February 3, 2023: Prayer: Desire, Discipline, Delight

“And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.” (Mark 1:35, ESV)

When Kelly and I were starting our church many years ago, I came across a teaching by Pastor Larry Lea. In it, he described three levels of prayer: desire, discipline, and delight. Yesterday I spoke about the desire to pray. The desire to pray is birthed in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. It is the starting point of a lifelong journey of prayer.

Secondly, that desire must mature into a daily discipline of prayer. It is one thing to have the desire to pray, but it is a whole other level to have the discipline of prayer. Desire will get you to the starting point, but discipline will carry you the distance. Discipline is needed when desire is not there, when other things are trying to squeeze out prayer, or when you are exhausted. Jesus not only desired to pray but also kept prayer as a number one spiritual activity daily.

Third, as prayer is birthed in desire and established with discipline, the next level of prayer is delight. We delight to be in His presence. We delight in knowing His heart. We delight in being with our heavenly Father. If prayer is just religious duty, you will experience very little delight. But the more one matures in their prayer life—the more delight one has in the place of prayer. The more relational you are with God in prayer, the more delight you will experience