Someone just asked their friend to pray in public. The friend felt fear creeping in. “What if I say the wrong words, that other person has much better prayers than I do!” These are thoughts that are not uncommon. It is scary, at times, to speak in front of a group of people. But prayer is different.
Prayer is not about what people are listening; it is more about our God who is listening. God is truly the only audience we have when we pray. It is to him that we bear our heart and soul. No one can take this away from us, unless we begin to focus on the people present and wondering what they are thinking of our prayers.
One way I have found to help with my personal prayer life is to pray the prayers the human fathers of our faith prayed. Saint Augustine, Saint Francis, Tertullian, John Wesley, etc. For our Anglican brothers and sisters in Christ, and something we can utilize, there is the Book of Common Prayer.
The people of our faith tradition have beared their heart and soul communicating with God. We can use those prayers and make them our own. The human heart is always searching for the same thing, purpose through a relationship with God.
So, how can we become more confident in our personal prayers? Several years ago, I was listening to a great friend of mine praying with a group of college students. The time spent in that prayer setting was incredible. What did they do? My friend led the students through the Lord’s Prayer, taking it line by line and encouraging each student to focus on that line.
For example, he would say something like, “Our Father, who art in heaven…God you are the One who created everything in our universe, including us. You are enthroned in the great glory of heaven and we get to talk with you because you are our Father.” WOW! Think of the power this would bring to the live of those praying. Not only are we speaking directly to God, our Creator; but we are recognizing his position, his power, and realizing that because he is our Father, we have a direct source to receive this power from. After each line in the Lord’s Prayer, my friend invited the students to pray on their own; praying for the specific concept of the phrase spoken and prayed.
What this showed me was we need to be able to address God through prayer; but at the same time, we have the opportunity to learn to pray in agreement with God’s plan. This is why I believe Jesus said, “ask anything in my name and you will receive it.” We do need to take heed, though, because when we pray, we get to communicate with our Father in heaven about his will, not necessarily our will. Our hearts become so connected with God that we begin to desire the things he wants, especially when we focus on what it is we are praying.
Taking time to pray daily, for any length of time is what we should be doing. Paul reminds us in 1 Thessalonians 5 to “pray without ceasing.” The way we live our lives is truthfully a direct reflection of our prayer time with God. But what if we feel like our prayers are too shallow, or they are not going beyond the roof of the house? We trust, that somehow God hear each and everyone of our prayers no matter how big or how small.
Over the course of this next year, I am inviting you to take some time to grow in your daily prayer life. Begin with a simple “thank you” to God for everything he has given and has done in your life. The simple act of saying “thanks” is a great mental and emotional reminder that all we have is from God our Father who gives us everything we need (Matthew 6).
Spend a few days with the simple “thank you” prayer and see how your communication with God changes each day. Watch how you’ll begin to experience, as Paul says in Philippians 4, “the peace of God, which transcends all understanding.”
I also challenge you to look into prayer books, especially ones from the early church, and pray the prayers the early church fathers prayed. The heart and mind they had in many of the prayers is something we can strive for because the mind of Jesus Christ was being formed in them as it is in us.
Finally, I encourage you to look at the 10 Commandments, Apostle’s Creed, Nicene Creed, or the Lord’s Prayer. These can be found in many church hymnals, online, the Book of Common Prayer, etc. Read through and meditate on the words and take time to pray, line by line, and talk with God through these prayers, creeds, and commandments.
The more we pray, the more we pray with a friend, the more we pray with others, the more confident we will become in our prayer life. We can be assured that God is hearing each one of our prayers, that Jesus Christ is the high priest who is our mediator, and that the Holy Spirit cries out to God what we really need to say (Romans 8:26).
“We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people— the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace.” Colossians 1:3-6 NIV
