Sword & Trowel 2018: Issue 1 


forms of prayer represented in our petitions? Are we praying only for ourselves and our own problems? Are we including all aspects of prayer, for example, praise and thoughtful thanksgiving? As we pray for our church and for its witness, do we also pray for power and strength to overcome our sins? There are many matters to pray for, and sometimes we fall into a rut, or into one little compartment of prayer, while the Lord wants us to pray about a whole range of matters. To watch means also that the


answer may bring some new respon- sibility, to which we must respond. God often answers our prayers by giving us the opportunity to play some part in the outcome. When, for example, we pray for the conver- sion of someone, the Lord may give us an unparalleled opportunity to speak to that person, but if we are not watching, we may not realise what is happening, and be spiritually


comatose. We must never pray as though God will look after the entire matter without any action or involve- ment on our part. God’s purpose may be to make us instrumental. We cannot very well pray, ‘Lord, save all my colleagues, but please use other instruments, and don’t use me be- cause I am embarrassed to witness.’ To watch is also to be diligent


and methodical. Most people are extremely methodical in managing their secular affairs, poring over bank statements, bills and accounts, and yet, with prayer there is no ‘admin- istration’ whatsoever. Prayer should surely be planned in some measure, that plan being reviewed from time to time, and all this is included in the term ‘watch’. Never should this greatest of all privileges, the ministry of prayer, be vague, ill-considered, casual or haphazard.


Drawn from The Lord’s Pattern for Prayer by Peter Masters, available from the Tabernacle Bookshop.


God’s Rules for Holiness, Proving Charismatic Gifts Have Ceased and Your Reasonable Service in the Lord’s Work by Dr Masters have been translated into Spanish. (Available in the UK from the Tabernacle Bookshop.)


page 14 Long-Term Praying


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