During my time at IHOP, people would always teach that it was wisdom to pray biblical or apostolic prayers. For those that are unfamilliar with the “ways” of IHOP, all of the prayers prayed at IHOP are taken from the bible, more specifically the prayers that the apostles pray for the specific churches. (ie. Eph 1:17-19, Eph 3:14-19, Phil, 1:9-11, etc…) Now given that I respected the leaders at IHOP as men and women of God, I kinda of just went along with it. “When in Rome….” Although it was new to me, there was nothing really objectionable about praying biblical prayers and it was not like I was going to say “No I won’t pray prayers that come from the bible!” While at IHOP, I developed the habit of using those prayers as my framework, but honestly I still did not truly understand what they meant by saying it was wisdom. Until I came home.
While I still kept up my daily prayer times just like at IHOP, I had fallen out of the habit of using the apostolic prayers. It was only when I began to join in prayer with the JHOP SF team that I realized how “me” centered my prayers had become. Like a lightning bolt I was struck with the truth of what I had learned; that it was wisdom to pray from the bible. At the end of the day, stripped of all of the eloquence and “spiritual spin” that I put on them, my prayers were nothing more than selfish pleas for more comfort, an easier life, and taking the road most traveled. Perspective returned as I realized that God was so much more concerned that I “live a life worthy of the calling that I received,” “knowing the depth and height of his love,” excel in the spiritual gifts,” “having the spirit of wisdom and revelation, that I would know him more.”
Praying in accord with God’s Word does something to our inner man, it takes our self-centered prayers, that all of us are prone to fall into, and lifts them into the heart of God, praying and asking for the things that He desires. It brings about the true heart and quality of an intercessor; one who desires what God desires, longs for what God longs for, and will partner with God through prayer so that “thy will be done on Earth.”
