Part 4 in our The Five Types of Prayer Series

Our requests should not be for we ourselves to store up excess so that we may feel secure. Our security should not be in excess, but instead in the provisions of God. If we know that our God is with us, how can we be afraid?

A lack of joy and hope, and a presence of discouragement, plagues many of us today. It is a plague because it keeps us from God. The encouragement we find in turning to one of the main purposes of the book of Hebrews as well as finding consolation that we are not alone with the Christians who have gone before us, helps us to overcome that plague. The knowledge of this can encourage us to, like them, decide to trust God anyway, follow God anyway, and talk to God about what is on our mind. We cannot let discouragement keep us from engaging with God.

Do you hear God saying, “I am your God; open your mouth wide and I will fill it” (Psalm 81:10).

Billions of people in the world today do not follow God; at least a billion more claim to follow God but do not call on God regularly if at all. God grieves our lack of supplication. He asks, “Why are you not listening to me? Why are you not focused on me? Why do you not talk to me?” Calling on God is the most important thing that we can do to grow as a believer and as a citizen of the kingdom of God. When we do not call on God, we wither and fade like a flower with no water. God grieves our lack of supplication.

What supplication do you want to bring to God? Has anything kept you from doing that? Can you bring it to God anyway, just as so many faithful have done when they are discouraged? Is it not for your gain, but for God’s gain? May you be blessed to have the confidence to bring your requests to God without shame, without regret, and with plenty of adoration for the God who has always been here for us. All Christians need these moments with God so that God’s glory is revealed in the world as well as in all of our lives. Thanks be to God!

Part 3 in our The Five Types of Prayer Series

We should be giving thanksgiving to God at all times, but four specific times that we should particularly pay attention to it is when something big happens, when you are in the face of the unknown, when you are lamenting, or complaining, and when you do not feel like praying.

This week, your challenge is to pray a prayer of thanksgiving. Even if you do not feel like it, try it. Attempt to do it anyway. Thank God for waking you up this morning. Thank God for those who care about you. Thank God for those you care about. Thank God for the rain that nourishes the earth even though it cancels summer activities outdoors when they are meant to be held. Find things to thank God for. And while you are at it, thank God for what other people have done. Thank God for what they have done for you as well as for what they have done for others, and what they have done for God. Whatever you may have to thank God for, try to make a regular habit of saying these things out loud in prayer. Even if it is the same thing from week to week, even if you are sure that God knows what you are thankful for already, tell God anyway. Tell God again just as you would tell your spouse that you love them even if they already know it.

Thanksgiving may not be the first of the five types of prayers that we have reviewed, but it is a crucial one. The first four types, all part of the ACTS prayer of Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication, are ways that we communicate with God in our prayer. One prayer may contain all four elements, or it may contain one. But make sure that you do not leave out the prayer of thanksgiving. Remember to thank God for when things have gone right. Praying our prayer of thanksgiving helps us to be confident that God is still good, that God is still active, and that good can still prevail and overpower the bad in our lives. Praying our prayer of thanksgiving gives God credit where credit is due. Being thankful not only improves our own attitude; it improves the attitude of those around us and also deepens our attitude toward God. An act of thanksgiving can make someone’s day; your own, a neighbor’s, perhaps even God’s. Thanksgiving eases sorrow and despair. May all glory and honor be to God. Thanks be to God!

Part 2 in our The Five Types of Prayer Series

When we persevere through every trial and every struggle that we face, we are pressing on through whatever lies before us toward a greater kingdom of God. First, confess in a private space. Second, be humble. Third, ask for forgiveness. Fourth, ask what should be done next. Fifth, do not make the same mistake twice. Sixth, explain to God if you need to. And seventh, accept the consequences. But we know that when we do follow these steps and approach God with all of these things in mind, we are approaching God with an unhindered spirit, in an unbroken relationship that we can mend and continue mending and persevere toward, pressing on toward the goal of the kingdom of God every single moment of our lives. May all glory and honor be to God. Thanks be to God.

