Three Thoughts and Suggestions for Prayer that have come up in conversation recently

Yup… surprising, I know, that a pastor would have some thoughts and suggestions around prayer. But, interestingly, in the last few days this topic has come up three different times in conversation. And it is a perennial topic, and now seems to be a good time to talk about it.

First suggestion…

Pray on your knees. I really don’t believe that praying on your knees does anything special from God’s perspective. It’s not like He sees you on your knees, and says… “oh, NOW, I’ll listen to you!”

Praying on our knees does something really good inside of us. It puts our body in a posture of humility. It helps to focus the mind. It helps us to remember what we bring to the equation. It reminds us that He’s the authority, and He may give us something to do as a result.

I believe it’s a great way to start the day. Right after your morning constitution, getting down on your knees and “offering your body as a living sacrifice to the Lord.”

Second suggestion…

Think about what your thinking about. Someone asked me about their struggle when it came to prayer. They would start to pray, and then there mind would begin to wander in all kinds of directions, and it frustrated them, as they wanted to pray.

But, what if that’s the Holy Spirit, guiding your thoughts in that moment. There’s nothing wrong with letting your mind wander during that time of prayer, going to the end of it and then returning to the topic you started with. What if the Holy Spirit is wanting to show you something, or open up your understanding or insight, or share with you his perspective on a situation, or give you something to do in that regard.

Isn’t that what we want in prayer? To have a conversation? To hear God’s voice speaking to us? Often, for me, I end up writing down todo’s, reminders to contact people, or some novel idea while I’m praying.

Last suggestion…

Read these articles. Calvary Chapel had a post a few days ago about what they had learned in praying online over the last year. Check it out. It has some really helpful observations and insights and ideas for times of prayer via technology.

Spur Ottawa had a post about answers to prayer from our local community that was very inspiring.

What do you think? I’d expect if we were having coffee and having this conversation, that it would be a conversation. That you would have some thoughts and suggestions as well.

Like…

Praying through insomnia, instead of cruising the internet, or raiding the fridge…