Transcript & Slides: Healthy Prayer Patterns

PDF Article

PDF Slides

Healthy Prayer Patterns
By David Feddes

Is this your prayer life? Some of us find that we can hardly pray for more than a minute or two before we run out of things to say, things to ask for. We feel like we're talking to the ceiling. We get kind of bored, and prayer can be hard for us. So is this your prayer life—where you feel bored, where you feel that even a few minutes of prayer is almost impossible? And then you read about Jesus, who would spend a whole night in prayer (Luke 6:12), or about other Christians who would spend long periods of time in prayer, sometimes hours, and you say, "What in the world did they pray about? How could I possibly pray for more than a couple of minutes?"

Well, if you struggle in your prayer life—or even if you don't—I invite you to consider what is involved in healthy prayer patterns and a positive prayer life. For many of us, we don't have much trouble communicating in a lot of other areas. We may not struggle with going on Facebook and seeing what everybody's thinking, or Snapchatting, or using social media in various ways, or going and watching various videos, or checking out our smartphone every few seconds. So if somebody said, "Be on your smartphone without ceasing," we might say, "I'm already doing a pretty good job of that." But the Bible doesn't say, "Be on your smartphone without ceasing." It says, "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Have prayer and communication with God be a constant in your life, something that you're constantly involved in and that you never give up on.

So if we want to pray without ceasing instead of just connecting on our phones without ceasing, we need to give some thought to prayer and to see how we can develop in our prayer life. Jesus is our model. Scripture says Jesus would withdraw to desolate places and pray (Luke 5:16). He'd go off by himself. He went out to the mountain to pray, and at night he continued all night in prayer to God (Luke 6:12). Hebrews says, "During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears" (Hebrews 5:7). So Jesus prayed earnestly. He prayed hard. He prayed long. And he had such a powerful ministry. One of those keys to the power of what he did among people was those times he spent off by himself with his Father. And Jesus is our model. He was mighty in prayer, and he calls us into a life of prayer with his Father.

We have a variety of prayer questions. Here are some of the prayer questions that I come across: Should I pray alone or should I pray with others? Should I pray just spontaneously, right on the spot, or should I pray on a schedule at set times? Should I pray from my heart with whatever just comes up and comes into my mind spontaneously, or should I pray with a guide, with a written prayer perhaps, or with a pattern that I follow?

Well, in answer to these questions, I would simply say: Yes. Pray alone and pray with others. Pray on the spot and pray on a schedule. Pray from your heart and pray with a guide.

I'll explain a little bit more of what I mean. First of all, the Bible encourages us to pray alone. Jesus did. He went up on the mountain by himself to pray (Matthew 14:23). Often he prayed in times of solitude. And he told us to pray alone as well. He said, "Some people like to pray just for show in front of others, but when you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father who is unseen. Then your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you" (Matthew 6:6).

It is absolutely essential that you have a life of prayer where you're alone with God, where you're not trying to impress other people or be seen by them. Because if the only time you pray is when somebody besides God is listening—if you're just praying because it's part of your job as a leader or a pastor, or if you're praying as part of your job because, hey, you're a parent and you're supposed to pray when you're around your kids—if you're just praying in front of others but have no personal prayer life, it probably indicates that your prayer life is hollow, that you really don't have a personal, heartfelt communication with the Lord.

You pray, first of all, to speak with God, to connect with him. And that means you're not praying to impress other people. It means when you pray alone that you're not even praying to impress God. You can't impress God. He already knows what's in you, so you just might as well say it. And instead of trying to be polite or have exactly the right words or whatever, just pray alone before your Father. Tell him what you want him to hear from you and pour it out before him. Don't try to impress him. He's not the judge of a speech contest. He's your Father in heaven.

So pray alone in a direct and personal way with your Lord. But that does not mean that you should never pray with other people. If praying with others is the only thing you do, and your reason is to impress them or to do something for them but not to connect with God yourself, then of course you need to start by praying personally and alone with God and make that always the core of your prayer life. But the Bible obviously tells us that we can pray with others as well, with great benefit.

