A Morning Watch opened my eyes in more ways than one. Several
months ago our pastor invited us to join him for prayer at 6 a.m. on Thursday
mornings, either in his office or via Zoom. I’m a “morning person,” so the time
is fine, except at that hour I’m usually in my jammies with a bedhead.
Nevertheless, I Zoomed in. And I’m glad I did.
Each week Pastor Peter shares devotional thoughts, including
different ways of praying. Since then, I’ve also read up on prayer. Here’s how
three patterns of prayer have blessed my heart.
CENTERING PRAYER: Read slowly and out loud a verse or a paragraph of
scripture. Repeat three times. Then choose a word or phrase from that passage.
Set a timer for ten or fifteen minutes, then close your eyes and meditate on
the word or phrase you chose. You’re not praying “for” something. You’re
listening to hear what God says to your heart about that word or phrase.
One morning I focused on “living in love” from Ephesians 5:2. As I
meditated, I realized if I can just live in an awareness of God’s love at all
times and in all places, it will not matter what happens to me. Well, it’s not
that it won’t matter, but I will be more aware that God is with me, loves me
and comforts me. And furthermore, I can pass on that love to others. Of course
it’s easier said than done, but I want to work on “living in love.”
SCRIPTURAL PRAYER: Pattern your prayer after one of the prayers
found in scripture. For starters, there are the prayers of Hannah (1 Samuel 1:
11 and 2:1-10), Daniel (Daniel 9:4-16), Hezekiah (2 Kings 20:2-3), Mary (Luke
1:38 and 46-55) and Paul (Ephesians 1:15-23; Philippians 1:9-11; Colossians
1:9-14).
I’ve prayed Daniel’s pattern of prayer for America and Paul’s
pattern for family and friends. Paul reminds me to pray for spiritual growth
for others, not just for what makes them happy. Many other passages of
scripture might prompt prayers.
PRAYERS OF LAMENT: These prayers spell out your feelings:
complaints, anger, sufferings, frustrations and heartaches. Rather than stifle
your pain, you tell God exactly how you feel. God knows what’s in your heart
anyway, so you let it all out. You pound the table and weep!
I prayed this prayer before I ever knew it was called a prayer
of lament. After the death of our infant daughter, I discovered my heart echoed
the cries of the psalmist in Psalm 42. I sought to know God in a deeper way (v.
1 - my soul pants for you), yet I cried at unexpected times during the day and
as soon as I put my head on the pillow at night (v. 3 - my tears have been my
food day and night).
I asked, how a baby could die at birth in the 20th century? I felt
depressed (v. 5 - my soul, why are you downcast). Yet I remembered how God had
been with me in the past and clung to the hope that He would see me through the
present (v. 11 - I will yet praise him).
That psalm, that prayer of lament, was a lifeline that I clung to
during the weeks, months and really years of grief. Grief doesn’t “go away.”
You learn to cope with it and move on with life. Many psalms can help you heal as you echo the psalmist’s “lament.”
Pick one of these styles of prayer and give it a try. God enjoys
your company. He longs to talk WITH you rather than just listen TO you. You
will feel blessed. And I’d love to hear about your experience.
1 comment:
Thank you Shirley for suggesting these ways of prayer and that your pastor was encouraging you all to look at them. I love these various opportunities to engage with scripture and with a living God. I have been focusing on Hannah's prayer and her willingness to give God such a sacrificial gift of her son if only He would answer her prayer. So beautiful and then the way God used Samuel to be such a blessing in so many lives had to cause this woman to just be in awe of the God she loved.
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