About Prayer
What is prayer?
Prayer is simply communication with the holy, all-powerful, all-knowing, everywhere present, eternal God who has chosen to love us. Prayer is us communicating our love and needs to God, and God communicating His love and ways to us. Prayer is not a one-way laundry list of our wants and needs presented to God, but a two-way conversation where we are free to share our needs, our wants, our concerns or worries to God, but He also wants to have freedom to communicate to us and expects us to listen. Prayer is a holy privilege and a holy opportunity. But prayer is a partnership.
How do I pray?
We pray as we would to the most loving earthly father we can imagine. Many people like to use A.C.T.S. as a simple way to guide their prayers:
§ Adoration – praising God for Who He is – worshipping Him by acknowledging that He is worthy of worship.
§ Confession – agreeing with God about our sins – our failures, our shortcomings, the ways we have missed the mark of His perfect standard. But not just confession, not just feeling sorry for our sins, but agreeing that they were wrong and that now we choose to walk rightly before Him. For most of us, that means also asking Him to help us live according to His standard – not just because it is right, but because that is the way He has created us to live if we are to have a full, meaningful life.
§ Thanksgiving – giving thanks to God for those very personal ways He has provided in our lives. Many days there are ways we can see that He was personally involved in helping us, or protecting us. But there is always something to thank Him for. Even when it is hard, we will find that giving God praise and thanks helps lift our own spirits.
§ Supplication – making requests of God. This can be those personal requests that are heavy on our heart, or they may be requests for others, for the church, for our community, or for the hurting people of the world.
But with all of that, we still should spend time listening to God. God speaks most reliably through the Bible. As we read and study the Bible, we begin to learn the heart of God. This reflects back on our prayers as well as on our lives.
As Christians, we usually end our prayers “in Jesus’ name.” These are not magic words to say at the end of the prayer, but are better understood as the rare privilege we have of working together with God in prayer. If we would be able to say that our prayers reflect the very heart of God, then “in Jesus’ name” reflects His authority to hear and answer them.
Prayer is a discipline. At first, we may pray because we know we ought to pray. But as we exercise this discipline more, we find prayer to be something we want to do, because we are getting to know God better, and are able to trust Him more completely.
About Prayer
What is prayer?
Prayer is simply communication with the holy, all-powerful, all-knowing, everywhere present, eternal God who has chosen to love us. Prayer is us communicating our love and needs to God, and God communicating His love and ways to us. Prayer is not a one-way laundry list of our wants and needs presented to God, but a two-way conversation where we are free to share our needs, our wants, our concerns or worries to God, but He also wants to have freedom to communicate to us and expects us to listen. Prayer is a holy privilege and a holy opportunity. But prayer is a partnership.
How do I pray?
We pray as we would to the most loving earthly father we can imagine. Many people like to use A.C.T.S. as a simple way to guide their prayers:
§ Adoration – praising God for Who He is – worshipping Him by acknowledging that He is worthy of worship.
§ Confession – agreeing with God about our sins – our failures, our shortcomings, the ways we have missed the mark of His perfect standard. But not just confession, not just feeling sorry for our sins, but agreeing that they were wrong and that now we choose to walk rightly before Him. For most of us, that means also asking Him to help us live according to His standard – not just because it is right, but because that is the way He has created us to live if we are to have a full, meaningful life.
§ Thanksgiving – giving thanks to God for those very personal ways He has provided in our lives. Many days there are ways we can see that He was personally involved in helping us, or protecting us. But there is always something to thank Him for. Even when it is hard, we will find that giving God praise and thanks helps lift our own spirits.
§ Supplication – making requests of God. This can be those personal requests that are heavy on our heart, or they may be requests for others, for the church, for our community, or for the hurting people of the world.
But with all of that, we still should spend time listening to God. God speaks most reliably through the Bible. As we read and study the Bible, we begin to learn the heart of God. This reflects back on our prayers as well as on our lives.
As Christians, we usually end our prayers “in Jesus’ name.” These are not magic words to say at the end of the prayer, but are better understood as the rare privilege we have of working together with God in prayer. If we would be able to say that our prayers reflect the very heart of God, then “in Jesus’ name” reflects His authority to hear and answer them.
Prayer is a discipline. At first, we may pray because we know we ought to pray. But as we exercise this discipline more, we find prayer to be something we want to do, because we are getting to know God better, and are able to trust Him more completely.