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“If it is true that people tend to imitate the life of someone who ministers to them, what kind of prayer example are we as leaders providing for those we lead? Do they see the importance of prayer reflected in the programs of the church , in the worship life of the church, and in the meetings held in the church? If people imitate what they see in our lives, what will the content of their prayers be like?” John MacArthur
As important as prayer is, it is very challenging. Think prayer meetings where it is more about the list than it is the Lord. Sometimes it seems like we pray about the same old things, and we do. However, it feels like we are stuck in a rut and are not really sure how to extricate ourselves from the situation. When this happens, may I daresay that prayer becomes routine, laborious and rather boring. What happens when something becomes boring? Many times we stop doing it. When we stop praying, inevitably the guilt feelings creep into our lives because we know that prayer is expected of us from God and is our key to communicating with our Lord and Savior. This leads to a vicious cycle of praying, boredom, guilt, renewed commitment. What is the issue here? Is it the content of our prayers? Is it the amount of time we spend in prayer? Or is it something else altogether? My goal today is to explore some questions that will help us focus our prayers on being Spirit Led and Scripture Fed.
- The Struggle of Prayer
- Praying the Scriptures
- Practical Application
- 31 Days of "So That" Scriptures & Prayers for the Church
- ...and more (see attached file)
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I think prayer becomes boring when we don't remember that we are relating to God, communing with Him, not just giving him a list of requests. John Franklin's new book, "30 Days to a More Dynamic Prayer Life", talks about this concept. Another great book on prayer is "A Praying Life" by Paul Miller. My point is if we focus more on relating to God rather than bringing him a list to take care of, it will become "less boring", just like listening to a lecture, but not really listening, becomes boring. Relating to people involves truly listening and interacting with them.
My heart is to pray the scriptures for children so that we will have a next generation whose church, parents and grandparents have prayed His Word into every aspect of their lives. The prayers I have written are supplication prayers that ask, may the truth of God's Word be so in their lives. The prayers have a title and a one sentence prayer prayed within the context and content of scripture. The reason I am responding is that I saw the so that's of prayer the same way I see the children's prayers. The so that of the prayer is a prayer directive for that portion of scripture. The short prayer is a spring board for the Holy Spirit to take you deeper into prayer on that subject. Spring boards are over deep water. It is not boring when God shows you His heart on the matter. He is faithful and will take you places you would not have thought of on your own. You will enjoy walking and partnering with Him to accomplish His agenda during your prayer times. It becomes an adventure.
Many times we go through the motions praying the list but the passion has ceased to be. That is a passion to be the instrument of the Lord only because we want intimacy with Him . It may result from praying in our own strength that leads to burnout,or slothfulness, health issues or sin. then there are those seasons when we should pause; take a "selah"moment and wait on the Lord to lead the prayer.. If our passion for prayer remains we will always wait for the Lord's leading. We can always do this by begining with worship, exalting the one true Living God. During worship He is sure to show us,direct us in prayer if not, we continue in worship. If we practice His Presence He is always there we should always be listening and counting on the refreshing of His presence .
Thank you for sharing your insight on prayer. Please keep writing as the Spirit leads you. It is very helpful.