How Do I Pray to Thee? Let Me Count The Ways.

Ask the question, “What is prayer” and you will get a variety of answers. To some it is something you read from a book, and to others is must come from the heart. Some define it as having a formal pattern, or consider it to be more powerful if begins with praising God. Boisterous or gentle, full of beautiful words or silent, prayer is simply a way of connecting to God and participating in a relationship with the One who created and loves us.

Many of us have been in a meeting and heard the leader offer this invitation: “Who would like to start us off with prayer?” which was then met by prolonged silence. That is too familiar for comfort. Why are we sometimes afraid to pray? We are quick to console a friend with “I’ll pray for you” and but how often do we follow through?

I grew up in a home where prayer was regular: at meals and bedtime. Years later, as a young mother, I was at work and in need of prayer. I called my friend Terri to tell her about my situation and ask if she would pray for me. She listened and then said, “Sure… Dear Lord we come before you in prayer…” I’m sure I didn’t really hear the first line of the prayer because she had thrown me for a loop. No one had ever stopped what they were doing and prayed with me on the phone like that. The problem was not that it would have bothered my boss, as we were members of the same church, but that I was surprised by the immediacy of it. She didn’t just pray for me, she prayed with me and it gave me a feeling of comfort and a reminder of God’s presence.

The Bible gives many examples of prayer and occasions when we cry out, “hear my prayer!” Sometimes a prayer is pleading, meditating, interceding, or reflecting. The person praying is sometimes praying prayers of adoration or devotion, sometimes conversing, sometimes listening. There is no “best way” to pray, but prayer is definitely the best way to grow closer to the Lord and grow in our relationship with Him. Because He first loved us, He offers us His uninterrupted time to bend His mighty ear. In response to His love and as we learn to love Him more, we can accept the gift of prayer, recognizing it as a time of conversing personally with God our Creator.

Pray out loud. Pray without words. Use prayer books and spur-of-the-moment prayers. Use Lectio Divina and pray the Psalms. All of these have a purpose and a place in our prayer lives. Maybe your prayer life has become inconsistent or the same-ole-same-ole. If so, check out the UMC prayer site at www.upperroom.org/methodx/thelife/prayermethods and you will find links that may open up a new prayer experience for you.

Martin Luther King Jr. stated, “To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.” I encourage you to allow the Holy Spirit to breathe new life into your daily time of prayer life during this time of Lent.