Saturday, October 13, 2012

How to Pray for an Hour


"It rinses the soul, prayer does."
Paul Mariani



I love to delve into the topic of prayer. Being in a prayer group has helped me grow more in love with God. I have asked Jesus to teach me to pray and I have taught others about prayer. But actually praying on my own takes discipline.

I know that prayer is talking with God, but it helps me to have a pattern to follow, kind of like the ACTS format, I shared last Saturday.

Recently, I found a classic book on the topic of prayer: The Hour That Changes the World by Dick Eastman. He recommends twelve areas to pray over...5 minutes for each type of prayer, which adds up to an hour of prayer.

He starts and ends his hour with Praise. Then in between, he Waits on God, just letting God's love sink into his soul. Which leads to Confession, admitting his faults and sins to God. He prays through a Scripture. He Watches for the Spirit's next initiative in the prayer time.

Following this preparatory time, he then feels ready to tackle Intercession (requests for others) and Petition (requests for yourself).

Before returning to Praise, he enters God's gates with Thanksgiving and Singing. In the last minutes, he quietly enters into Meditation and Listening, which leads him back to praising God.

It seems like a huge assignment, but I have found it helpful to write, draw and color, while I move from each segment. Of course, sometimes I land on one topic more than another.

Or if an hour seems like too huge of a place to begin, try focusing on each category for a minute.

I usually have my Bible open and look for a Scripture to guide the conversation. Psalms are great poems for praising God and getting to know Him better.


 
 
 
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5 comments:

  1. I never thought about incorporating my own prayers into art. What a beautiful idea.

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    1. Another book that encourages creative prayer is Praying in Color by Sybil MacBeth.

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  2. Reminds me of visual prayer journaling. A powerful means of responding to time with the Lord.

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  3. Oh, Kel...a woman after my own heart. It's so hard to find true prayer warriors. I loved Eastman's book. I remember how he fasted for his kids one hour a day. Have you ever read Dutch Sheets books on intercession? Fabulous. I love how God wants to use us to stand in the gap for others and ourselves. Prayer is such a wondrous gift. Good post!

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  4. Kel: "It rinses the soul, prayer does." What a lovely quote! I'd never heard that one. Quite poetic!

    I love your commitment to prayer. With little kids--9, 7 and 2, I can't imagine finding an hour to pray--or, more accurately, allowing myself an hour to pray, but you are an inspiration!

    Elizabeth

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