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First Person is produced in cooperation with the Far East Broadcasting Company, who rejoice in the stories of changed lives through the power of Jesus Christ. Learn more at febc.org. So to me, Wayne, prayer is not a disciplined religious activity at a certain time and place, though I do have a time and place. It is a 24-hour day relationship to God where He can interrupt me anytime He wants.
honoring the life and ministry of Dr. Henry Blackaby. Welcome to this edition of First Person. I'm Wayne Shepherd, and we'll spend the next few minutes thanking God for the life of Henry Blackaby, who went to be with the Lord on February 10, 2024. Before we hear excerpts of his teaching on prayer, I'd like to direct you to our website for further information and an archive of past interviews. Join us online at firstpersoninterview.com.
Dr. Henry Blackaby was perhaps best known around the world for his phrase, Watch and see where God is working and join Him. It was part of his teaching in books on experiencing God.
Many years ago, while I was on staff with Moody Radio in Chicago, I would interview Dr. Blackaby from time to time on a call-in program. With the permission of Moody Radio, I've gone through some of those recordings and selected a couple of highlights to share with you today as we remember Dr. Blackaby's teaching, in this case, on the theme of experiencing prayer. Far back as I can remember as a little boy, prayer just was a way of life for me.
I watched my parents pray, and so it became natural for me to pray. And I knew I needed to develop my own prayer life. As a teenager, I guided youth and had to pray. College, I guided college students and had to pray. Then I pastored, and prayer was the heartbeat of my life.
and then I started a theological college in our church and one of the first courses I established was intercessory prayer. And so my whole life's been involved in prayer and I'm a part of at least six different national prayer groups in America helping
to clarify and encourage and strengthen prayer life across America. Can you look back on a deep time of need or just perhaps a deep sense of God's presence in prayer at a particular season of life for you? Well, as a college student, I was overwhelmed with the needs. In a very prolonged time of prayer, God overwhelmed me.
And when I went to seminary, a major professor was a man of incredible prayer. And that reinforced what had happened during my college years. And I basically have always seen prayer not as me getting God to do something for me, but I've always seen prayer as God's invitation to stand in his presence and let him transform me with his mind and his heart.
And so I usually come out of prayer with a much clearer understanding of what God's up to in my life than an assurance that God is doing what I want Him to do for me. Are you still learning yourself, and what are you learning recently about prayer? Well, more and more, I'm taking exceedingly serious what the Scripture says. For instance,
Hebrews 10, 19 and following says we can come boldly into the holiest. And I then stopped and camped there. What does it mean to come into the holiest, and where is that? And, of course, in my mind and heart, it is into the throne room. But then 2 Corinthians 3, 18 says, with unveiled faces, which is what prayer is,
can behold His glory as in a mirror and are being transformed into the same likeness. And so my heart said, what is it that I come to know of God? What is it that He grants me to know of Himself when I come to pray? And am I being transformed into that same likeness?
We often hold theology in our head, but we do not then stand until God produces that relationship with him that changes us in our daily experience. And so I think, Wayne, I've always sensed that God reveals himself in a way that he's going to be
functioning in my life. In other words, God just doesn't give us a blank revelation. I think he shows us himself.
because that's what he's going to be doing in my life. So my prayer life brings me into a greater understanding of God, but that alerts me to what God might be about to do in my life out of that understanding. And this is what you talk about in your book, Experiencing Prayer with Jesus. It really does begin with that relationship, doesn't it? Prayer is a relationship, not an activity.
And many people see prayer as a discipline or prayer as a religious duty or activity. And if you miss the relationship, you've missed the essence of prayer. Talk more about the relationship. What does that relationship look like? What does it feel like? How does it dictate how much time we spend in prayer, for instance? Well, of course, our clearest pattern is the prayer life of Jesus. How did he spend it? When did he spend it?
what drew him to pray. And he was forever coming out of a moment when the Father had done something significant. And he sent the multitude away and often the disciples away, and he went into a solitary place or a mountain to pray. And then, of course, John 17 gives us a pretty clear picture of what Jesus prayed. And so I take those and the Lord's Prayer
As a pattern. Not to rote. That is, not to just say words like Jesus said. Don't just keep repeating words. It's not a formula. Nope. But it is a guide. It is a plumb line for God to say, do you want to know what the relationship will look like? And of course, the Lord's Prayer begins our relationship.
which is corporate, our Father, which is intimate, who art in heaven, which is much, much farther beyond us. Hallowed be your name. The holiness of God must be protected, etc. And when you start to go through the prayer,
It is relationship from beginning to end. So that can become a real solid base, not just to practice activity or words, but to make sure that I'm in that relationship one step at a time.
