Prayer
“In prayer, it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart. ” ― John Bunyan
In Mark 1:35 we read “Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up and slipped out to a solitary place to pray.” Prayer is an important spiritual discipline, but there are many who are not sure how to go about praying. Below are a few methods that you are free to use. Keep in mind, these are only suggestions designed to help you organize your thoughts. The goal is humble, loving communion with God.
A few things to consider
as you go about praying:
- There are two kinds of prayer. Prayer that takes place in the inner mind while other activities are occurring. This kind is like an intermittent, “throughout the day” approach. The other kind of prayer is a concentrated, intentional prayer. This is what we see Jesus doing in the above-mentioned Scripture. This type of prayer is a setting aside of dedicated time for the sole and specific purpose of prayer. Both kinds of prayer are important and needed.
- When you pray, remember to whom you are speaking. A healthy dose of humility is a good posture to have in prayer (cf. Matt 6:5-6; Lk. 18:9-14).
- Be honest, God knows everything anyway. It doesn’t make any sense to withhold things from Him. It is noteworthy that we see such raw honesty in so many of the Psalms (cf. Ps 13:1-4). Peter writes in his first epistle, “Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.” You might as well just be honest.
Prayer methods:
1. A.C.T.S Prayer
a. Adoration: Give honor and praise to God to whom it is due.
b. Confession: Honestly acknowledge your sin before God in prayer (cf. James 1:9).
c. Thanksgiving: Recognize all the ways that God has already blessed, protected, and provided for you.
d. Supplication: Let your requests be made known to God.
2. P.R.A.Y Prayer
a. P: Praise. Start by praising God: telling him who he is to you and what you are thankful for. This will get your heart in the right place as you begin connecting with God in prayer (Psalm 100:1-5).
b. R: Repent. Next, move into a short time of repentance: admitting to God your faults and allowing him to convict you of the things that are wrong in your life. This is the natural response of a sinner in the presence of a sinless God (Isaiah 6:1-5).
c. A: Ask. Prayer requests are what most people think of when they envision prayer, and that’s the third step in this method. Paul teaches us that we should confidently present our requests to God (Philippians 4:6).
d. Y: Yield. The final step is to spend some time yielding to God: stopping and quieting your heart to hear from God. This is probably the most difficult step in prayer, but it’s worth the effort to make it a habit.
3. The Look Prayer
a. LOOK UP: Thank God for who He is and what He has done.
b. LOOK AHEAD: Pray for our group/church to grow and spread the Good News about Jesus.
c. LOOK DOWN: Pray for your needs or the needs of others to be met.
d. LOOK IN: Confess sins and admit your need for the grace of Jesus.
e. LOOK AROUND: Pray for people in your life who don’t know Jesus.
f. LOOK OUT: Pray for God to protect us from the evil one.
4. The “Lord’s Prayer” (Simply thinking through how Jesus taught his disciple to pray is a good place to begin)
“This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’
Matthew 6:9-13