In the Know, Vol. 8: The Simplicity of Prayer
In January, I worked through a study on spiritual disciplines from She Reads Truth. I learned about disciplines I wasn’t familiar with and picked up new ideas for those I practice regularly. But what most captured my attention was this explanation on prayer . . .
“Prayer as a spiritual discipline is about more than asking God for things. It is about learning to move through this life in one long extended conversation with the Lord, where every thought has an audience of One. It is about learning a language that will carry on into eternity, one we will become fluent in one day – the language of the kingdom of God, where worshippers will live with unrestricted access to the throne of grace. It is about learning to commune with our Maker. Prayer here and now is preparation for an eternity of communicating with God.” – She Reads Truth
What an eloquent and beautiful description of prayer. It’s almost breathtaking. I love thinking about prayer as a language to learn. If you’ve taken a foreign language class, you know the only way to master a language is regular practice. When we’re learning, the teacher doesn’t expect perfection, just a willingness to engage and learn. We can approach prayer with the same mindset. Prayer doesn’t need to intimidate us or leave us unsure of what to say because God always looks upon us with love and compassion. He will never hold our less than perfect attempts at prayer against us.
Prayer doesn’t have to be a big production; it’s actually meant to be the opposite. The Message paraphrase of Matthew 6:6 guides us to “just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage.” We are to find a quiet place and be honest before God about our struggles and the longings of our hearts. And then, as we see often in Scripture, God hears us and answers our prayers according to His ultimate plan for us.
Even though prayer is a simple language at the root, we tend to overcomplicate it. So, all month on our social media accounts, we’re diving into prayer. We’ll discuss questions about prayer and journal around four specific instances of prayer found in Scripture. As you journey with us, we’d love to hear your thoughts, so please message us or add your questions and the things you’re learning to the comments.
PRISCILLA SHIRER: MAKING PRAYER A PRIORITY
REMINDER: THE 28-DAY PRAYER JOURNEY
A couple of weeks ago, we recommended The 28-Day Prayer Journey from Crystal Evans Hurst. We’re only a few days in, so it’s not too late to join the fun! It’s a great way to learn more about prayer or even to dig a little deeper. And invite your mentees along for the ride if you want. Sign-up below to get set up with everything you need to guide you through this 28-day journey!
INVITE YOUR MENTEES TO PRAY FOR YOU
PRAYER CARDS
This month as you focus on prayer, we created a simple resource for you. Use these prayer cards to keep your prayer time organized as you pray for specific people. Each one has space for you to record the details of each prayer request and an applicable Scripture.
Helpful tip: Punch a hole in the upper corner of each card and use a binder ring to keep them all in one place.
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