Pray without ceasing. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:17
“Talking with God like you’d talk with a friend.”
“Communing with the One who loves you more than you love yourself.”
“Listening and resting in the presence of God.”
I’ve heard people describe prayer as all of the above.
But for most of us, prayer is confusing, overwhelming, and even a little scary. For many it’s the one area of our disciple-life where we feel the least confident. A quick Google search on “What is prayer?” yielded over 53 MILLION posts. Certainly this is a question many are asking.
Over the coming weeks we want to share with you what the Bible teaches us about prayer. We’ll be studying the Lord’s Prayer and several other prayers found in Scripture – digging into the treasure chest of God’s Word on this important discipline in our spiritual growth. And we want to help you grow your prayer life. From developing a prayer calendar to establishing a prayer notebook, we’ll be offering practical insight and suggestions for building a solid foundation in your prayer life.
I love to read about Susanna Wesley. Her life and her home were grounded in prayer. As we begin to study prayer here at Scripture Dig, I leave you with these two of her prayers …
In the morning, pray that “Every work I do below, I do it to the Lord.”
In the evening, pray “I give Thee praise, O God, for a well-spent day.”
How would you describe your prayer life?
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This sounds wonderful. I can’t wait to read and learn how others organize their prayers.
Honestly I am among those who struggle with Prayer. I never know how to pray and always fear that I do it wrong. Often I can’t find the right words and don’t know how to address a special topic. Deep in my heart I know that there is no wrong in connection with prayer but I keep telling myself exactly that. Looking forward to learn more about prayer.
We hope you will get lots of encouragement and practical ways you can develop your prayer life. But most of all, know this, God longs to hear from His children. When we cry out to Him and celebrate life with Him, He is not at all concerned about our words or our methods … He just wants to share His heart with us!
My prayer life is one of (attempted) constant communion.
I have a time of prayer in the morning with my devotions (thanking God for who He is, submitting my “anxieties” to Him, and lifting up my requests and those of others I’m praying for) and I include praying for my children and husband in this time – I have a Scripture calendar I pray for both, and I use The Power of a Praying Wife as well.
Throughout the day, I use “prompts” to remind me to pray, and I also try to keep my life/attitude in check through prayer.
I can’t wait to read more about prayer on Scripture Dig – I’m teaching on prayer this fall (on my blog and in our ladies’ Bible study), so I’m eager to learn from you all!
Kathy,
I can’t wait to get into prayer – what it is – how we can grow in and experience a vital prayer life – and practical ideas on how we can become prayer warriors for such a time as this.
I am looking so forward to this. God has blessed my life with you ladies. Thank you for your willingness to follow the Lord.
Some of my sweetest times of prayer happen when I am alone, so I have to intentionally make a way for that to happen. I use my “car time” for this a lot. I’ve also really enjoyed teaching my kids to “pray now” when they share something, when we see something, when God makes us aware of something that is (like Ashley mentioned) a “prompt.” This is going to be an awesome series. So excited!
Looking forward to learning more on prayer.
My prayer life is an ever evolving process. I have trouble focusing sometimes and then my prayers become a “grocery list” of needs rather than a conversation. However, I have grown considerably in my prayers over the years and look forward to continuing that growth.
~Blessings~
Marita
I asked the Lord for a bit of help in my prayer life, and He led me to two prayer mentors: the Apostle Paul and St. Patrick. St. Patrick wrote a beautiful prayer (it begins “Christ as a light, illumine and guide me”) that can be used as a poetic summary of the Apostle Paul’s prayers. I love using ancient prayers to begin my own prayer time.
The hardest thing about prayer for me is staying focused on the Lord. My days are usually so full that my mind keeps wandering away. Journaling my prayers has been a big help for me. It slows me down it also helps me stay on task!I can hardly wait to hear what the team and all our friends have to share!
I am looking forward to what you will be sharing about prayer. As Kathy mentioned, I find it useful to journal my prayer but would like to be in constant communion with my Father.
What a wonderful series. I’m sure it will be very helpful and encouraging :D