![]() Nehemiah 1:5–11: Nehemiah’s prayer when he hears Jerusalem’s walls are still in shambles.Here are some biblical prayers that may be especially worth meditating on to focus our minds and hearts: But again and again Scripture rebukes my shallow, self-oriented prayers and summons them upward into the larger context of God’s glory, the church, eternity, and the advance of the gospel. I usually don’t ask for boldness when I’m persecuted (Acts 4:29), or interpret my grief in light of God’s honor and redemptive plan (Neh. 1:5–11), or say things like “ teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom” (Ps. 90:12). There are so many things in Scripture my flesh would never think to ask for. ![]() As I look to Scripture to develop and mature my praying instincts, I find it not only informs the content of my requests but also helps cultivate the impulses and appetites undergirding them. We learn how to pray, and more often by observation and imitation than by direct instruction. The point of the metaphor is that just as none of us is born knowing how to talk, none of us knows how to pray on our own. As the father of soon-to-be-3-year-old who’s talking more and more, and saying some truly hilarious things, this is an illustration that resonates with me! And I find it true in my prayer life. God speaks to us through his Word, and then we speak back to him in response, much as a child listens to his parents and then responds. I remember hearing somewhere that Scripture teaches us how to pray as a mother teaches a child how to talk. Here are seven strategies for fighting and harnessing distraction to deepen and direct our prayers. Distraction can be a huge hindrance in our prayer life, but I’m also discovering it provides an opportunity for growth.
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