Recently, on a Sunday morning at church a young lady I’d seen at various services but had never met, greeted me at the door. She commented on how I pray in our Wednesday and Sunday evening prayer time. Her words startled me. I had expected, “I love how you belt out your prayers.”
The reason I was surprised was because it took me many years to have enough confidence to pray out loud within a group setting, even if it was just a few people. These days, it could be anywhere from ten to thirty people and sometimes more in those group settings.
I was raised in a household where the same prayers were said over and over and over again.
As I look back, I can see how God was moving me little by little in a direction He wanted me to go (I rebelled on many occasions, and I suffered the consequences of that rebellion just like any other child of God).
It all started when I was taking classes as an eight year old to make my first communion, I remember asking the Sister (the nun who was teaching our class), what prayers do I say when I come back from communion. Somehow, her response didn’t seem out of the ordinary… not then and certainly not now.
What was her response?
“Talk to Jesus as if He were standing right in front of you.”
I took her suggestion and “talked” to Jesus after communion from that first time until now. But that wasn’t standard practice in the Catholic faith. While I continued to go to the Catholic church, it was just a routine. There was no relationship there other than when I had communion. And even then, I wondered if Jesus heard me talking to Him. (Today, I know He did… because He stood beside me throughout all my trials… I just didn’t see it then.)
Years went by, and I suffered through a traumatic divorce. It was an exceptionally low time in my life. I didn’t have an education (other than high school), and couldn’t find a job, plus I had two grade-school aged children. How would I manage?
My brother’s wife suggested I meet with some ladies and they would pray for me. I figured it couldn’t hurt and it might help.
When I went there, these lovely women prayed for me. At the end of our time, one of them asked a very insightful question: “Do you know where you are going when you die?”
At that moment I really wasn’t sure if I was going to heaven or hell, but I desperately wanted to go to heaven. I prayed the sinner’s prayer that night and was encouraged to attend church with them. One of the women waited for me outside the church (at the time we were meeting in a high school auditorium).
I’d never been to a service quite like that one and I became hungry to know more. I tell you all of this just to get to the part where I learned to pray.
I wanted to be effective in my praying. My first pastor told us the Lord’s prayer is a model for how to pray. I didn’t know that. We were never taught from the Bible other than the small set of verses said in mass every week.
Matthew 6:7-8 tells us not to use vain repetition, because He already knows what we have need of.
But I was struck by the first part of Matthew 6:9, where the Jesus tells His disciples, “In this manner, therefore pray:” It doesn’t say to pray that prayer, although you can… on occasion. Just don’t be rote about it.
Our pastor gave a message on prayer that has stayed with me ever since. Oh, I’ve heard other acronyms over the years to help with prayer… but the acronym PRAY seemed the easiest for me to remember.
P=Praise
Praise God for who He is and what He has done for you. If you have trouble finding words to praise Him… turn to the Psalms to help you. (Even if you have to read them to start your prayer time… it’s a good thing!) Mix and match as the spirit leads!
- Psalm 8 and Psalm 19 speak of God’s Majesty
- Psalm 47 and Psalm 96 speak of God’s Sovereignty.
- Psalm 103 and Psalm 145 speak of God’s Goodness and Faithfulness
- Psalm 148 and Psalm 150 gives praise to God for all creation.
R=Repent and give thanks
Ask forgiveness for sins you have committed, the known and unknown sins. No one is sinless and God will forgive you, if you repent and turn away from it… At least try to turn away from it.
Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Give thanks for the blessings in your life. I usually thank God for His provision, for my family, my church and any other thing that comes to mind because it is all His anyway.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
A=Ask for others
This is where you pray for others. It can be anything from health, to relationships, to finances, to whatever is going on in your family and friends’ lives. You can even extend the prayers to other nations and peoples.
(My husband and I pray from our weekly prayer list that we get from our church, but you can start your own prayer list with a journal.)
Y=Ask for Yourself
Pray about your needs by asking the Lord to favor you after you have praised Him, asked for forgiveness, and prayed for others showing a true humble spirit.
I have found this method to be an effective way to pray. Not only do your words not become rote but you find more and more to pray about.
I remember my prayer time was short when I first started praying this way, as time went by, (and I commuted about thirty minutes to work) I found that was the best time for me to pray. So it was on the way to work and on the way home that became my prayer time. It worked for me back then. My prayer time has evolved, and I pray throughout the day, after my husband and I pray corporately. It’s great to get into the habit of doing it.
Find a time that works for you. How do you pray? Do you have a method? Please share your thoughts below.
After reading the above passage, at first glance one would think the author is speaking of a woman he knows and has compassion for. But that would be taking the verse out of context.
However, the passage is not about a romantic involvement at all.
Here are some scripture passages that will encourage anyone going through a difficult relationship issue: