Folks, I have come to know Lyn Smith through social media. I’ve been impressed with what she’s been writing. I especially appreciate what she’s been sharing about her prayer life. As we enter this year’s version of stressful holidays, I would like to draw your attention to prayer. And Lyn has graciously agreed to answer a few questions from Serving Strong about her prayer life. Please allow God to examine your heart and life. Is your prayer life all it could be?

By the way, you can read more about Lyn at LynSmith.org and LeadHer.org

SS: Were you raised in an environment where prayer was a part of life? If so (or if not), how has that shaped your prayer life as an adult?

Yes, and it shaped my prayer life immeasurably! Five prayer memories from my childhood that molded me:

1) Every morning very early: my Mom on her knees praying

2) Morning devotions:  my Mom read the Daily Light to us and my Dad prayed over us as a family.

3) Evening devotions: we read a chapter from the Bible aloud as a family, then we held hands and each prayed – youngest to oldest.

4) Every night: my Mom and I kneeling by my bed to pray

5) Every night: seeing my parents praying on their knees together by their bed

It was consistent. It was non-negotiable. It was never forced. It just was. It was the reality of their lives so it became the reality of ours. Because of my Mom’s example, I developed a love for praying on my knees. It gets my heart in the right posture of submission. It feels strange when I don’t.

SS: Before you got serious about prayer, what did the extent of your communication with God look like?

After all of that outstanding training, there were dry periods of my adult life, with a particularly long one. During that time, I prayed at meals. I would occasionally have an “official prayer time” but it was minimal. I talked to God conversationally sometimes during the day but, again, it was not intimate. I was aware of His presence but I was distant. I was struggling with some sin areas but not repentant. It was uncomfortable talking to God with willful sin in my life.

SS: What would you say is the ratio between talking and listening in your prayer life?

I want to listen more than I talk. If I consider prayer as an ongoing all day activity, which I will expand on in question #4, it’s a fluid conversation. The ratio is hard to pin down. I’m guessing it’s pretty even – 50/50.

SS: Logistically-speaking, do you have a specific place you go to pray? Do you have a prayer routine that includes meditation, music, scripture?

I have a daily prayer time at a specific place. What I do varies somewhat on what I sense from the Holy Spirit. I read my Bible first, then I kneel at my desk chair with my Bible open to the passage I just read. Sometimes I begin with singing. I focus my mind on the words and am actually praying them back to God as I sing. That flows directly into talking to Him. I start by praising His character – saying His names. I blend that worship of Him with thanking Him for how those qualities impact my life. Then I go back to the Bible passages I read and talk to God about specific thoughts I had from them. That moves easily into concerns and requests.

“I want to listen more than talk.”

Because my relationship with Jesus is intimate and dynamic, prayer is, in a sense, continuous. The concentrated morning times set the foundation for the day, but we have an ongoing conversation all day. Sometimes I talk to Him, other times He tells me things. It is sweet!

SS: What has prayer done for you in real life? How has it made a difference in how you see, and respond to, the world?

Prayer has changed me from being just a Christ follower to being a Christ lover. I don’t read my Bible, pray and obey because it’s good and right. I now do those things because I am so in love with Him that I long to. He has become my heartbeat, my very breath. I can’t live with out Him. I pray mainly because I enjoy Him but I also pray because I love seeing answers.

“Prayer has changed me…”

Praying keeps me close to God’s heart so it enables me to love more as He does. Open communication with Him combined with truth from His Word, help me approach life and people from His perspective.

SS: What would you say to young ministry leaders, both men and women, about the place of prayer in their ministry?

Don’t bother attempting ministry without praying. Intentional, strategic prayer is crucial. We don’t have the full power of the Holy Spirit without it. We can “do” ministry without prayer, but why? It pales in comparison with Spirit filled ministry.

“I only discovered the dynamic

Of real prayer when I

Got real with God.”

Peeling back the word “prayer” gets to the actual crux of the issue – true intimacy. I only discovered the dynamic of real prayer when I got real with God. I stopped ignoring certain pet sins and began letting God into every nook and cranny of my heart and mind. I invited Him to press His fingertip into every space and I committed to respond. When that daily exchange began to be totally authentic, my prayer life exploded, because I began to see true cause and effect. He pressed, I obeyed, and power filled my life and circumstances like I’d never known.

Prayer nurtures intimacy but, more importantly, intimacy drives prayer. I crave it because I crave Him.

