Just Pray!

As we approach P3, our weekend of prayer, fasting and sacrifice, we want to consider how we ought to pray. Our Lord Jesus calls us to do so, our Heavenly Father longs to hear from His children, and the Holy Spirit helps us when we can’t. So how are we to pray?

(Acts 12:1-20 NIV) "It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. 2 He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. 3 When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. 4 After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.

5 So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.

6 The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. 7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. "Quick, get up!" he said, and the chains fell off Peter's wrists. 8 Then the angel said to him, "Put on your clothes and sandals." And Peter did so. "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me," the angel told him. 9 Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10 They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him. 11 Then Peter came to himself and said, "Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod's clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating."

12 When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying. 13 Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer the door. 14 When she recognized Peter's voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, "Peter is at the door!" 15 "You're out of your mind," they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, "It must be his angel." 16 But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. 17 Peter motioned with his hand for them to be quiet and described how the Lord had brought him out of prison. "Tell James and the brothers about this," he said, and then he left for another place.

18 In the morning, there was no small commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. 19 After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed. Then Herod went from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there a while.

(Luke 11:1 NIV) "One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples."

(Matthew 6:9-15 NIV) ""This, then, is how you should pray: "'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.' 14 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."

(Matthew 6:26 NIV) "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?"

(Romans 8:26-28 NIV) "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will. 28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

Digging Deeper

This week’s digging deeper is more about action than knowledge. Take some time to pray, beyond your normal routine this week. Use the time to prepare your heart for our P3 weekend.

1. Pray these biblical prayers (or others that you like): 2 Samuel 7:18-29; Psalm 25:1-22; Philippians 1:3-11; Ephesians 3:14-12; 1 Samuel 2:1-10; John 17:1-12; 1 Kings 8:23-30; Colossians 1:9-18.

2. Pray in a new and different way. If you normally ask for things, spend the same amount of time (time it!) thanking God for things. OR Write/type out your prayer – while we normally pray spontaneously, writing out a prayer forces you to slow down and really consider how you are praying. OR Spend a significant amount of time simply sitting, kneeling or face down before the Lord in silence. Listen for His voice, His tugging on your heart. Then pray for that person or thing, or write down what you sense the Holy Spirit is asking of you. OR make an effort throughout one day to pray for anyone you notice (co-workers, grocery store clerk, woman in the minivan with kids, a name in your contacts list, etc).

3. Pray formal, daily prayers written by others. You can find some at the following web resources:

https://prayersandcreeds.wordpress.com/category/classic-prayers/ This is a list of prayers of various Godly folks who have gone before. You can pray them and make them your own.

http://www.salvationarmy.org/ (select “our faith, spiritual life, daily prayers” These are all portions of scripture to pray.

www.dailyprayer.us; This is a full daily devotional with, scripture, am and pm prayers, even music.

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