Pray
14. Pray.
To make this easy to implement daily, do it at your bedside before you go to bed. I remember this being a habit that I used to do with my parents as a child. This is something you can do with your child if you like. Even just saying thanks at dinner as a family is a form of prayer. Prayer keeps us in the habit of being thankful for what we have and focused on thinking about others.
Also, keep in mind prayer does not have to be just about God. It can be Buddha, a higher power, or simply Tool 5, which is Be grateful for the things you have and give thanks. Soon you will read Tool 67, which is Compile a team of experts. My expert in this department is Pastor Steve Curran and I asked him to contribute to this by sharing what prayer is. I think sometimes the reason we don’t pray is because we are not sure how.
Prayer is intimate communication between God and a person.
As in any loving relationship, communication involves active listening and verbalizing. We all have experienced good, bad, and indifferent communication with other people. We know that the best communication happens when people talking with each other are involved and interested in the welfare of the other–heart, mind, and soul. Prayer at its best is just like that.
One simple way to grow in your prayer experience with God is to use an “A.C.T.S.” method in a specific time of focused prayer. This time can be short or long, but it is focused loving communication between you and God. Begin in a quiet place free of distractions. Place yourself in a position that helps you comfortably focus on being attentive to God. Begin your time of prayer with ADORATION.
Adore God for who He is. Praise God for all that you have experienced with Him; all of His beauty and strength and holy transcendence that you have experienced in ways large or small. Focus on the ways that God has revealed His glory to you, and express to Him your heart’s response.
Next, CONFESS: name and admit your errors, mistakes, faults, and ways you have harmed yourself, others, or your relationship with God. The purpose is not to be morbidly self focused, but to keep one’s relationship with God, the lover of your soul, free of anything that would inhibit the free flow of love between God and you. Confession removes any little pebbles in your shoe, so you may walk closely with God throughout your day.
THANKFULNESS flows naturally after confession. God’s love for you is new every morning. Great is His faithfulness to love and forgive and restore and heal. Think and remember all the good things He has done in your life. Remember answers to prayer requests you have made. Be specific in your gratitude for all the goodness He has shown you.
Lastly, conclude with SUPPLICATION. Make your needs and requests known to God. Ask for what you need. Make requests on behalf of others. Ask for God’s intervention, grace, help, healing, mercy, strength, love, or anything else that is in your heart. Whatever you ask, believe that He hears you, and that it is His delight to answer the prayers of all who seek Him in earnest humility and dependence on His grace. Trust in His love and wisdom and guidance in your relationship.
There are many facets to prayer. The A.C.T.S. method is only one small one. One book you might explore to continue your growth in prayer is from the Northumbria Community, The Celtic Book of Daily Prayer.