You state in your book, for Jesus, prayer wasn't simply talking with God, but it involved a deep abiding sense of reverent submission to him. Therefore, every time Jesus entered into his Father's presence, the Father opened his Son's understanding to what he, the Father, was doing. Is that the same for us then? It is indeed. It is indeed. The culture, the religious culture of the day has misshaped our prayer life into worshiping
If we do the right thing and say the right thing and be the right thing, we can get anything we want from God. And we pick out our proof texts where Jesus said, whatever you ask the Father in my name, I'll do it. But the context is relationship, which begins with what's on the heart of God. And so prayer is a relationship of
where God grants us the privilege of standing in His presence so we can know what's on His heart. You talk about, are we experiencing this in the days of the flesh? Can you explain that biblical phrase to us and why it's important here? Well, it comes from Hebrews 5, 7-9, where it describes Jesus' prayer life.
And it says, in the days of his flesh, he offered up prayers and supplication with strong crying and tears to him who could save him from death. The reason I think it's important, among other things, is because so many believers, when you start to talk about the prayer life of Jesus, they say, well, he was God, and I'm not.
And therefore, they excuse their prayer life as not being like Jesus because they say, I can't be like him. Well, two things are wrong. Number one, it says he was made in the likeness of flesh. He was tested in all points like as we yet without sin.
And so he gives us what every person can experience in prayer because he lived out his life in the limitations that you and I face. And then second, God says, you might not be able to do on your own what my son did, but my plan for you was to place my son in you and let him live out his prayer life in you.
And so when Christ lives out, like Paul says, it is no longer I who live, but it's Christ living out his life in me. And knowing the life of Christ, I cannot imagine him living his life out in us and not living out his prayer life in us. So with that understanding, I then am very, very alert to watch to see from the prayer life of Jesus the matching movements of his presence in my own life and
and then I obey. I respond to his activity within me. So we can pray. And so in the days of his flesh means when he was just like you and me, this is what he did. I understand. Now, you would say then that our purpose in prayer is to establish this relationship with Christ and to experience the presence of Christ in our life. There's got to be more to the purpose, though. God has to speak to us through prayer, right? Oh, yeah. Just like...
Every time Jesus went alone to pray, the Father was speaking to him. When he went alone all night, the Father described to him who the twelve disciples were. And certainly Gethsemane, the Father was deeply involved in him and discussing his purposes and his ways. And even when they said, teach us to pray, he said, now pray like this. Now this is what he was saying.
praying in his own life, the Father was going to reveal to him his kingdom and his will. And he did it. All the way through his life he did it. And you can see that every great movement of an activity of Jesus was preceded by a time of prayer with the Father. And he said, I didn't come to do my own will. I came to do the will of him that sent me. So
So we should be listening for what God and how God wants to lead us and what his purpose for us is. Yeah, and if you notice that Jesus uses the scriptures so much. And so I always spend time in the scriptures before I pray because the Holy Spirit, who knows the Father's mind and heart for my life, will be guiding me to understand the truth that comes from the Father.
And so I always assume that what's happening when I am in the Scripture is the Spirit of God bringing me dead center into the will of God. And so I always pray from the Scripture. So whatever's on my heart and mind, I assume God put it there. And then I take the Scriptures and pray from them. And it's always God-centered when I pray. We're listening to the late Dr. Henry Blackaby on Experiencing Prayer. There's more ahead. Stay with us.
Here's Ed Cannon on the Vision for FEBC's weekly podcast. The primary purpose of Until All Have Heard, of course, is to share the experience that FEBC has because we have staff on the ground in so many oppressive places. But in addition to that, we're trying to speak to you in a way that only the kind of testimonies you'll hear from around the globe can do. Discover how the gospel is making a difference around the world.
Search for Until All Have Heard on your favorite podcast platform or hear it online at febc.org. We've reached into the archive for the late Dr. Henry Blackaby on a call-in program. His theme was experiencing prayer. Jesus turned to the disciples and said that they should always pray and not give up. And then when he goes on down that, he says...
that will not God hear those who continually talk with him or bring things to him. And he used the illustration of a woman who kept coming and kept coming and pleading, and finally the man gave her what she asked.
And then he said, do you not suppose then that the Lord will hear his children who cry unto him day and night? And so there's no sense that Jesus said, you need to pray once and never pray that again. I think the condition of the heart and the intimate relationship with God
would dictate whether we should come and pray now many times when a person praise for someone for twenty years
I think I would, if I was their pastor, I'd say, have you brought that request to the prayer meeting? And most of the time they have not. Have you enlisted others to pray with you? And most of the time they have not. They just say, I've been praying for this and nothing seems to have happened. Well, there are a number of scriptures that talk about when two or more gather together and agree as touching anything that they shall ask, it will be granted.
And so if I was their pastor and saw that they were sort of casually saying, I prayed for this and nothing's happened, I would say they need some help to know how to pray. And they need to pray with others. And God says when you not only pray with a clear heart, believing, he will answer that. But when you pray with others,
He will answer that. And of course, pastoring for 30 years, I saw it happen all the time, and I see that happening to this very hour. Dr. Blackaby, what is our role in praying for others? Well, I always assume that you need to have God direct you in that one. I never did just pray the way people asked me to.
even if it was for healing or whatever, I always took time to ask the Father, do you want me to pray for this person's healing? And there were times when God says no. And there were times in the hospital where a person would ask me, would you pray that God would take me? And I said, give me a moment to talk to the Father about that. And I came back and prayed, and before the night was out, God took them. Prayer is not a magical thing. It's a relationship.
and we can get hearing what others think and how others feel and how others believe. But the bottom line is, what's God saying to you, especially from the scriptures? So if a person says, I don't think that God wants us to keep on asking, I'd say, well, that's funny because he says to the disciples, you need to keep on asking, and you need to keep on seeking. And you didn't tell them not to.
