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Biblical Praying (Psalm 119:115)

Depart from me, evildoers, that I may observe the commandments of my God.
Psalm 119:115

Our prayers can easily be a window that reveals the condition of our hearts! Sit in on the average church prayer meeting and you might be surprised at the focus on physical issues without due consideration of spiritual priorities. This is not to say that God does not care about physical issues. He certainly does. But if you review the prayers in the Bible, you will find a clear emphasis on spiritual priorities.

It is quite easy to offer prayers that are primarily about our comfort. The psalmist has been under constant attack from evildoers. It makes sense that he would want them gone. But notice that his prayer is not for personal comfort, but rather for spiritual purposes. He wants to have undistracted devotion to God. He is determined to live out the teachings of Scripture.

This is a model that we should emulate. We can pray for improved health, but we must also understand that our goal in prayer must ultimately be for spiritual purposes. And if those spiritual purposes are best fulfilled when our health is not ideal, we must trust God. We can pray for safe travels, but we ought to think about the ministry opportunities that will be available as we travel. We can pray for protection from the enemy, but it ought to be so that we can be as effective as possible in our service to God.

Take time to consider your own prayer life. Does it reflect the spiritual priorities that would be honoring to God?

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Rocky Wyatt

Rocky Wyatt came to know the Lord as a young teenager and began working in youth ministry when in college. After serving in churches in Utah, California and Colorado, Rocky moved to Texas to serve as Youth Pastor at Countryside Bible Church. He served there for 26 years where he eventually moved from youth ministry to serve as an Associate Pastor.

Over the course of his ministry, Rocky has always had a desire to train men for pastoral ministry in the context of the local church. In 1992 he started XL Ministries, an organization that is committed to helping churches establish intensive internships for pastoral training. In 2020 he left his position at Countryside Bible Church to become the Executive Director of XL Ministries and now works full time assisting churches in training men for ministry.

He is co-author of The Youth Ministry Training Manual, a textbook for training youth pastors, and has also written multiple other resources for use in various local church ministries. He is currently working on a book to encourage churches to take the primary responsibility to train pastors.

Rocky is married to Pamela, has two sons and daughters-in-law, and ten grandchildren. 

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.1 Corinthians 15:58