We have motion sensors in our office. When someone walks down the hall, these sensors pick up the movement and a little red light on the sensors comes on. At night, when the alarm system is set, if someone breaks in, the motion sensors will pick up the movement and sound an alarm, demanding appropriate response.

Got a message from a pastor this week saying “God moved” in their gathering last weekend.

“God moved.” I absolutely LOVE hearing that. But I wonder sometimes, how do we know? How do any of us really know when God is moving? I wonder how often God moves and we have no clue.

“We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” (2 Chronicles 20)

I want to be alert to as many of the movements of God in my life as possible, don’t you? I want the “little red light” to sound the alarm so I can respond appropriately. Without attending to my motion sensor, I risk acting on what I thought was God’s movement, but it wasn’t. That, my friends, ALWAYS leads to burnout in ministry leadership.

How’s your motion sensor?

“Prayer strikes the winning blow; service is simply picking up the pieces.”  S.D. Gordon

Prayer is the currency of a dynamic emotional bank account with the Creator of the universe. It’s through prayer that we tell God what is on our mind. We ask God to intervene on behalf of a friend or a family member in their time of need. We worship Him with our words and thoughts as we pray. And we listen to Him as He speaks to us.

Discipline

Sometimes prayer takes work. In our humanness, some days we don’t want to take the time to go into our closet and pour out our heart to God. The big game is coming on TV. We’re too tired. We’re too busy.

Joy

Sometimes prayer is an indescribable joy as we sit at the feet of our Father and bask in His unconditional acceptance as He reminds us He’s in control in the most chaotic of times. We are filled with a grand sense of hope and assurance as God’s Spirit revives us with His indwelling.

Constant Contact

But whether it’s a discipline or a joy, prayer MUST be a constant contact between us and God. There can be no break in the communication. So dream big. Prayer for stuff that requires a divine touch in order to happen. Think beyond your own perspective. Shove past the “don’t want to’s” and get in the game with God. Never, never, never let up.

Practically speaking, what do you do to stay in constant contact with God?

If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling around with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us,like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in the slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by an offer of a holiday at sea. We are far too easily pleased. (C. S. Lewis)

Where are you “making mud pies in the slum” when Jesus offers so much more for you and your ministry?  What is the nature of your praying these days? Have you given up to the culture? Have you sold out to the prevailing attitude of squeamish hope?

Please, for the sake of the Kingdom and the glory of God, examine your ministry leadership today. My pastor said to me recently, “We are praying for God to lead us into what we cannot possibly do on our own.” Now THAT’S great ministry leadership.

If you’re content with where you are right now, it was nice to have you on the blog. Have a nice day. But if you’re not content with what’s been happening lately in your ministry and you yearn for more, I want to dialog with you.

What are you praying for your ministry these days?

These are interesting days. I have heard stories of Pastors and Executive Pastors wrestling with a shrinking income base, facing the tough challenge of telling good people they can no longer remain on the church’s payroll. It’s excruciating when you have to look someone in the eyes (someone you’ve served alongside, formed and stormed and normed together) and tell them they have to go somewhere else to find income.

In these times, how do you stay strong?

I’m not an expert on the topic but I’ve been in leadership through some downsizing and I can share from my own experience. I would hope you could add to the dialog. Perhaps someone is right now struggling with this and needs your encouraging idea or thought. Here are mine:

Pray. Pray, pray, pray. Don’t do it without the Holy Spirit’s injection of energy and power. Cry out to Him. Be honest with Him. Complain if you must. But spend a lot of time with Him.

Eat Right. That right, diet is a large part of staying strong amid stress. Research what foods give you the necessary balance of energy and protein. Don’t slip into a diet of unhealthy foods or eating the same thing all the time.

Exercise. Stress is unhealthy for the mind and body. Check out this article from Psychology Today. Exercise allows sweat to transport harmful chemicals from the body. Ever feel a “good tired” after a workout? (consult your doctor before you start any exercise program if you have any special health conditions).

Meditate. God has provided an unbelievable resource in The Bible. Scriptures are replete with examples of how capable God is despite the circumstances. Story after story indicates God is, like the old worship song says, “…more than able to accomplish what concerns me today.”

Your turn: What else would you add to the list?

Oh, my God
Shine Your light on us
That we might live (repeat)

I’ve been holding on
I’ve been holding on
All that is inside me
Screams to come back home

If you feel lost
If you feel lost
Sing along
If you feel tired
If you feel tired
Sing along

If you feel lost and tired
This is your song

I’ve been broken down
I’ve been broken down
I ain’t giving up
Love will come back around

(Shine Your Light On Us. Thanks, Robbie Seay Band)