In every Go bag, you need to have a way to communicate with those who can guide you when you get lost or if you need help. Communication is key. In our Spiritual Go Bags this translates to Prayer. Today we are going to talk about what prayer is and how to do it, but first must establish something important… when do we pray?
ASK: When do you most often pray?
READ: Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving – Colossians 4:2 ESV
ASK: What are the two words Paul uses to emphasize how we should pray?
Watchful = Be awake or vigilant.
Thank[ful]sgiving = have active grateful language.
I like how the New Living Translation says, “Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.”
From this verse, we see that our prayers should be marked with gratitude, even in hard times, and should be done when we are actually awake.
ASK: What keeps people from praying?
A common reason people give for not praying (or reading their Bibles) is that they “don’t have time.” But here’s a simple exercise. Take a sheet of paper and write down the sides of the times of day in 15-minute increments. Starting when you normally get up, map out exactly what you did that day. What many find is that it’s not that they didn’t have time, but they chose to prioritize other things like, watching TV, reading a book, playing a game, or other things that may not be bad, but they were things that could be placed on hold for a few minutes for them to pray.
So now that we’ve determined when we should pray, let’s continue on by figuring out WHAT is prayer.
Author Jeffery L. Sheler once wrote, “Prayer is the native language of the soul,” suggesting that it should come naturally to us since our active communicative relationship with the Father takes place through scriptures and prayer. Most of us here are familiar with prayer. It’s the conversation that we have with Christ. It can be formal and structured or very spontaneous. One scholar once said,
“Asking a Christian to pray is like asking a human to breathe. If it’s not already happening, the person is probably already dead.”
Prayer is essential to the life of a Christian. So let’s look at the two forms of prayer
Ask: What is Spontaneous Prayer?
These are prayers we pray in a moment. Right before we take a test, have something come up suddenly, or when we gather as a group to pray over each other. These are prayers that we speak out in the moment.
Ask: What is Systematic Prayer?
These are pre-written prayers. They are things that we may have memorized and pray often. An example could be what some call the Lord’s Prayer, “Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be your name.” This prayer was a structure that Jesus taught his disciples in Matthew 6. Now, it should be noted that this was not intended to be a structured prayer but rather a guide, but many have turned it into one, which is not a bad thing.
A really old and simple prayer that many Christians have used is called “The Jesus Prayer.” People have been praying it for a long time—since the early days of the church. It started with a group of Christians called “The Desert Fathers.”
Here’s how the prayer goes:
- Take a slow breath in and say: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God.”
- Then breathe out slowly and say: “Have mercy on me, a sinner.”
The goal of this prayer is to help you keep your mind on how great Jesus is and how kind He is to forgive. People would say it again and again until it stuck in their hearts, like a quiet reminder helping them stay humble and close to God.
Some would say these pre-planned prayers are what some call dead liturgy. Basically, something you say without actually meaning it. You do this because it’s just a habit. But let me ask you this. At the end of each phone call with my wife I say “I love you.” Is that dead liturgy, a habit, or is it pure devotion?
Ask: How do you keep track or make sure you pray for the issues or needs in your life?
The way that some Christians have tracked their prayers is through the use of a Prayer Rope.
Rosaries are Catholic prayer beads. Started around the 13th Century by St. Dominie because of a vision. The purpose was to be a guide for prayer.
Chotkis are Eastern Orthodox Prayer Rope – 100 knots, each knot tied with nine crosses (or 33, 50, and 1,000) After every 25 knots is a bead, at which the Lord’s prayer is recited.
A long time ago, a group of Protestant Christians, led by a former priest named Martin Luther, stopped using rosaries. They were worried that some people were treating the beads as more important than the prayer or even more important than God. That’s called idolatry—when something takes the place of God in our hearts.
To understand why Protestants made this choice, it’s important to know what Protestant means. Protestants are Christians who aren’t part of the Roman Catholic Church. A long time ago, Martin Luther and others wanted to fix some problems in the Church. When their ideas weren’t accepted, they started new churches that focused on the Bible and having faith in Jesus. That’s how Protestant churches began!
Ask: Do you think something that was once misused could be used in a good and helpful way again?
Today, some Protestants are finding new ways to use prayer beads or ropes to help them stay focused while they pray. They don’t use them the same way others might. Instead, they use them to help pray for people, needs, or situations over time.
Even big news sources have noticed this:
- In 2004, U.S. News & World Report talked about Protestants using prayer beads.
- In 2005, the Dallas Morning News shared a story about them too.
I sometimes use prayer beads to help me pray in an organized way, especially when I’m praying for a lot of people or big needs over time.
ASK: What do you think of a “prayer rope”?
If you like to touch or hold things while you think or focus, you might enjoy using something like a prayer rope when you pray. It can help you stay focused and feel more connected, kind of like making a prayer list or walking while you pray. It’s a way to use your whole body while talking to God.
So let’s break down the practical side of how to pray.
- Honest communication with God
- If every thought is already known by God, why not direct them towards him?
- Integrate Scripture into your prayer life
- There’s something powerful about praying the scriptures. Instead of it just being our words, we are praying the very words of God.
- This helps us to pray when we aren’t sure what to pray. Instead of standing on emotion, we are standing on the word of God.
- Create a list or other way of tracking prayer needs.
- This could be a prayer rope, bracelet, list written in your Bible or note written in your phone.
- Be Spontaneous
- Allow prayer to be an attitude rather than just an event.
- Pray for classmates who bring up life issues, and pray for people you see stranded on the side of the road.
- Pray when you are most likely going to be awake!
- Remember that we are told to be watchful… meaning we have to be awake! If we pray when we know we are tired, we are setting ourselves up for a fail, which can lead to self-condemnation.
- Be Thankful
- Always show gratitude in your prayer life.
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