Part 1 in our The Five Types of Prayer Series

As I write, I love to play praise music in the background. I also love to play it as I drive. Every moment of our lives is another moment that we can spend loving and praising the Lord. Adoration is the most important form of prayer. If you have remembered that your most important conversation is prayer, remember that the most important type of prayer is adoration. Adoration gives us the confidence in a good God that we need to faithfully ask for our supplications. It helps us realize that God is all we need. It helps us to be mindful of God all the time. Whether it is fulfilling your spirit of adventure, praising God for the gifts of nature, or simply adoring God with what God has given you, be sure that your prayer life adores your God.

Adoration is a prerequisite for confident prayer. When we praise God in worship, we have set the scene for deeply connecting with God.

When we build adoration into our prayer, it not only helps us expand our confidence; it helps to pray with positivity. Our prayers can, and should, include things that we feel that God has not responded to. We should keep praying with persistence for those things. If we stop at our requests, however, we may be left wanting. If we do not start and/or end with praise, we will probably not be satisfied. Adoration in prayer helps us meet our wants, because we realize that God is all we need. The author of Psalm 50 expresses adoration in his prayer, as God is all he needs: “The mighty one, God the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting” (Psalm 50:1).

Part 8 in our Introduction to Prayer Series

When Christ was born in Bethlehem, the fortunes of Judah were restored. Christ was the Savior and Messiah, and many trusted in Him. Today, we are also called to trust in Him. But where we cannot access Jesus physically, we have other means. We have scripture. And we also have prayer. If you have been struggling with your connection with God, whether it is hearing God, listening to God, experiencing God, talking to God, or all of the above, it all begins with prayer. We recognize why we pray, we remove the barriers to prayer, and then we learn how to pray. We learn that prayer is not a test; it is a conversation. It is the most important conversation because it is the one we have with God.

Most importantly, prayer revives us. We know that God never gives up on us, even when we would give up on ourselves. Where you do not feel like you have a close enough relationship with God, it is never too late in this lifetime. I would only encourage you not to wait unnecessarily. The more time that we have close with God, and in a continued prayerful relationship, the more at peace we will be. God does something out of the kindness of His heart, and when people expect Him to do it again, He does it. He responded in so many ways when the people came back to him. He has a good track record. God will respond when we come back to Him too.

Let us pray. God, help us to never tire of seeking you first. Revive us as we pray, as you have taught us, so that we seek you in every way that we can. In your name, we pray. Amen. Remember, Jesus taught the disciples to pray first, and then told them to ask, search, and knock. Prayer is always the first step to thriving in our relationship with God. Start with your prayer life. Continue with your prayer life. Renew your prayer life, and feel the joy and the praise that the angels sing. May all honor and glory be to God. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Part 7 in our Introduction to Prayer Series

In the movie, Do You Believe?, a man stops a car with a gun and asks the driver if he is ready to die. He was taken aback when the driver answered, “Yes,” and proceeded to explain that he was deeply connected to God, that he trusted God in all things, and felt he was ready because he lived each day for God. We should be prepared to meet our God every day. Our response to Amos’ plea, “Prepare to meet thy God!” can be, “I am already prepared! But I will pray to be sure that I am prepared enough!” How are you treating the people around you? In God’s eyes, that is an indicator of your true spiritual condition. When we treat them with love, we are listening to God’s command to us. We are being obedient to God’s call. Where you fall short, may you be moved to pray, “God, grant me listening ears, so that I might receive your spirit, and spread your kingdom, so that I and others are prepared to meet you at life’s end. May all glory and honor be to God! Thanks be to God! Amen.

Luke 10:38-42

Part 6 in our Introduction to Prayer Series

If we want to pray in the right mindset, and truly feel rewarded in prayer, we need to pray with confidence. And we pray in confidence by asking for God’s help in deepening that confidence. It will not come just by going to church and asking others what God said. It comes in seeking God yourself. It comes in talking with God yourself. It comes with knowing God and building a relationship with God. As we do so, we praise God and give God all the glory, with every bit of confidence we have gained. May the congregation pray, “Grant us wisdom, grant us courage! Grant us confidence. We need your help. We cannot survive this world on our own.” May all glory and honor be to God. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Part 5 in our Introduction to Prayer Series

The three keys to prayer that she mentions in her second chapter are humility, confession, and faith.

