STARTER: What (Bible verses? stories? ideas?) have particularly motivated you to pray?
Well: here are some ideas that can help us pray, depending on our personality!:
First: Prepare. Slow down; recognize that the God who loves you enormously is here!
What helps you come into reverent stillness in God’s presence? To kneel? To sing?
To breathe out the frustrations of the day, and slowly breathe in His love?
Ask the Holy Spirit of prayer to protect and direct your praying.
Are there pictures in the Bible that refresh you, that direct your thoughts to God? Maybe —
• Christ the Shepherd, and you the lost sheep (Luke 15)?; or
• You the lost (`prodigal’) child, and the welcoming Father (`Abba’/`Daddy’) running to meet you (Luke 15)?; or
• `The King of Kings who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light’ (1 Tim 6:16); or
• The Good Samaritan who finds and rescues you, the beaten-up traveller?; or
• The Servant-King, coming in wondrous humility to wash your feet (John 13; Eph 5:26-27); or
• The Spirit you’re praying to, the river of life, flowing out and transforming all that is dead (John 7:38-39, Ezk 47); or
• Yourself, maybe, like a tree – roots sinking down into God’s Word’s refreshment (Psalm 1), branches reaching upwards to receive His love…?
Then, what shall I pray? Lots of people have found the A.C.T.S summary helpful:
1. Adoration: worship the Lord!- especially for what you’ve seen in today’s Bible reading. (Worship comes first – look at the order of priorities when Jesus teaches us to pray in Matthew 6:9-13!) And maybe think how to extend your range of worship; for example…
Sunday: Worship God in His absolute, eternal, glorious Majesty!
Monday: Worship God as your unendingly loving Father
Tuesday: Worship Jesus as the one who truly knew how to live
Wednesday: Worship Jesus for His loving death to take away your sin
Thursday: Worship Jesus – He really rose again, conquered death and all evil!
Friday: Worship Jesus – He’s coming back, and heaven’s going to be wonderful!
Saturday: Worship Jesus for His loving plans, His wisdom, and His power – working graciously now for you…
2. Confession. Pause to think, and confess any sins that might hinder His presence now… Repent of them… Receive His forgiveness, claim afresh His filling…
3. Thanksgiving. Pause to reflect, and speak thanks for the things He’s given you these last few days (your daily bread [Matt 6:11]; protection in all sorts of ways; etc etc – make a list of His blessings!)…
4. Lastly, asking for Stuff: Grasp afresh, deep down, the reality that it makes a big difference that we pray (read James 4:2)…. Thank God for this incredible channel He has put into your hands! Rejoice that God has given you prayer like a pipeline from heaven, to channel blessing into … your workplace… your relationships… your family…. your friends… your street… the lives of the people you were with yesterday… the lives of those you will meet today…
And keep a record of the ways God answers your prayers – it will encourage you! Go on extending the influence of your prayers, your partnership with God:
• Pray for the not-yet-Christians you know. (Without this, nothing will happen in evangelism: read 2 Cor 4:4!) Pray for them by name, for specific, imaginable steps closer to God….
• Pray for your church: for the evangelism, the worship, the relationships, the teaching, the prayer, the homegroups, the leadership, the caring, the kids’ work, the youth..….
• Pray for some missionaries you know (read Rom 15:30, Col 2:1)… for the missionary your homegroup supports… for their health, their spiritual lives, their friendships, their evangelism, their church, their local colleagues, their marriage, their children….
• Pray (rather than complaining!) for your country’s leaders (Paul calls this a priority, 1 Tim 2:1-2)…..
Then also, let’s make space to listen to God; because real communication is two-way. The primary way God speaks to us is through the Bible: He speaks as we read it, we respond in prayer and worship. But we need to open our hearts to sense God’s voice applying what we read (like Samuel: `Speak, for your servant is listening` (1 Sam 3:10)). Sometimes people talk as if we should empty our mind for this and `lay aside our own thoughts`, but that’s hinduism, not Christian faith. God calls us to love Him with our minds; listening when our minds are full of His Word – bringing a Bible-soaked mind to Him and being consciously open to what He will want to say to us through it, as well as sharing what we want to say to Him. The moment when our mind is full of the Bible may be a great time to go for a walk, to pray about what’s going on in our life, and see what thoughts God brings into our head.
We need space to sense what God wants, what’s on His heart for us to pray about, not just our own needs. I find I’m so often so busy talking at God with my `shopping list` of needs, that there’s no space left to sense what He’s saying to me! But the heart of prayer is: Your reign come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven!
SO THEN…
Let’s refresh our minds again with the incredible creative power that’s released as we partner with God through prayer. Jesus said: `If you remain in me and my words remain in you — ask whatever you wish & it will be given you!` (John 15:7).
It is true that sometimes prayers aren’t answered. Strikingly, and importantly, Jesus said this just before Gethsemane, where He prayed an agonized cry to His Father that was not answered as He wished (Matt 26:39). So why did He teach us John 15:7 just then, knowing as He did that sometimes our prayers are not answered if longterm that is the most loving thing God can do?
Well, I remember an experienced old missionary saying that God may answer prayer in any of five ways: Yes, No, Wait, Mind your own business, and Do it yourself! But perhaps Jesus didn’t complicate John 15:7 by saying there are exceptions, because above all, His priority was to really get across to our unbelieving hearts the colossal power of prayer: the norm, the normal thing, is that if we’re remaining in Him and His words and purposes are remaining firmly in our hearts – then our prayers will be answered, God’s kingdom will be forwarded, God’s loving power of goodness will be released, in His way, into our situation and into the world.
We obviously can’t twist God’s arm to do whatever we want, but we do have the ability to invite our incredibly powerful, loving supernatural Father to be active in any situation; and His promises are fantastic. ‘Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in My name, there am I with them!’ (Matt 18:18-20).
Satan knows this, and will do everything he can to stop us praying! So how do we make sure it happens?
• Prioritize your time with God (be it short or long): put it first!
• Pick when it will be this coming day. Ideally, make a habit of a specific time for prayer; otherwise, as soon as you have disposable time, give it first to God – in the office, in the library, in the park, by taking an emptier train home. Make it your top priority to meet with God: more than TV, more than food, more than Facebook…
• Then Protect it. Satan will try hard to distract you; and if he succeeds often, God will start seeming far away. Don’t check your phone during your prayer time! Families can encourage each other in this. And never give up; by the power of the Holy Spirit you will master this habit, even if it takes you years (as it did me!) And God will use you through it more than you can imagine!
SO: WHEN WILL YOU PRAY TOMORROW?
ABSORB TIME: Look again at that A.C.T.S. Which of these aspects of prayer is least usual for you? Then read Jesus’ order of priorities in the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-15). In what way does your personal prayer life tend to move away from this? What will you do about that?
