Resources on the Practice of Prayer
Overview
By Matt Garcia
There was once a group of friends who were inseparable. They did everything together. They roadtripped together, ate lunch together, and even lived together for a few years. But there was a leader of this group of friends who was quite interesting. For instance, the rest of the group were always looking for him. He would randomly slip away from the rest to be found later in a solitary place. There’s even a story of his parents misplacing him when he was a kid. This guy just wanted to be alone at strategic hours of the day. But why? Where was he all the time? One day, they found out what he was doing. He was praying. They realized later how important this practice was in his life. He ended up dying a gruesome death by execution on a cross by the Roman empire for claiming to be King of the Jews. Yes, that’s right. This man was Jesus of Nazareth. The promised Messiah who rose again on the third day and who calls us to enter into real relationship with Him.
Isn’t that so ironic? The most perfect human in all of history still needed to pray. He performed miracles, spoke to the crowds, and did many wonderful things but he still needed to be alone to pray. If Jesus did it, don’t you think we need to?
The disciples then asked him how to pray. They already knew how to pray though. They grew up understanding the Torah and how to pray, but the way Jesus spoke with God was different. So the disciples asked Jesus how they should pray. And he gave them an answer. We read it in Matthew 6:9-13:
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.”
Here we have an amazing example of how to pray and we can draw principles from this into our own prayer lives.
1. Recognition
First, Jesus gives recognition to who God is. “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.” Yahweh is a loving Father who’s name is revered and holy. Yahweh is set-apart from all other gods because of His power and might. When we come to the Lord in prayer, before we give petitions and repentance, we first need to acknowledge who God is. Recognizing His character and nature first will help us frame the rest of the prayer time. Who is God? Why is that important?
2. Perspective.
Then, we need to shift our angle in prayer to see God’s will first above our own. “…your kingdom come, your will be done...” His ways are better than our ways. We may come with preconceived notions of how God should act on our behalf. However, our goal is to make our will form into His will. Here is a great illustration by E. Stanley Jones, “If I throw out a boathook from the boat and catch hold of the shore and pull, do I pull the shore to me, or do I pull myself to the shore? Prayer is not pulling God to my will, but the aligning of my will to the will of God.”
3. Selflessness.
“…on earth as it is in heaven…” We need to realize that God is also using us as instrument to proclaim the message that the kingdom of heaven is close (Matt. 10:7). This takes humility to know that we aren’t just bystanders and spectators to God’s Kingdom. Stop waiting for the move of God and realize that you are the move of God. How can God use you to bring heaven to earth today?
4. Petition.
When we ask God to “give us today our daily bread,” we step into day-in-and-day-out prayer. We don’t ask Him for tomorrow’s food or next month’s rent. Each day we come before His throne asking to intervene just for today, understanding that we will come again tomorrow to ask about tomorrow. This takes a trust-filled, long-term relationship to bring our petitions for the day.
5. Repentance.
“And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors.” God is a relational God, not some cosmic deity who spun the universe and leaves it unattended. He desires fellowship with us. His forgiveness leads us into right relationship with Him again. This act also enables us to restore relationships with others as well. When we ask for forgiveness, the assumption is that we have first forgiven those who have offended us. Who do you need to forgive today? What sins need confession today?
6. Salvation.
“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” God is in the business of rescuing and transforming. When we ask God to transform us into His Son each day, we unlock the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives to flee from sin and live in righteousness. Salvation isn’t just a one time event, but an ongoing process that involves sanctification.
If you’re struggling with how to pray, I hope this resource page can help you in this formational spiritual practice.
“Think often on God, by day, by night, in your business and even in your diversions. He is always near you and with you; leave him not alone.”
exercises
Breath Prayer
This is a form of contemplative prayer linked to the rhythms of breathing. For example:
1. Breathe in, calling on a biblical name or image of God
2. Breathe out a simple God-given desire
One traditionally scriptural breath prayer known as the “Jesus Prayer” goes like this: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me, a sinner.” (breathing slowly in-between each phrase or word)
Centering Prayer
This is a form of contemplative prayer where the pray-er seeks to quiet scattered thoughts and desires in the still center of Christ’s presence. This looks like resting in and gazing on Christ, waiting before the Lord in open attentiveness, taming scattered thoughts by attending to Christ through the use of a prayer word, releasing distractions into the hands of God and returning constantly to his presence within.
