Prayer Helps

I want to introduce you to Hollie, another lady that is writing with me monthly. She's a good friend via internet and I know you will be encouraged by her words.

It isn't uncommon to hear Christians confess they aren't sure how to pray. This is something I struggled with for quite awhile, and still do at times. Why we ought to pray has never been too much of an issue for me. God commanded us to pray in Scripture (Phil 4:6; 1 Thess  4:17; Eph 6:18, to name a few). I love this quote from John Bunyan encouraging fellow believers to pray: “Pray often; for prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge for Satan.” It is not the why but the how regarding prayer that gets many of us hung up. Thankfully, God has given us many helps in this regard.

In Scripture, Jesus teaches us how to pray in Matthew 6:9-13:

            “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.         Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily        bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but             deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”

In the Psalms we see many prayers modeled by King David. God has also gifted the Church with the rich writings of the Puritans. Their prayers are amazing. I often use the Puritan prayers found in the Valley of Vision as a spring board to my prayers. The method of prayer I use most often comes from John Piper, though. At some point I stumbled across a prayer guide from him. It was designed to be used over an hour, however I just work through the steps with whatever amount of time I have … usually around ten minutes. Today, I want to share this method with you! I have included a printable bookmark with the steps on it as well! Here are the seven steps:

1.      Draw near to God and Confession.
-During this step you want to acknowledge your utter dependence on the Holy Spirit

-Confess your sin in light of God's Holiness & ask forgiveness based on the work of Christ, not based on anything we do!

2.      Praise and Thanksgiving

-This is a time to delight in the Lord

-Dwell on all the wondrous gifts He has given you

-Meditate on how He is perfect in all ways

-Think about all His amazing acts

3.      God Centered Petitions

-These are request centered around God and His Glory

-Pray His name will be glorified

-Pray His Kingdom will increase

-Pray about/for His glorious return

-Pray His will be done

4.      Specific Personal Petitions

-These will look different for all of us

-Ask to grow in grace

-Ask for help in the battle against sin

-Personal ministries

-Daily provisions

-Perseverance

5.      Intercessory Prayer

-I break this up by day of the week

-Mon: Family

-Tues: Friends

-Wed: Church leadership

-Thurs: Salvation of unbelievers

-Fri: Elected officials

-Sat: Missionaries

-Sun: Church

6.      Meditation

-Choose a passage of Scripture to memorize and/or dwell upon

7.      Summarize

-Thank God for revelation

-Express trust

-Pray to get through the day

Working through these seven steps has been a great help to me in regard to prayer. I seem to have chronic “Mommy Brain,” so this list is a must for me! It is a tremendous aid in maintaining focus. I also keep a prayer list in my Bible. The list is full of current prayer requests.  This way, when I tell someone I will pray for them, I actually do pray and don't forget.

I'd love to hear what methods you have found helpful when it comes to prayer. Please share below!

By His Grace,

Hollie

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Hollie is a Christian wife, mother, and aspiring blogger. She strives to apply biblical theology to the everyday challenges of motherhood. Aside from her duties in the home, she dabbles in natural health/living and homesteading. She resides with her husband and four children in the Piedmont region of Virginia and blogs at http://faithfulfreehold.blogspot.com