Humility means that we should make more room for God and less room for ourselves. I still remember the prayer that one of my seminary professors would pray before every class: “Lord, help me to diminish so that you may increase.”

I like to think of the following question when wondering if I need to confess something as a sin: Is this thing interfering with my relationship with God?  We need to get out of our system everything that takes us away from God and hinders our prayers!

A lack of faith can stop miracles from happening. If we do not believe in God’s power to change something, it may not be changed. If we do not believe in it, why are we even praying for it? We need to pray with faith, and if we have trouble doing that, we can pray, “I believe, help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24). We can also pray, “Lord, break me of this thing that is preventing my full belief in your power to make this change.”

Part 4 in our Introduction to Prayer Series

This is our first challenge for ourselves for today. How can we stop thinking about how unlucky or how undeserving we are, and start thinking about how to equip ourselves for work in God’s kingdom? Yes, you are worthy. You are worthy to know God. You are worthy to work for God, no matter what you might say to yourself. What steps can you take to give yourself the tools that you need to do ministry? Do you need an understanding mind? (1 Kings 3) Ask it. Do you need a double share of Elijah’s spirit? (2 Kings 2:9) Ask it. Do you need to try something new? Ask the Lord in prayer to give you the strength and courage.

I will conclude by navigating through the dramatic turn in the psalm’s focus. He says in verse 11: “I will call to mind the deeds of the Lord; I will remember your wonders of old. I will meditate on all your work, and muse on your mighty deeds.” He then goes through over the next several verses to describe why God is such a great God. Is that something that you might need to do? Remind yourself why God is so great. Engage in prayer by coming to God – whether in the silent and/or unexpected ways that we reviewed last week, or in the crying aloud, lamenting, and musing that we reviewed this week. Crying out to God, lamenting, and musing is definitely still connecting with and to God. And deepening that connection is God is our task at hand as Christians. Deepening that connection with God and learning how to better equip ourselves for our calling is our task at hand. Stop mulling about the bad from the past; start mulling about good that can be done in the future.

We often ask, what’s in it for me? We are conditioned to ask this. The act of praise inherently thwarts this vicious cycle and says, “Hey, it’s not always about you!” It brings our focus back from ourselves onto God, which is where it should be all along. It brings our focus back from how we feel mistreated or slighted in the world, and onto how we can be made better through God. We need to be reminded of this often; it is about God, and God acting through us. It is not about us.

As the Psalmist prayed, there was a definite movement from “I” to “Thou” and from “despair” to “orientation.” Perhaps your own prayers can follow the same trend. Start with what troubles you and why you may be angry at God or disturbed. Then slowly, as in verse 11, call to mind the deeds of the Lord, remember the works of old, meditate on God’s work, and muse on God’s mighty-ness. Turn the focus from you, and onto how you may be equipped to be an even more useful part of developing God’s kingdom.

Part 3 in our Introduction to Prayer Series

Challenge yourself to listen for God in a way that you may not be expecting. That is, know that God speaks in quieter ways many times. Do not refuse something good simply because you cannot be sure it is from God. Next, remember to tell your story so that yours may help another as those before you have told their stories to help you.

We will continue to be frustrated with things that will sometimes cause us to be downtrodden. And we realize that frustration is never completely going away just because we have God on our side. “Elijah does not have to give up his frustration, but God will not let him give in to it” (FOTW C.3.151). This is your next challenge today as well. Do not give into your frustration. Do not let your frustrations either prevent you from coming to God, or from coming to God with the wrong attitude. Elijah wanted to die, but God showed him that he just needed food. Our attitude is to be one of hope, but even when we cannot have that hope, we still come to God because God will still be there to feed us, to care for us, and point us to where we need to go. God will never let us go. God loves us too much. May all honor and glory be to God. Thanks be to God. Amen.