the Kitchen, where I pray as I prepare for preaching and teaching.

The Basement

Downstairs in THE BASEMENT I have an Exercise Room where I give myself an occasional spiritual fitness check, and a Wine Cellar where I enjoy a regular glass of fine vintage. To be my best I need to "go-on-being-filled with the Spirit."

The First Floor

A grand staircase from the lobby leads to THE FIRST FLOOR.

There is a peaceful wing with a Soaking Room for 'abiding' in Christ. Simon calls this "pickling;" you go in a cucumber and come out a pickle. ('Sustainable Power' ch.10) The Bedroom is for those last minutes of the day in Christ's presence, and if I'm wakeful I can share time with him as I rest. My En-Suite is where I clean up and flush away any rubbish from the day, and in the morning, it is the place I often find inspiration flowing in the shower!

The more high-intensity wing on this floor includes the Intercession Room with its prayer lists for people and situations, including specific ministries and workers overseas. The War Room is a place in which to battle in prayer, with Ephesians 6 the key text: I've found praying in tongues is a powerful spiritual weapon with which to come against enemy strongholds. In the Revival Prayer Room Isaiah 64.1 is prominent: "O that you would rend the heavens and come down…" In this room, a few years ago, the Holy Spirit re-ignited a passion in me for a mighty spiritual awakening in our time.

Living Rooms

Of course, the real LIVING ROOMS are out there! Going back downstairs, the main door leads outside. We need the Spirit's help in the Workplace whatever and where're that may be, and when Travelling or while Serving Others. Mother Theresa's life was one big prayer; she believed she was meeting Jesus in all those she served. We need the Spirit on Mission when embarking on some scary venture of faith; we can enjoy his presence in Creation whether it be in a garden, a park or by the sea, and when Prayer Walking our neighbourhood or in quiet conversation with the Spirit as we stroll into town.

These are just some of my rooms; no doubt you will think of others if you find the idea helpful.

My 'House of Prayer' is helping with my ambition to learn what it means to "pray without ceasing."

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Wow! Thank you John - such a powerful and inspiring way to refresh our prayer lives. Whether you like the idea of it or want to continue with your current practice I hope it inspired you to a fresh journey of prayer.