Of Mountains and Prayer

I was spending a little time with the Lord, reading in Mark, when I came across the account of Jesus healing a boy possessed by an evil spirit (Mark 9:14-29). Jesus had taken Peter, James and John up a mountain for some time apart. It was at that time that Jesus was transfigured and the three disciples had the epitome of the mountain top experience.

In the meantime the others were left at the foot of the mountain and instead of seeing glory, they were faced with needs. Apparently lots of needs, as there was a crowd around them. One of those needs was a young boy who suffered and whose father was seeking help for him. He had approached the disciples but they were unable to be of help, and when he saw Jesus he went directly to him. A good move and the results were that his son was healed. This left the disciples puzzled, however. "Why couldn't we drive it out?" Jesus replied, "This kind can come out only by prayer [some manuscripts add, "and fasting"]".


What a drammatic illustration of the power, and importance, of prayer. One moment a child is rolling around on the ground experiencing something like an epileptic fit and the next moment he is fine. And Jesus says that only by prayer can this kind of thing happen. He doesn't wax eloquent about it, in fact he doesn't wax anything. He simply states it as a fact, like the world being round or water being wet or breathing being important. Prayer is powerful. Prayer matters (ask the little boy or his father).

As I thought about this I had to be honest with God that I struggle with prayer. I know how important it is, that it is necessary and all that. But I don't pray consistently in a manner I would like to. Simply put, prayer, as simple as it is, is hard to do consistently day in and day out.

I am not the only one who struggles with prayer. Even some of the saints who have grown strong in prayer acknowledge the difficulty of prayer. I think E.M. Bounds said that the more spiritual a work is the more difficult it is to do, and that prayer is the most spiritual of work.

As I reflected on this I remembered my prayer journal. Over the years I have written down my prayer requests and then recorded the answers. I have not used the journal since December, so I pulled it out with the intent to begin using it again as one way to become more consistent. When I opened it up I found that I had not recorded the answers to the last of the prayer requests I had made. As I looked through those prayers I realized that all but two had been answered since December. One in particular caused me to laugh out loud. I had been praying for some mountains to be moved and had written "the mountain of Cary" (my brother). I realized that God had answered that prayer by literally moving him! (Tee-hee!) God is good.

Six or seven weeks ago a Kenyan missionary was introduced to me. He is working in a part of Africa that is near some refugee camps and his story is amazing, inspiring actually. In the face of great obstacles he has been used of God to touch many, many lives. Every year he and his staff devote forty days to prayer and fasting. When someone asked why the emphasis on prayer he replied simply and matter-of-factly, "It's all we have."

Perhaps that is a clue as to why we in the Western world are so haphazard about prayer.

If you struggle with prayer, know that there is a reason. It's not because you're faith is defective but because prayer is hard work. And if you struggle, know that you aren't alone. Keep fighting. Keep praying.

In His Grip.