Livin’ On A Prayer

One of my earliest memories is of being tucked into bed by my mom and her listening to me as  I said my prayers: “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. God bless Mommy and Daddy, Grandmama and Granddaddy Howard and Grandmama and Granddaddy Sims. Amen.” 

That’s the prayer I said every night, with my mom sitting with me on my bed. My little sister was born when I was four, and later that same year my Granddaddy Howard lost his life, so when I remember that particular prayer I’m going way back to at least when I was three years old. I’m so very thankful for a mother who taught me early on the importance of prayer. 

In our look at discipleship and growth in Christian maturity, we’ve talked about the disciplines of Bible reading and prayer, particularly through having a daily quiet time. As important as daily time alone with God is, though, I don’t want to leave the impression that a Christian’s prayer life is limited to a brief prayer during a quiet time. Prayer is basically communication between us and God, and it’s such an important part of our growth in Christ that I want to spend just a little more time on the subject. So here are some thoughts I have on how to pray, and I’ll follow that up with some examples of how to spend time with God in prayer.

1. When you pray, be real. 

What I mean is, be yourself. Don’t try to impress God with big words and flowery language. Just talk to God. Some of the most powerful prayers I’ve heard people pray are when they simply talk to God as if he’s standing right next to them. Because he is right there with them. 

2. When you pray, pray with persistence. 

Jesus says in Luke 11:9, “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened.”

God is not a pizza joint with a 30-minute delivery guarantee. He’s not a cosmic vending machine sitting there ready for you to put some money in and receive immediate results. So when you pray and don’t get an answer, keep on asking. Keep on looking. Keep on knocking. Keep on, keep on, over and over again. Just keep coming to God with your request. If you really believe that you are praying in God’s will, then why should you stop praying before you get an answer?

3. When you pray, pray expectantly.

“But when you ask for something, you must have faith and not doubt. Anyone who doubts is like an ocean wave tossed around in a storm. If you are that kind of person, you can’t make up your mind, and you surely can’t be trusted. So don’t expect the Lord to give you anything at all.”  (James 1:6-7, CEV)

God seems to really respond to a simple, child-like faith in Him. But for many of us, we go to God with the attitude of “I know you probably won’t do this, but…” We pray, but we don’t really believe that anything will happen. And then we wonder why God doesn’t give us what we ask for. 

Now, it’s perfectly OK to go to God and admit to him that you have doubts. Go ahead and ask him to help you with your doubts. If you struggle with whether he’ll provide, at least admit it to him. The truth is that our faith matters to God. So pray expectantly.

4. When you pray, pray specifically.

Don’t beat around the bush, like you’re giving God hints about what you want for Christmas. A lot of times we just throw up some general prayers to God, like “be with me,” “give me strength,” and “help me.” We need to be more like Ralphie in “A Christmas Story.” If you want an Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action 200 Shot Range Model Air Rifle, then say to God, “I want an Official Red Ryder Carbine-Action 200 Shot Range Model Air Rifle!”

Be honest with God and tell him what you want. He knows your heart anyway, so just acknowledge what you both already know. When you are honest and specific, you are expressing faith.

As you come to God being real, and as you pray persistently, expectantly, and specifically, you will come to the point where you want something from God, but more than anything you want his will to be done. That’s where you want to be in your walk with God. You can honestly tell God exactly what you want, exactly what’s in your heart, but just as honestly tell him that more than anything else, you want his will to be done. 

And until you can honestly say that, include in your prayer a request for God to help you to reach that point. 

So if you’re new to the whole idea of spending time with God in prayer, I’ve included here some plans that might help you as you begin. Neither of these is original with me, but they have both helped me tremendously over the years.

The first model is the CATS model:

1. Confession – this just means agreeing with God about your sin. When sins come to mind, confess each sin specifically, and accept God’s forgiveness. 

“You will never succeed in life if you try to hide your sins.  Confess them and give them up, then God will show mercy to you.”  (Prov. 28:13, TEV)

2. Adoration – praising God for who He is. Use adjectives that describe God; maybe focus on one per week.  Examples might include God’s patience, mercy, power, and love.

3. Thanksgiving – thanking God for what He has done. Make a list of all that you are thankful for. Thank God for something different each day.

4. Supplication – make your requests known to God.  

“You don’t have, because you don’t ask God.”  (James 4:2b)

Pray for your needs – character development, physical needs, material needs.

Pray for other people. Make a list of people to pray for, and write down the date when the prayer answered. You might pray for different people on different days of the week.  

Another prayer plan that has really helped me is the PRAY model:

1. Praise – Give God praise for his omnipresence, omnipotence, omniscience, love, justice, holiness, kindness, power, presence, grace.

2. Repent – As God brings them to your mind, ask his forgiveness and turn away from any sins of action, sins of thought, sins of word, or sins of attitude

3. Ask – This is where you bring God your prayer requests, prayers for yourself and for others.

4. Yield – After you have asked God for exactly what it is you want, surrender to his perfect will, acknowledging that his ways are always best, his answers are always best. 

As a believer, you have the incredible opportunity to speak to God at any time, knowing that every time you do this you have God’s full attention. Don’t take this amazing gift for granted! Make prayer an important part of your life. Pray on a regular basis as part of your quiet time, but also pray throughout the day every time you think about God and every time you remember a need or concern you have. Prayer does make a difference, and the biggest difference just might be the change it makes in your life.

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