Our focus in January has been on prayer. In Coffee With Jesus, we talked about the purpose of prayer. Today, I’d like to focus more on the practical how-to’s of effective prayer. Prayer is a big deal. It’s communication with God. The interesting thing is that prayer is not limited to Christianity. Every religion has some form of prayer. There is usually some form of structure to prayer, depending on its purpose. Catholic prayers are very formalized, while Protestant prayer tends to be more free-flowing. Whatever our denominational beliefs, our ideas about prayer are a mix of Scripture and tradition.
There are several specific prayers recorded in the Bible. We have Abraham’s prayer for Sodom and Gomorrah. We have Miriam’s prayer when the children of Israel crossed the Red Sea. We have the prayers of David in the book of Psalms. We have the prayers of Jesus. We have the prayers of Paul. Even Jesus’ disciples were concerned about effective prayers. They asked Him to teach them how to pray. The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) sets the standard for basic prayer.
There are basic components to the Lord’s prayer:
- Addressing God. Our Father, in heaven, hallowed by your name. When we address God, we need to know who He is. Hebrews tells us that we must approach God with faith, believing that He exists and that He rewards anyone who diligently seeks Him. When we address God, we acknowledge our relationship to Him. We offer Him praise and respect.
- Asking for God’s will. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. It’s important that our prayers are in agreement with the will of God. God will not answer selfish prayers. He can not violate His will or His character. When we pray, we need to be sure that our prayers line up with God’s plan. Scripture reveals God’s will to us. That’s why it’s so important that we spend time studying the Word of God. Studying God’s word makes our prayers more effective. This is also sometimes referred to as “praying the Word.” When we pray the Word of God over a situation, we personalize various Scripture verses that apply to that situation. We know that when we pray God’s promises over a situation, we are praying the will of God over that situation.
- Place your needs before God. Give us today our daily bread. God knows what we need, but He also wants us to humble ourselves and ask Him to provide. We have to trust that God will provide for our needs: big or small.
- Forgive others and confess your sins. Forgive us our debts as we have also forgiven our debtors. Forgiveness is a key component of effective prayer. Jesus tells us that if we approach God’s altar and realize there that we have something against our brother or that our brother has something against us, we need to leave our gift at the altar and go and be reconciled to our brother. God offers us unconditional forgiveness of our sins through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. If we truly understand the weight of our own sin and the miracle of God’s forgiveness, we can not hesitate to extend that same forgiveness to others.
- Ask for guidance and protection. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. It’s not that God leads us into temptation in the first place, but rather that we want Him to protect us from temptations that might arise in our daily lives. We need His protection and His guidance to avoid the traps that Satan sets for us along our way.
- Finish with praise and thanksgiving. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. The Bible tells us that we are to enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Praising God and offering thanks puts our focus on the right things. We acknowledge, again, who He is and what He does for us.
There are many different kinds of prayers: prayers of adoration, where we praise God; prayers of contrition, where we confess our sins before God; prayers of petition, where we lay our needs before God; prayers of thanksgiving, where we show gratitude to God; and prayers of intercession, where we bring the needs of others before God just to name a few. There are also various spiritual disciplines involving prayer that I have found helpful in my own spiritual walk: praying the labyrinth, breath prayer, the prayer of examen, and releasing/receiving prayers are a few of the disciplines I have used. Many of these prayer traditions and disciplines come to us from the Catholic faith and the practices of various monks, but don’t let that stop you from giving them a try! Whatever your situation or need, rest assured there is a prayer for that! If you are the kind of person who likes to have a template to follow, consider the linked examples to the various types of prayers mentioned above. And, of course, you don’t have to follow any of these examples, you can simply pour out your heart to God in your own words. God hears all types of prayer.
If you’re looking for more information or tips on prayer, consider these books:
A Better Way to Pray by Andrew Womack; Fervent by Priscilla Shirer; Prayers that Avail Much by Germaine Copeland; The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence; The Power of Simple Prayer by Joyce Meyer.
Whatever way you decide to pray, take the time to make prayer an integral part of your day. God longs to have relationship with you. Relationship requires communication, and prayer is the way we communicate with God.
A Beautiful Mess 