God gave his temple and his place of meeting to be a place of prayer with others: "My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations" (Isaiah 56:7, quoted in Mark 11:17). Jesus himself prayed alone, but he also went to the synagogue every Sabbath day. It was his custom, and there he would pray with the other people and worship with them (Luke 4:16). The apostles and the early Christians raised their voices together in prayer to God (Acts 4:24). They prayed as individuals, but they also prayed together. And they prayed at times of great need—when all of them would pray, when they were facing persecution, when they were seeking guidance. They'd be worshiping God and praying together, and the Holy Spirit would lead them (Acts 13:1–3).

And so prayer is a wonderful thing to do personally and individually, but also together with fellow people who love the Lord and want to pray together to him.

Pray on the spot as a need arises or as you feel thanksgiving to God. Just burst out with, "Thanks, God!" or, "Help me!" The Bible gives a lot of examples of prayers on the spot. Here are just a few.

Abraham's servant was sent out with a very important mission—to find a wife for Abraham's son Isaac. And so the servant is kind of wondering, how in the world am I going to do that? And he's got to get this girl from a certain area and location of people who are relatives of Abraham and who worship God, not just any old pagan. So he says, "Lord, give me success today. Show me the one who is right for him" (Genesis 24:12). And God answered that prayer.

A little later in Israel's history, after Israel had become a people and they'd come out of Egypt, they'd sinned against God, and God had sent poisonous snakes who were biting some of the people and they were dying. And Moses prayed for the people right on the spot (Numbers 21:7). It was urgent. They needed help now, and he prayed for God's help, and God gave him an answer, and the people were healed.

Samson was not the most pious person with the best patterns of walking with the Lord, but sometimes he prayed when he really needed it. One time he had a big battle with the godless Philistines and he won that battle and killed a thousand of them, and he was just wiped out and exhausted and he was dying of thirst and he felt like he was going to collapse and faint and die. And so he prayed to God, and God opened up a spring and Samson drank cool water from that spring (Judges 15:18–19). He prayed on the spot, and God helped him.

Later, Samson betrayed his own calling. He got involved with a Philistine woman. He let her in on the secret of his strength—that he was specially devoted to God and that he had grown hair that was never cut as a sign of that devotion to God. And he got a nasty haircut. And the enemies caught him and imprisoned him and gouged out his eyes and blinded him, and he was their victim and their plaything. And one day they brought him into their temple to mock him and make fun of him and to make fun of his God. And Samson prayed on the spot: "O God, please strengthen me just once more" (Judges 16:28). And God did. And Samson pulled down that whole Philistine temple and did more damage in that one moment than he did in his whole lifetime to the enemies of God.

Hannah was a woman who was grieved by the fact that she couldn't have a baby. She never received a child, and so she wept much and she prayed, and God heard that prayer and gave her a child—the great prophet Samuel—and then gave her other children as well (1 Samuel 1:10–20; 2:21). So she prayed on the spot about a need that she felt and that weighed on her heart.

Nehemiah was a man who was grieving that Jerusalem had been conquered and destroyed. Its walls were in ruins, and even though some people were coming back to Jerusalem, the city was still not defended by good walls. That was on his heart, and he was kind of sad about it. The king of Persia—the emperor of the whole empire for whom Nehemiah worked—noticed that, and the king said, "What is it you want?" Then Nehemiah, before he told the king what he wanted, said, "I prayed to the God of heaven" (Nehemiah 2:4). He just prayed on the spot before he said anything to the king, because when you're in the presence of a great emperor and you say the wrong things, you can get yourself killed or you can ruin the purpose and the mission you were hoping to go on. But he prayed. Then he told the emperor, the king, what he wanted, and the king told Nehemiah that he could take over as governor and go there and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:5–8).

In your own life, in your own prayer life, there are times when something comes up and it comes up suddenly, and you need help, and you need it bad, and you need it now. And you can speak to God right on the spot. The need, the prayer that comes from your heart, or God will bless you in a way that is amazing. And you don't wait till Sunday worship to say a prayer of thanks to God, or till your evening devotion time. When that good thing happens, just pray right on the spot and say, "Thank you, Lord! Praise you, Lord!" Or when you do something wrong, you don't have to wait till one of your set times to pray about it. Just pray right there, "God, forgive me. Forgive me. Take away my sin. Help me to change."

