Spiritual Practices: Prayer
Prayer has been on mind quite a bit this week. I was intrigued on Sunday, in visiting a church in our new city, that they invited people forward for individual prayer just 10 or 15 minutes into the service. We prayed to open and after the sermon as well. What struck me, perhaps because I have been attending a more liturgical church for the last three years, is that there was no intercessory prayer. We didn’t pray for others in a deliberate way to reach those in need, in the congregation or out.
I was touched by the send-off prayers when we left our previous posting. Today I also got a fellow blogger’s newest post, thanks Arabah Joy, and she talked about the prayer of Hezekiah in Isaiah 37. Hezekiah spread out a letter before the Lord and prayed. Then, because he had prayed concerning this, God spoke. This made me consider that there are things that I need to spread before God, surrender, and seek His answers.
Identifying what needs shoring up in prayer
Several months ago, I made myself a prayer book to deliberately include elements of prayer that I felt like were lacking. I’m not sure how much intercession I was doing for those around me, friends who were sick or in need, or including deliberate prayer for those I love who have not made the choice for Christ or have distanced themselves. I don’t think I was actively seeking to understand the different characteristics of God in my life. I know I should be more thankful for all things, and I couldn’t remember the last time I said I was sorry and repented. I am pretty sure that I still do much more of the talking than listening even now, when I have attempted to listen more. So, I set out to put these things into a booklet that I could be deliberate about.
Those deliberate topics that I had set as part of the prayer notebook were helpful in getting me to think beyond myself and my wants or needs (wants, most often). They focused on praising God and his character, prayers for others (intercession), repentance (confession), thanks, personal prayers (supplication), specific groups or spiritual growth, and there was a section to remind myself to listen to what God was saying to me.
Types of Prayer
Various types of prayers are found in the Bible and as our personal practice include adoration, confession, thanksgiving, intercession, and personal supplication. A simple description of each follows:
Adoration – offering praise to God
Confession – repenting for our sins or confessing what has lain in the dark for too long
Thanksgiving – expressing gratitude to God for all he does
Intercession – prayers for others
Supplication – prayers for ourselves
I am reminded of what we usually call The Lord’s Prayer, particularly how it opens: Our Father. Father is a word that describes someone who was present from the beginning of our lives and wants to still be involved, no matter the distance that has grown, no matter the actions we have undertaken. Our Father wants to be with us. He is Your Father, not just ours, but personal. He is mine. He is yours. And indeed, he is ours.
Do you have any good resources about prayer, or that you use in your prayer time? Share them with us below!
Revised and updated from original post 17 July 2019.
