PRAYING

How To Pray

Prayer is part of the scriptural prescription for anxiety relief. You may be like thousands of others who struggle with prayer. How do we approach an infinite and holy God? What do we say? Is He really listening? Here are my best answers in the acrostic PRAYING based on the Lord's Prayer.

Matthew 6:9-15 NIrV

“This is how you should pray. “ ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be honored. [10] May your kingdom come. May what you want to happen be done on earth as it is done in heaven. [11] Give us today our daily bread. [12] And forgive us our sins, just as we also have forgiven those who sin against us. [13] Keep us from sinning when we are tempted. Save us from the evil one.’ [14] Forgive other people when they sin against you. If you do, your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you. [15] But if you do not forgive the sins of other people, your Father will not forgive your sins.

PRAYING

Promote God's brand

Recognize Him as King and creator of everything. Promoting God's name is not "for" Him. Promoting Him (worship) is FOR US. In honoring His name, we convince ourselves that He is larger than our circumstances. In worship, we come to know with certainty He is loving, involved, faithful, and effective for every situation. Worship teaches us that He is an altogether sufficient and infinite resource. Worship is the way we dissolve worry.

Release Control

Offer surrender to His desire and His plan even though you don't know it or understand it fully. Prayer by prayer, we surrender our attention, our future, our expectations, our emotions, our worry, etc. We search our lives and invite His control over every thought. We welcome God not only to exist in our lives but to rearrange the furniture and tear down the walls.

Ask God

We ask our Father for what we think we need. Realize 1. He already knows what we need. Our asking doesn't inform God. Our prayers reveal our deepest desires to us. We learn our own hearts. We teach ourselves that He is our source and provider. (Matthew 6:7-8) 2. We don't know what to pray for. Asking teaches us what we really need instead of informing God. We don't need to worry about getting it wrong. God the Holy Spirit prays for us at a much higher level and according to God's perfect will. (Romans 8:26-28)

Yearn Forgiveness

We ask God to scan our hearts for thoughts of error, anxious thinking, and anything that is offensive. (Psalm 139:23-24) We sincerely seek His forgiveness and seek to align our character with His. Afterward, we completely trust that we are made clean and right with Him. (1 John 1:9) Shame is not part of the baggage we need to carry any longer.

Invite a Forgiving Spirit

The model prayer places more attention on this than any other topic (Matthew 6: 12, 14-15). We must completely empty ourselves of grudges, anger, and plans to get even. 

Navigate Our Passions

We ask God to keep us from sinning when we are tempted. We acknowledge the weakness and appetite of our flesh for what is wrong. We become keenly aware of the weak points in ourselves. (James 1:23-15)

Guard us From Evil

We are aware of an evil one who seeks to take us out of the game and keep us on the bench. (1 Peter 5:8-9) "Darkness doesn't need to destroy us; it only needs to distract us." - Bob Goff.

References

Matthew 6:7-8 NIrV

When you pray, do not keep talking on and on. That is what ungodly people do. They think they will be heard because they talk a lot. [8] Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need even before you ask him.

Romans 8:26-28 NIrV

In the same way, the Holy Spirit helps us when we are weak. We don’t know what we should pray for. But the Spirit himself prays for us. He prays through groans too deep for words. [27] God, who looks into our hearts, knows the mind of the Spirit. And the Spirit prays for God’s people just as God wants him to pray. [28] We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him. He appointed them to be saved in keeping with his purpose.

Psalm 139:23-24 NLT

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. [24] Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

Matthew 6:12,14-15 NIrV

And forgive us our sins, just as we also have forgiven those who sin against us. [14] Forgive other people when they sin against you. If you do, your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you. [15] But if you do not forgive the sins of other people, your Father will not forgive your sins.

James 1:13-15 NIrV

When a person is tempted, they shouldn’t say, “God is tempting me.” God can’t be tempted by evil. And he doesn’t tempt anyone. [14] But each person is tempted by their own evil desires. These desires lead them on and drag them away. [15] When these desires are allowed to remain, they lead to sin. And when sin is allowed to remain and grow, it leads to death.

1 Peter 5:8-9 NIrV

Be watchful and control yourselves. Your enemy the devil is like a roaring lion. He prowls around looking for someone to swallow up. [9] Stand up to him. Remain strong in what you believe. You know that you are not alone in your suffering. The family of believers throughout the world is going through the same thing.

Sample Prayer List

Below is an example prayer list. You may find it to helpful in directing your prayer life.

Promote His Brand Because He is:


Release Control - Asking His ways to rule over me

Asking For Friends and Family

Have a page where their names and requests are listed. It also reminds me to keep up with those people and concerns. It's okay to admit ignorance of what they need. God knows what good things to give

Asking For Leaders

List their names and requests. My pastor, teachers, president, governor, etc

Asking For Enemies

This is the way we empty every last drop of bitterness and revenge from our hearts. We will know we have completed the work of forgiveness when we can compassionately pray for the benefit of our enemies.

Asking For Me

Sure, in urgent moments, we can skip all the other stuff and move to this. God understands. Just circle back. Prayer is not about changing God; it's about changing us.

Yearn Forgiveness

It's important to be totally naked and vulnerable before God. No blame. No excuses. Own the mistakes and sins. Leave the shame with the One who bore it in our place.

Invite a forgiving spirit

Many of us are surprised when we're honest about the number of grudges we hold. We are equally surprised by the relief and calm that sweeps over us when we truly give up our right to get even.

Navigate passions

God loves our authenticity. He hates our self-righteousness and pride. Get honest about weakness. He is willing to help us fight the appetites of our flesh. Take an "eyes wide open" approach.

Guard me from the evil one

No need to blame the devil for everything but be aware of his involvement. He wants you out of this game. He is often the one whispering anxious thoughts to us. God does not give us a spirit of fear. The enemy whispers fear all day long. Don't underestimate the cleverness of this enemy. Ask for God's protection and then resist and run.