So praying on the spot is a great way to pray. But you can also pray on a schedule. Psalm 92 says, "It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name, O Most High, proclaiming your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night" (Psalm 92:1–2). To start your day praising God in prayer. To end your day praising God in prayer.

The prophet and politician Daniel was a person who was very close to God, and he had a pattern in his life. Three times a day Daniel got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before (Daniel 6:10). And he did this in the circumstance where, if you prayed to God, you were going to get thrown to lions. And Daniel would rather spend a night in the lion's den than go a day without praying to God. So he prayed to God three times a day, no matter who said what—he was going to pray to God. And you build a pattern into your life where you pray on a schedule, and it does enrich your life.

You can have those prayers that are right on the spot. I'm sure when Daniel got dropped into the lion's den, he probably said a couple extra prayers, and God sent his angels to defend Daniel (Daniel 6:22). But Daniel also had his regular prayer patterns.

Think of sports. I've been involved a lot in sports, sometimes as a coach, sometimes as a player. And in sports, there are times when you're in the middle of the game and the coach is out there shouting instructions to the players, and the players are asking the coach as they run past him, "What do you want, coach?" And so there's all this on-the-spot communication. Or there's times when, right in the middle of the game, the coach sees something or the player sees something, and they call a quick timeout. "We need a 30-second timeout." And they quickly go over, talk it over, and then get back out there and play. That's kind of like praying on the spot—right as the game is going on, right as the needs present themselves.

But coaches also have practices where they spend set time with the players. It's not a game where they're playing somebody else—they're just practicing. And the coach is giving instruction and teaching and communicating with the players, and they're asking the coach questions. And even at game time, there's time before the game where the coach is in the locker room giving instructions to the players. There are breaks between the periods of the game. There are set times where the players get to rest and get a little refreshment, and they get some new instructions from the coach. That's kind of like praying at set times. You have your practices, your time apart. Or you have your times each day when you're with the Lord—a time to get refreshed, a time to communicate, a time to tell God what's going on (although he knows), but to tell him from your point of view—your desires, your needs, your praises.

And so praying on the spot is valuable. Praying on schedule is valuable—just as a coach and players yelling instructions during the game is valuable, but so are the breaks between the periods and the days when it's a practice day and not a game day. So pray on the spot as much as you like, but also have a pattern in your life where you regularly spend time with God praying.

Pray from your heart. Hannah said, "I've been pouring out my soul before the Lord" (1 Samuel 1:15). She was pouring out her soul so much that the old priest Eli, who wasn't used to seeing people pray with that kind of devotion—because it was a time of very low spirituality—sees this woman just praying her heart out because she wants this baby, and he thinks she's drunk. And Hannah says, "No, I'm not drunk. I'm just pouring out my soul." And she's pouring it out with tears.

So to pray from your heart, to pray with tears, to pray with deep feeling—and to just, whatever is in your heart, pour it out before the Lord without any pretending. "Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge" (Psalm 62:8). Sometimes you're pouring your heart out in need and yearning and sorrow and anguish. Sometimes you're pouring your heart out because you're full of joy and you want to tell God, "My heart is glad and my tongue rejoices" (Psalm 16:9). And in prayer you're speaking to God with great joy from your heart, and you're doing it spontaneously. It's not a planned prayer. It's not a patterned prayer that was given to you by somebody else or that you ever wrote down. You're just pouring out your heart in prayer.

But does that mean that you should only pray from your heart spontaneously and never pray with any kind of guide? No. Healthy prayer patterns mean that you can often do all of the above. Pray alone, but pray with others too. Pray on the spot, but also pray on a schedule in a structured and patterned way. Pray from your heart and spontaneously and pour out your emotions and what's going on. But also have some guides for prayer.

And this can be especially helpful for some of us who do struggle in prayer—who find it boring, who find that after 90 seconds we don't have anything more to talk to God about. Sometimes we need a guide to lead us into prayer and help us to pray more fruitfully and at greater length and with greater meaning. So praying from the heart is great—but also with a guide.

