Prayer is the most mysterious activity in the life of every Christian, yet many people very often neglect it. Through prayer, we gain access to all the blessings of Heaven that have been prepared for us but patiently await the decision of our will and the expression of our faith that we need Heavenly blessings.
We do not see the One to Whom we address our prayers or hear His voice, but we believe that He exists, that He hears us, and that He answers all our requests.
I cannot imagine how God answers my prayers, but by faith I rely upon the fact that He does.
Prayers may be of different kinds, and therefore their answers also differ. Let us list some types of prayer:
prayers of thanksgiving, intercession, praise, blessing, dedication, healing, wisdom and guidance, deliverance from evil forces, receiving special blessings, and calling upon God to fulfill His promises. In every case, faith is the foundational principle without which it is impossible to expect any answer.
God has power over many forms of care for His creation that He has built into the order of our world and sustains independently of our faith and prayers. But there are blessings for which we must ask and even plead.
When the gathering of students from our School was being planned, the program included an extended time of united prayer. The model for this prayer was taken from the life of the patriarch Jacob. When his life was threatened, he spent the night asking God to protect his household, and toward morning he pleaded for a special blessing for himself as well. It was a night of prayer during which God Himself came to His servant and wrestled with him until morning.
With such a biblical story as our guide, we decided to hold a shared night of prayer one evening. This was announced in advance, even before our gathering began, and then prayerful preparation continued during the meeting itself. Every morning, we read and reflected upon the importance of the baptism of the Holy Spirit and upon how and why we need this Heavenly Gift.
We had no experience conducting such an event, so we asked for wisdom from above in order to understand what we needed to do. We did not know how God would answer, but we believed that He would.
We did not set a specific date, but waited for a favorable opportunity when, rested and alert, we could begin carrying out this plan. Yet every evening we saw the same picture: everyone was tired and needed rest. Therefore, we kept postponing our night of prayer until later. But that ‘later’ never arrived.
After another group trip to an interesting place, we returned to our house, and I announced to all my friends that the night of prayer would take place that evening. Everyone who desired could participate by going with us outdoors into a nearby forest. Nine people responded. The others decided to rest for a while and join us later, but after resting, they preferred to hold the service in the house.
While we were walking to our place of prayer, an interesting event occurred along the way. A car with open windows stopped beside us. The driver turned the radio up to full volume, and we heard the words, ‘Today you will be happy.’ Then the driver quickly turned off the radio and drove away. We found it interesting to consider what this might have been. Everything about the weather and nature disposed us toward prayer.
We chose a small forest near the television tower on a mountainous elevation above Yerevan. When we arrived, we spread out our camping mats, knelt down, and began planning the prayer itself. It was decided that everyone could choose his or her own posture for prayer. If someone was unable to remain awake, that person could sleep and refresh the mind. We would pray in turn for as long as the heart of the person praying directed, wait for the prayer to end, say ‘Amen,’ and pass the opportunity to the next person.
We decided to begin the prayer by repenting before one another. Each of us offered quiet personal prayers to Heaven and then spoke publicly about what had been revealed. I asked forgiveness for my lack of organization and for other things. In turn, each of us repented before the others of what had been revealed to the heart. Afterward, we sang a hymn and began reading biblical truths about the importance of persistent prayer and receiving the power of the Holy Spirit.
We took turns praying, singing, and reading biblical promises. Then we prayed again according to those promises, pleading for what God had promised and assuring Him in our prayers that we needed it.
At first, we prayed for wisdom, then for the gift of the Holy Spirit, and afterward we asked to be given the spirit of persistence described in Jesus’ parable. Then we began expressing our faith that we had received what was promised and thanking God for an answer we had not yet experienced. The night grew cold, and we began to freeze. Someone lay down in exhaustion to doze for a while. But the prayers did not cease.
After completing a round of prayer, we chose an appropriate hymn, sang it, and continued praying. Not far from us stood the television tower, shimmering with different lights and faintly illuminating our place of prayer. When we had become thoroughly cold, we decided to go up to the observation platform and continue our prayers there. From that place, we could see the sleeping city, and once again we lifted our prayers to God.
To our surprise, a warm, gentle wind began to blow, tenderly surrounding us with its warming currents. We saw this as a sign from God, reminding us of the Bible passage about the still, small voice in which the Lord would be revealed. We continued praying for the Holy Spirit and for a blessing upon our gathering and upon everyone who was not with us.
Throughout our prayer, I struggled all night against drowsiness and wondered why it would not leave. When I began noticing that my mind was shutting down even while I stood, I decided to sleep for a while. I lay down upon the rocks and instantly fell asleep. About an hour later, I awoke and rejoined my praying friends.
Toward morning, we noticed that the entire forest below stood still, while the trees at the place where we had begun our night of prayer were swaying in the wind. It was an amazing sight.
Dawn was approaching. My friends shared the blessings they had received in answer to our prayers, while I had nothing to say and felt ashamed that I had slept through the most interesting part. It was decided that we would go home, but I said that I would not leave because I also wanted to receive an answer. Sister Sveta remained with me, while Arsen drove the others home. Then he returned to us, and we continued praying until eleven in the morning.
God gave me peace within my heart and assured us of His presence.
During our prayer, as I listened to Svetlana’s words, it was revealed to me that kneeling before me was a prayer partner whom the Lord was giving me. How joyful this discovery was! I shared it with Sveta, and we continued praying, declaring to the Lord that we would not let Him go until He blessed us. We did not know what the answer would be, so we prayed, believed, and waited.
Between our prayers, Arsen read quotations from the book Prayer, and as we listened to the inspired thoughts, we continued praying according to what had been read.
The Lord abundantly blessed all of us through this nighttime experience of prayer.
Bible Verses for Reflection
Genesis 32:24–28; Matthew 18:18–20; 26:40–41; Luke 6:28; 11:5–13; 18:2–8; Mark 13:32–37; Isaiah 44:3; Acts 1:4–5; Romans 13:12; 1 Thessalonians 3:9–13; 5:17; Hebrews 11:6; Jeremiah 29:11–13; James 5:16; Colossians 4:3.