But the relationship with God will tell you how to go about that, and if God wants you to change the way you pray.
But I've never, ever hesitated in praying over a period of time for the same thing. And often, God will redirect your praying over a period of time. You don't say the same words, but you may carry the same burden. But every time you come, the Lord gives you a whole new dimension on how to pray for that same burden. The place of struggle in our Christian life is not evidence that we are out of God's will. The
The fact is that sometimes we will struggle even in the middle of it. God can give us a difficult assignment, right? Including difficult people.
I think God's goal is to conform us to the image of his Son. To do that, he needs to put us through some very deep struggles, because it's in those struggles that we learn more of him and more of his Son than we would have without it. Unfortunately, whenever we get into difficulty, whether it's a health difficulty, a finance difficulty, a work difficulty,
a family difficulty. We're always coming and asking God's people to get us, to pray that God get us out of it. And God would say, get him out of it. I put him in it. He hasn't yet come to discover some things about me that he can't discover any other way except in that struggle. And I never thought about Jesus choosing Judas as one of the 12 until you wrote about it in your book here.
The fact that Jesus knew what Judas would eventually do, and yet he still chose him. Yeah, if you watch that moment when the disciples were chosen and tied in with John 17 where Jesus says, Father, these men were yours, and you gave them to me, and you told me what to tell them, and I've told them.
Well, I believe that that night when Jesus prayed all night and then chose the twelve, the Father summoned him and said, Son, I have chosen twelve men. One of them I'll need to talk to you about. That's Judas. And I think the Father took some time to describe to Jesus why he was giving Judas to him. And, of course, the more you unfold the scriptures, the more you realize Judas
Judas' heart was in such a condition that God could choose to use him to be the one who betrayed his son. He didn't make him betray. He knew that his heart would, and he talked to the son about that. And I think when Jesus chose Judas, he knew clearly that there was one who would betray him, and that would be the one. But none of the disciples ever knew, because Jesus never treated him differently.
How have you handled, how have you prayed for people who have opposed you? Well, I know the many scriptures where God says it is a very dangerous thing for anybody to oppose, hurt, or put a stumbling block in the way of any of his servants. And so I immediately pray to God for mercy.
Because I know God is very much aware of what they're doing. He's aware of what he's assigned me. I don't have to play God and bring judgment on them. But I know that God is very thorough and very just and very redemptive. And so I always pray that God would help me with those who oppose me to be a redemptive presence and ask God to show me how to do that.
And I've watched many turn around. And some that I have had opposed me, later they needed a reference. And the people came to me and said, could you give me a reference on this person? Well, if I'd acted according to the flesh, he would never have gotten a job.
But I didn't. So I never let my heart go hard. I never let it be judgmental. I left the dealing with them up to God. The question always comes up about place and time. In your own experience, what works for you and what would you say to us about the habit of a place and time for prayer? Well, you know, I think it would be important for many who need the discipline because...
Their love relationship to God is not the discipline as it ought to. So the discipline of a time and place, we've been taught that so much. But when you watch the life of the Lord Jesus, he prayed all day long. You find him rising up early in the morning to pray. You find him praying all during the day. You see him praying at night. Prayer is a way of life, which is a 24-7 process.
a relationship to God. But we often set a time and place. We have our time of prayer, then we close the door and go out into our work world. And I'd say, why did you close the door? Prayer is a way of life. That early moment hour was simply God's way of introducing you to what he's going to be doing in your life all day long. And since he dwells in your life 24 hours a day, he can talk to you
any time of the day. So to me, a Wayne prayer is not a disciplined religious activity at a certain time and place, though I do have a time and place. It is a 24-hour day relationship to God where he can interrupt me anytime he wants. And that's prayer. It's when God begins to talk with me. And often it's right in the middle of the day as it was with Jesus. And in
In the middle of the day when he was going to feed the multitudes, he lifted up his voice and said, Father, I thank you that you always hear me. And he was in the fellowship with the Father and could talk with him that way. The late Dr. Henry Blackaby on experiencing prayer. He is now experiencing God firsthand in heaven.
What you've been listening to was excerpts from past interviews with Dr. Blackaby as originally heard on Moody Radio. The book Experiencing God sold over 8 million copies in English and is available in 75 languages. Today, his son Richard leads Blackaby Ministries International and writes and speaks on spiritual awakening, experiencing God, and the Christian life. For a link to the ministry, visit FirstPersonInterview.com.
A word of thanks to the Far East Broadcasting Company for support in making First Person possible each week. Listen for FEBC's podcast until all have heard with Ed Cannon by visiting febc.org or use your favorite podcast app. Now with thanks to my friend and producer Joe Carlson and Wayne Shepard, thanks for listening to First Person.