I want to mention four possible guides to consider. There are others, and it’s okay to experiment a little bit with guides that you might use to direct your prayer times. But here are four: the Lord’s Prayer, the ACTS approach (adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication), praying the Bible, and praying like children.

Let’s look at these guides.

The Lord’s Prayer: Jesus taught us to say,

“Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:9–13).

Now, the Lord’s Prayer is a great prayer to memorize and speak to the Lord, but it’s also a template or a pattern for prayer that can be expanded upon. You don’t just use it as the prayer that you say, but as the outline for a bigger and fuller prayer.

So you say the words “Our Father” and then you might say, “Oh, what a privilege it is to be adopted as your child, dear Father. And not just a me-and-you relationship, but you’re our Father—I’m part of the family of God. There are other people who love you and worship you. Thank you for your church. Thank you that we can come together to you as a family and know that you love us as a Father and watch over us. You’re so close to us and I can call you my Abba. I can relate to you intimately.”

But you’re also “in heaven”—you’re on the throne of the universe. You’re supreme, great beyond anything I can imagine. You are so far above me and so magnificent. So your opening words of prayer are just expressing who you’re speaking to—your dear Father, and that great ruler and creator and Lord of the universe. You gather your thoughts to realize who it is you’re talking to.

Then you say, “Hallowed be thy name.” And you don’t just say those words, but you start praising him for who he is—for his love, his mercy, his faithfulness, for the wonderful things he’s done in your life. You praise his name as the great Creator, as the Savior, as the one who directs all things according to his plan and purpose. You long for his name to be honored by others. You say, “Hallowed be thy name, Lord. May all of creation praise you. May all the animals and the trees and the angels and the archangels and all that you make praise your name and bring glory to your reputation. May those who don’t yet know you praise you. May I praise you. Help me to praise you more fully and to know you better, so that I can appreciate who you are. Let your name be praised in me.”

Then you say, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” So many things on earth aren’t the way they’re supposed to be. But in Jesus Christ, you’ve begun to reign—extend that reign. Take over more hearts, more lives, more parts of society. Let your way be known among the nations. Let governments honor you in the way that they operate. Let your people, especially your church, prosper and do your will on earth, so that we’re more and more like the angels of heaven in the way we conduct ourselves.

You don’t just pray “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,” but you’re praying for the mission of God in the world and for the missionaries that you know of. So you’re using this as an outline—to know who God is, to praise his name, to seek the coming of his kingdom. Remember, we’re to “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness” (Matthew 6:33) before we seek other things.

So after you’ve sought God, his righteousness, and his will in the world, then you can get around to the things that we often fill our prayers with: “Give us this day our daily bread.” Remember that prayer from Proverbs: “Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread” (Proverbs 30:8). You’re saying, “Lord, keep me from being too poor, and keep me from being so rich that I become proud and don’t need you. But give me what I need for today. Supply all my needs—whether that’s food and finances, but also, Lord, supply me with the energy, with the emotional strength, with all that I need for the day to serve you and to honor you.”

“Lord, I bring my relationships before you—my relationship to you. I’ve sinned against you.” And don’t just say, “Forgive us our debts.” If you know ways you’ve sinned, then say, “Lord, these are the ways I’ve sinned against you.” Let that be part of your prayer. And then think about frayed relationships or situations where you’re at odds with somebody else and they’ve maybe hurt you. You say, “Lord, forgive me as I forgive my debtors.” And think of those people whom you need to forgive and bring them before the Lord in prayer. Bring all those relationships before him.

Then think about spiritual warfare, because prayer is at the heart of spiritual warfare. When the Bible speaks of the armor of God, it says, “Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests… be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people” (Ephesians 6:18). That’s in the context of putting on the armor of God. “Put on the gospel armor, each piece put on with prayer,” says the Bible (Ephesians 6:11–18, paraphrased). And that’s the final petition of the Lord’s Prayer: “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”

So you pray, “Lord, show me what the devil’s schemes are. Help me to fight against the temptations that might come my way, and just keep them away from me. Deliver me from the evil one.”

