Prayer. I do it. I grow from it. I can’t “figure it out”.

Prayer is the biggest mystery of my life with God.

  • If God knows everything, why take the time to tell Him what’s on my mind?
  • If God knows what’s best and I desire His will above all, what does it matter what I want?
  • I have complete faith that God can do anything, but who am I to pray with the assurance that He will do what I ask?
  • Why did God choose to miraculously heal my friend, but not my brother even though the same body of believers were praying with faith for both?

Can you relate?

In the end, the reason I pray is to draw close to God and bring my will in line with His. We want to develop an

…attentiveness to God that is so intimate that over time we develop an intuitive sense of God’s heart and purpose in any given moment. We become familiar with God’s voice—the tone, quality, and content—just as we become familiar with the voice of a human being we know well. 

Ruth Hayley Barton

So anyway, my small group decided to read “Letters to Malcom, Chiefly on Prayer” this summer.

Let me just say that it is…deep. It may not be the book we should have picked to make everything simple and clear. This was our text chain last week.

Although prayer is still a mystery, experimenting and sharing our experiences has been helpful. So I thought I’d invite you to virtually join our little band of merry women.

3 Things We’ve identified that we’re not good at (there’s a lot more, but let’s start with 3):

  1. Listening is part of prayer and we’re not good at it.
  2. We’re also not good at confession.
  3. Integrating prayer into the ordinary moments of daily life is hard and we’re not good at that either.

What about you?

Here’s a practice that we did together:

Remember the acronym ACTS? Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication? Well, what if we added L – listening? (My friend said now we’ll pronounce it “axle”). Here’s an exercise we tried together:

Close your eyes and think of one specific prayer concern.

Start by offering prayers of adoration – How is God’s character sufficient for this specific concern?

Next, consider confession related to your prayer burden. Maybe you need to confess that you don’t have faith for this concern, or that you have been striving and trying to control the outcome, or that you have made an idol of the desire in your heart.

Thanksgiving. What can you thank God for in the waiting? What has He already provided?

Supplication. Just lay out what is on your heart.

Listening. Be still for several minutes. Don’t try to manufacture anything. I’ve found that often God brings to mind an image or vision in these moments, but sometimes He’ll bring Scripture to mind. Other times, crickets. Nothing. But that’s ok. You are putting yourself in God’s presence.

 Perhaps your own reiterated cries deafen you to the voice you hoped to hear. 

C.S. Lewis

I was praying for a friend’s marriage, so here’s my example:

Lord, you are our Creator. You made us for relationship with you and each other. I praise you for your good plans for us. I praise you for your wisdom that you make available to us. You are our Protector, a shield around us.

I confess that I often worry about my friends’ marriage and strive to manage or give advice instead of entrusting them to you. Forgive me for trying to do your job in this and other situations.

Thank you Father, that my friends know you as their Lord and Savior. Thank you that they have healthy role models. Thank you that they are committed to you and each other. Thank you that you have provided them with resources for counsel.

Lord, I pray that you would put a hedge of protection around this couple. Don’t let the devil get a foothold in their marriage. Guard them from temptation and self-centeredness. Draw them to yourself. Please bring greater understanding and love in their relationship. In the strong name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

As I was silent and “listened”, the Lord didn’t bring words to mind, but instead an image of Him gently tucking my friends in with love.

How do you feel about prayer?

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