2007-10-31 - Prayer Help

1 Thessalonians 5:17 - Pray without ceasing.

This seems like a simple enough command. Does it mean we should bow beside our bed with eyes closed 24/7? No if that were the understanding of it then the apostles would have never left the upper room and the church carrying the gospel with it would not have spread around the world.

According to one commentary source, this verse could perhaps be better translated from the Greek as pray without intermission. Do not let your mind wander in and out of prayer during your prayer times. This is hard for me especially if I'm trying to spend any length of time in prayer but here are two tips that help me.

1. Journal your prayers. This simply means keep a written record of your prayers. I use a small journal and starting at the back of it, I write requests with the date I first wrote it down. I always leave a gap to record God's answer and the date of his answer. God always answers. Sometimes he delays the answer or doesn't answer in the way I expected so it may take me some time to recognize that he answered my prayer but I have faith that he will in fact always answer my prayer so I leave space to record those answers. I also highlight them when I record the answer. I start my prayers with these petitions and thank him for those he has answered. Then starting at the front of the journal, I write out word for word my prayers minus these petitions. Reading and writing my prayers in this manner keeps me from wandering around the rooms of my mind.

2. Pray the scriptures. Sometimes when I study a passage of scripture I pray the scripture back to God - claiming the promises and asking for guidance to avoid those things that it may speak against. Sometimes I may prayerfully read a passage multiple times before I think I have prayed it all out.

I hope these tips will help you in your prayer life.

IHFHBOH
Adam

acdum@hotmail.com
http://www.cfdevotionals.org

All verses are from KJV except where otherwise noted