You see what I’m doing here? I’m not just reciting the prayer. And for the sake of this talk, I can’t go on and on about it, but you get the idea. It’s an outline for how to pray in a way that’s not just focusing on me, myself, and I.

You know, the notorious prayer of the guy who said, “Lord, bless me and my wife, our son John and his wife, us four and no more.” Well, that’s not exactly the way to pray. The Lord’s Prayer teaches us to lift our eyes to heaven—to the kingdom of heaven, to the hallowing of God’s name, to the doing of God’s will, to the forgiving of sins (both our own and the way we forgive others), to fighting against the devil, and to the provision of our daily needs and daily bread. What a wonderful guide for prayer that is. Our Lord Jesus taught that as the first step to people who said, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1).

So if you want to develop in your prayer life, learn this prayer. Learn it by heart. And then go beyond that and say, “Lord, this is the prayer you taught me, but it’s also the outline for praying that you taught me.” You can say this prayer in just a few moments. But if you really start to get into it as an outline and the various aspects of it, you could be praying quite a while as you praise God, seek his help, and explore these areas Jesus taught us to pray about.

Another pattern for prayer that some people find very helpful is the ACTS approach—Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. You just go into a prayer time with this pattern. You don’t have all the words written out, but it’s a pattern. It’s not just totally spontaneous and from the heart—although it should be heartfelt prayer.

You say, “I’m going to spend part of my prayer praising God—adoring him, rejoicing in him, admiring him, just being overcome by his awe and his splendor, and telling him how magnificent he is.” And so you set aside a time of prayer to do that.

Then you say, “Okay, now I’m going to spend some time confessing—admitting where I’ve been wrong, where I’ve sinned against him.” And you spend some time doing that.

Then you say, “Now it’s time for thanksgiving.” The Bible says, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits” (Psalm 103:2). He’s given you many, many benefits. The thanksgiving portion of prayer is to remember those benefits—to have a grateful heart and words of thanks as you offer them to God.

And supplication is asking for things. It’s asking God to do things.

There’s a lot of overlap between these patterns. You can see, obviously, the Lord’s Prayer also involves adoration, confession of sin, asking for forgiveness, and supplication—asking God to bring his kingdom and to help us fight against the evil one (Matthew 6:9–13). So this is just a different way of organizing things, but it’s a good prayer pattern so that you don’t just get stuck in the supplication phase—asking for stuff.

When you do get into the supplication part of the prayer and ask for things, you’ve already praised God. You’ve already cleared the decks and gotten the sin off your chest and confessed it to him. You’ve thanked him for all of his goodness. And thanking him for past goodness gives you encouragement to ask for more. And God likes to be asked for more in light of all that he’s already done.

Supplication may involve a number of things. It can involve the needs of the moment—whatever comes to mind. You think about your family members. You pray for them—for God to help them walk with Jesus, to provide for the different things that they need from him.

You pray for people who are part of the body of Christ whom you know—maybe they have special needs, or you’re just aware of someone who’s sick, someone who’s struggling in their marriage, or somebody who’s not walking with the Lord. You pray for them.

You’ve got neighbors and people you come to know—you pray for them. You pray for their salvation. You pray that God will protect them, bless their lives, and enrich them.

You pray for the mission of God around the world. You supplicate God and ask that missionaries will see fruit in their work, that they’ll be strengthened, that the church will advance in other nations—not just through the missionaries, but through the Christians who live there and shine for the Lord and evangelize.

So your supplication—the S part of ACTS—is a major part of prayer. And as you do that, again, you’re going to find yourself praying for more than 30 seconds.

A major part of growth in prayer is learning to pray the Bible. The Bible is filled with prayers, and it’s filled with things that should prompt us to pray. One place to begin when you’re trying to learn to pray—besides the Lord’s Prayer and ACTS—is just to pray the Psalms.

Many of the Psalms are prayers to God. For instance:

·       Psalm 2 is a prayer to God about the nations that are raging, and you remember the fact that God laughs (Psalm 2:1–4), and then you remember the fact that the Son of God is in charge (Psalm 2:6–12), and so you pray in light of that Psalm.

