How should I be praying?
One of the biggest things that I struggle with is praying to God. Sometimes I feel that I don't say enough. Other times I feel that I don't ask for things in the right way. We, as Christians, need to understand how to pray to God in a way that is representative of the kind of relationship that He wants to have with us. Tome (2008) provides an easy-to-follow plan for, not only praying to God, but also using prayer to build a healthy relationship with Him. This plan is outlined below as follows:
USE PRAISE-Thank God for everything that He has done in your life including His forgiveness and His Blessings. Thank God for everything possible because we could never deserve anything the He provides us.
REPENT-We, as Christians, need to recognize that we sin and sin often. We also need to take responsibility for our sins and hence, internalize how our sins affect our relationship with God. Only after we internalize our sin can we truly ask for forgiveness and develop a plan for not making the same mistakes.
ASK- God wants to have an active, intimate, and fruitful relationship with his flock. We cannot have that relationship if we do not give Him the opportunity to show His glory. I know God does not always answer us in the way that we would like, but we at least should be free to ask and understand his His thinking.
YIELD-After having an intimate conversation with God, the least we can do is listen to what our Father has to say. Be cautious and patient, however, because His time is not our time...but He will always provide an answer.
This plan is, by no means, absolute nor could it ever approximate the level of glory that God deserves. I personally know, however, that my Father in heaven wants a personal relationship with me and appreciates any effort that we give.
Be blessed.
gt
Tome, Brian. (2008). Welcome to the revolution. Thomas Nelson.
2 comments:
Greg - I loved the phrasing of the last step - Yield. I have seen different suggestions on how to pray and one of the ways I have taught my kids to pray is with the hand prayer. Each finger represents a point in the prayer, starting with the thumb and moving toward the pinkie. It goes like this: I love you God, I am sorry God, Thank You God, God help others and God help me and then lastly, I'm listening, as you touch the palm. As we pray these things, we insert specifics. But the 'I'm Listening' portion is feeling stale. So, thank you for the refreshing word of "yield" which give the idea of listening a new nuance.
Oh - I like that, too!
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