One area that I struggle with as a Christian is prayer and communing with God. My prayers tend to be short and succinct. I hear other Christians whose prayers are incredibly long and eloquent and almost poetic. Yet I rarely say more than thanks and a request for what I would like. I have no passion in prayer.
However if I get together with friends I can talk about teaching (that’s my job) for hours on end. What I like, what I want to try, up and coming trends in language education, the qualities of a good, poor, or excellent student. Before I know it, 3 or 4 hours have passed, but it feels like only 10 minutes.
I am aware that the spirit will intercede on our behalf when we do not know what to say:
Romans 8 26-27
26In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.
However I still feel inadequate when praying so quickly and often silently with my mind a blank as well since I cannot find the words to say. Clearly when I can talk to my friends or colleagues about teaching or computers for hours at end without pause and fail to notice the passage of time I am able to communicate on areas of passion. Why is it that I cannot commune with Jesus in the same way?
I think that it may be that I am not getting immediate feedback in the way that you do when engaging in conversation with people around you. I miss the interplay, the body language, the word play and teasing that goes on in interpersonal communication. The thing is that I do not know how to get that through prayer or if it really isn’t possible how I would go about finding a replacement for that interaction.
While reading Bible Forums this morning I came across the ACTS formula for prayer. I had seen this before but forgotten it.
A - adoration (praise God for being GOD!)
C - confession (maybe not something to in front of the family before a meal though)
T - thanksgiving (thank God for what He has provided)
S - supplication (say your needs). Ask God for help, healing, comfort, etc. whatever the need is - a need for you or another.
Starting from today I’m going to try to follow this prayer formula. I hope that I will be better able to articulate my prayers and have a deeper communion with God.
thoughts or suggestions anyone?
Posted by The Hollow Man on Saturday Jun 16, 2007 at 10:00 AM in Prayer |
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