·       Psalms 3 and 4 are prayed in the presence of difficulty and enemies, but also include, “I lie down and sleep in peace… You make me dwell in safety” (Psalm 3:5; 4:8).

·       Psalm 23 says, “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing… He makes me lie down in green pastures… He restores my soul…” (Psalm 23:1–3).

·       Psalm 27 says, “The Lord is my light and my salvation… One thing I ask from the Lord… that I may dwell in the house of the Lord… to gaze on the beauty of the Lord… My heart says of you, ‘Seek his face!’ Your face, Lord, I will seek” (Psalm 27:1, 4, 8).

The Psalms give expression to the desires of our hearts. They give expression to prayers:

·       “O Lord my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty” (Psalm 104:1).

·       “He wraps himself in light as with a garment” (Psalm 104:2).

·       “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness” (Psalm 100:1–2).

The Psalms are flooded with beautiful, magnificent prayers. If you don’t know how to pray and if you don’t know how to praise, just get into those Psalms.

If you don’t know how to confess, look at:

·       Psalm 32: “Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered… When I kept silent, my bones wasted away… Then I acknowledged my sin to you… and you forgave the guilt of my sin” (Psalm 32:1, 3, 5).

·       Psalm 51: “Have mercy on me, O God… blot out my transgressions… Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation” (Psalm 51:1, 11–12).

You can learn to confess using the words of the Psalms. You can learn to beg God for help when you’re facing enemies or sickness. All of that is there in the Psalms. When you’re struggling with your own thoughts and depression—it’s all there.

Learn the Psalms. Read them often. Pray them as you read them. Your life will be changed, and your prayer life will be changed. You’re praying the words that God has given us for prayer.

There are other great prayers in the Bible too. A few examples:

·       The prayer of Daniel in Daniel 9:4–19.

·       The prayers of Ezra (Ezra 9:6–15) and Nehemiah (Nehemiah 1:5–11; 9:5–37).

·       Prayers throughout the Old Testament from heroes of faith.

And in the epistles of Paul, you read things that he prayed for his readers—and you can start praying those for yourself.

Paul said:

“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints…” (Ephesians 1:17–18).

You take that prayer and make it your own: “Lord, give me the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. Open the eyes of my heart. Help me to know you and your riches.”

And then go on to Ephesians 3:

“I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power… to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:14–19).

You pray that for yourself: “Lord, dwell in my heart through faith. Help me to know this love that goes beyond all knowledge. Help me to be filled with your fullness.”

And you end the way Paul does:

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen” (Ephesians 3:20–21).

You pray prayers like that for a while—it’ll change you. And God loves prayers like that, because you’re praying for more of him, for him to fill you.

You can also echo the prayers of heaven. How do you do that? Well, read the book of Revelation. There are some tremendous songs and prayers in Revelation:

“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being” (Revelation 4:11).

When you pray that prayer, you're joining with the great living creatures of heaven—the cherubim. You're joining with the twenty-four elders, those great heavenly representatives who stand before the throne of God. You're praying with thousands upon thousands and ten thousand times ten thousand angels (Revelation 5:11) when you're praising the Creator. That’s the prayer they pray. And so when you pray it, you're doing it with them. You're praising God.

They also say:

“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” (Revelation 5:12).

And so you take that prayer on your lips. Or you say:

“Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory” (Revelation 19:6–7).

Or you say:

“You are just in these judgments, O Holy One, you who are and who were; for they have shed the blood of your saints and prophets” (Revelation 16:5–6).

You see these prayers in the Bible, and they make you strong in prayer because you're praying the prayers of heaven. You're praying the prayers of angels. You're praying the prayers of saints made perfect—these prayers that God revealed to John in the book of Revelation.

So pray the prayers of the Psalms, Paul’s prayers, and other Bible writers. And on top of all that—the prayers that are in the Bible—just pray as you read the Bible.

When you're reading Genesis 1 and you’re reading about God’s creation, praise God for doing those things. When you're reading of Jesus struggling in the Garden of Gethsemane, sweating drops of blood (Luke 22:44), or wearing the crown of thorns and hanging on the cross (John 19:2, 17–18), do you just read that—or do you pray and say, “Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, O Jesus. Forgive all my sins. Wash them away by your precious blood. Thank you for loving me so much”?

When you read the miracles of Jesus, you say, “O Lord, release your power in our time. Make us mighty in you, that your wonders may be seen among your people.”

So you see what I mean? It’s not saying, “Oh, I’ve got to pray—what am I going to say for the next three minutes?” No—when you have the Bible as your pattern for prayer, and when you’re reading the Bible and listening to God’s voice, something in you wants to talk along with him—to speak with him in conversation. You’re praying in response to your Bible reading, to the meditation you’re doing, and to the thoughts that the Spirit is bringing to you. You’re praying God’s Word.

Praying the Bible is the title of a short book by Donald Whitney—a very brief but helpful book that many people have read and found useful in cultivating prayer. He uses Psalm 23 as one of the examples—just praying, “The Lord is my shepherd,” and praying all the way through that psalm. He gives other examples and practical insights for developing your prayer life. So if you’re just looking for a little book to help you grow in prayer as you listen to the Word of God, it’s a helpful one.

Then there’s a prayer pattern that I sometimes use—and it's certainly no great invention. It just uses a lot of the things we've already been talking about. It's praying like children. God invites us to come to him as his little children (Mark 10:14–15; Romans 8:15), and we can say to him “Daddy,” like children do.

Kids say, “Wow! Awesome!” And that's part of praising God and finding him awesome.

Kids need to say, “I'm sorry.” And so do we.

Kids sometimes are upset—they say, “Why? It’s not fair!” And of course, those kinds of prayers are in the Psalms. God hears those prayers. We may say, “Oh, we shouldn't say that to God. We should never ask why. We should never protest that something’s not fair.” Well, the Bible writers do. And we think it, even if we don’t dare to pray it. So if you come to God, you might as well be honest and say what’s really in your heart. If you've got complaints, instead of complaining to everybody else about God, just bring your complaints right to the top—bring them to God and say, “God, maybe I’m not even supposed to feel this way—but I do. So there it is. Why? Why’d you let this happen? How long is this going to go on? Why don’t you do something about it? It’s not fair!”

When you pray like children, you’ll actually start being a more genuine person in your prayer life. You’ll be more real before God, and he’ll become more real to you.

Of course, little kids also need to learn to say “please” and ask for things—to seek help from their parents. And to say “thank you” when answers are given that bless us. To say, “I love you, Lord. I love you, Father.” And sometimes, just to be quiet. Sometimes, a little child just likes to be silent in the arms of a parent and enjoy being together. And sometimes that’s all you need to do in prayer—just be there with God and be glad that he’s God, that you’re you, that he loves you, and that he treasures you.

This prayer pattern involves eight different elements. So when you’re looking to have a prayer time, instead of just saying, “Well, whatever came to mind, whatever bubbled up in my heart,” you might say:

·       What are the “Daddy” things—the expressions of thanks that he’s my Father?

·       How do I praise him and say, “Wow”?

·       What do I need to say, “I’m sorry” about?

·       What do I feel like complaining about?

Prayer isn’t always meant to be the complaint department. But if you’ve got complaints and troubles that cause turmoil in you, bring them to God and leave them with him.

Then say:

·       “Please”

·       “Thank you”

·       “I love you”

And sometimes be quiet. “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). Be peaceful in his presence.

As one of the psalmists says:

“I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have calmed and quieted myself. I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content” (Psalm 131:1–2).

You’re just quiet, and you’re glad to be with him.

Well, those are guides for prayer:

·       The Lord’s Prayer—the one Jesus taught us (Matthew 6:9–13; Luke 11:2–4)—you know, that can’t be beat.

·       ACTS—Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication.

·       Praying various passages of the Bible—the prayers that are there: the prayers of Paul, the prayers of heaven, the prayers of the Psalms. Or just praying in dialogue with the Bible as you read about God the great Creator, God the Ruler, God the Savior—the things Jesus did—and just praying the whole time you’re reading those things.

·       And pray like children.

Use one or another of these patterns. Sometimes change things up. After a while, one pattern may help you for a time to develop your prayer life. Then you may say, “Okay, I’m going to let go of that one for a while. Here’s going to be my structured approach to prayer for a while.”

None of these, of course, are meant to be substitutes for praying from your heart or praying on the spot. But they’re to help make our prayer times more extensive and richer and fuller. And to help us express to God the things Jesus wants us to be praying about.

What are healthy prayer patterns?

·       Pray alone and pray with others.

·       Pray on the spot and pray on a schedule.

·       Pray from your heart.

·       Pray with a guide.

And as you do that, be thankful that—even if you don’t always get it exactly right, and you won’t—you have a loving Father who knows what you need before you ask him (Matthew 6:8). You have his Spirit, who is interceding for you with groans that words cannot express:

“He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him” (Romans 8:27–28).

Those are the great encouragements that we have in prayer when we get started and we’re working on our spiritual fitness. When we want a better prayer life. When we want to get over being too bored or having prayers that run out after 45 seconds or 90 seconds.

Hey, we may not know exactly how to pray. But we’ve got a God who loves us, who invites us to pray. And we can come to him, and we can truly grow in our prayer life as we spend time with him.

 

Healthy Prayer Patterns
By David Feddes
Slide Contents

Is your prayer life dry and dull?

Jesus our model

He would withdraw to desolate places and pray. (Luke 5:16)

He went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. (Luke 6:12)

During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears. (Hebrews 5:7)

Matthew 6:5-15

⁵ And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. ⁶ But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

⁷ And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. ⁸ Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 
⁹ This, then, is how you should pray:

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
¹⁰ your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ Give us today our daily bread.
¹² Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³ And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.

 ¹⁴ For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Prayer questions

Should I pray alone, or pray with others?

Should I pray on the spot, or pray on a schedule?

Should I pray from my heart, or pray with a guide?

Healthy 
prayer patterns

Pray alone.
Pray with others.

Pray on the spot.
Pray on a schedule.

Pray from your heart.
Pray with a guide.

Pray alone

He went up on the mountain by himself to pray. (Matthew 14:23)

When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. (Matt 6:6)

Pray with others

My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations. (Isaiah 56:7)

Jesus went into the synagogue, as was his custom. (Luke 4:16)

They raised their voices together in prayer to God. (Acts 4:24)

Pray on the spot

Give me success today. (Genesis 24:12)

Moses prayed for the people. (Num 21:7)

Samson prayed, “O God, please strengthen me just once more.” (Judges 16:28)

Hannah wept much and prayed. (1 Sam 1:10)

The king said, “What is it you want?” Then I prayed to the God of heaven. (Neh 2:4)

Pray on schedule

It is good to praise the LORD… to proclaim your love in the morning and your faithful-ness at night. (Psalm 92 )

Three times a day Daniel got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. (Daniel 6:10)

Pray from your heart

I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord. (1 Samuel 1:15)

Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. (Psalm 62:8)

My heart is glad and my tongue rejoices. (Psalm 16:9)

Healthy 
prayer patterns

Pray alone.
Pray with others.

Pray on the spot.
Pray on a schedule.

Pray from your heart.
Pray with a guide.

Guides for prayer

• The Lord’s Prayer
• A. C. T. S.
• Pray the Bible
• Pray like children

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

A. C. T. S.

• Adoration
• Confession
• Thanksgiving
• Supplication

Supplication

• Needs of the moment
• Family members
• Church members
• Neighbors
• Missionaries

Pray the Bible

• Pray the Psalms
• Pray Paul’s prayers
• Echo prayers in heaven
• Pray in response to Bible reading and meditation

Pray like children

• Daddy
• Wow! Awesome!
• I’m sorry
• Why? It’s not fair!
• Please
• Thank you
• I love you
• Silence

Guides for prayer

• The Lord’s Prayer
• A. C. T. S.
• Pray the Bible
• Pray like children

Healthy
 prayer patterns

Pray alone.
Pray with others.

Pray on the spot.
Pray on a schedule.

Pray from your heart.
Pray with a guide.