Contemplative Prayer
This is a receptive posture of openness toward God. It is a way of waiting with a heart awake to God’s presence and his Word. This kind of prayer intentionally trusts and rests in the presence of the Holy Spirit deep in our own spirit.
Settle into a time of quietness with God. Say to God, “Here I am. I am with you.” Be with God. Welcome him with open arms. Do not strive. There is nothing to achieve. Be with God in loving attentiveness. Leave his presence gently when you sense you must go. Some other ideas to help in contemplative prayer would be to light a candle or dim the lights. You may want to choose a sacred word to think about. Make sure you’re in a comfortable chair.
Conversational Prayer
This type of prayer engages two or more people in a shared dialogue with God. Focusing on one topic at a time each participant takes turns praying a few short sentences. Many times it looks like two Christian friends talking about concerns of the heart, when one friend suggests that they pray together conversationally. It can look like a small group of people praying through one topic at a time, allowing several people to pray about the same thing, then moving on to another topic.
Fixed-Hour Prayer
This type of praying calls for regular and consistent patterns of attending to God throughout the day. Establishing rhythms of prayer in fixed times during day ensures that the mind and heart are consistently abiding with the Creator. Many Christians will notice that only praying in the evening just isn’t enough. The usual times for fixed-hour prayer is (1) in the morning when we wake up, (2) in the afternoon before or after lunchtime, and (3) in the evening before you go to sleep. Setting time similar to these will help you grow conversationally with the Lord throughout the day.
Imaginative Prayer
This concept of prayer uses our imagination to bring out truths of God, which lead to allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to us through mental images or memories from our past. This has the potential to transform our prayer life for those who thrive on sensory appreciation.
Click HERE to learn more about this type of prayer.
Intercessory Prayer
This type of prayer invites us into God’s care and concern for us, our families, and friends, and the entire world. No concern is too trivial for God to receive with loving attention. However, intercession is not a means of manipulating heaven into doing our will. Rather it is a way we become aware of God’s prayer for a person and join in that intercession.
One idea is to create a weekly prayer list where the topics of prayer vary for each day. As you pray through each topic or person, you will learn to develop a regular rhythm of turning to God with requests and petitions and even gaining discernment in how the Spirit intercedes. This will also help you show care and concern for others God places on your heart.
Labyrinth Prayer
This concept of prayer is a contemplative spiritual discipline on a simple marked path that is based on the ancient practice of pilgrimage. On a pilgrimage, a pilgrim intentionally (1) leaves the world, journeying away from the noise and distractions of life, (2) eventually arrives and rests with Christ, and (3) returns home to live more deliberately and obediently as Christ’s own.
This looks like finding churches or retreat centers that have labyrinths and making a trip to the site. Leave behind your phone, bring a water bottle and prepare your heart to listen. Allow God’s creation to guide your conversation with the Creator. Once you arrive at the center or end point of the labyrinth, abide in the presence of Chris. Ask for the grace you are seeking for your return to life in the world. When you sense it is time to leave, slowly and with a quiet mind make your way from the center back into the world, listening and stopping as you are prompted by the Spirit.
Listening Prayer
This type of prayer allows God to set the agenda for prayer and responds to the word that is given. This looks like practicing lectio divina or listening to worship music. Practically, you can read Scripture and listen to what “lights” up and let that be the focus of prayer. Notice when a song or reading grabs at the heart. Don’t move on too quickly. Listen for what God is saying at that moment and respond. Remember, it’s all about listening, so try not to talk much or at all.
Liturgical Prayer
This idea of prayer focuses on a written or memorized prayer that serves as a framework for individual or corporate worship and devotion. Some ideas on liturgical prayer are:
- Use The Book of Common Prayer for inspiration on pre-written prayers.
- Exploring the Daily Office of the Catholic Church.
- Praying or singing Scripture as part of worship.
- Praying prayers of the church that have come down to us from the past.
- Praying the Liturgy of the Hours.
- Praying the prayers written for each season of the liturgical calendar.
- Praying prayers written by others.
Practicing the Presence
This is a type of prayer that lives out the Bible verse “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17) in which the individual accepts an invitation to see and experience every moment as a gift of God. It is to live alive to union with the Trinity. This means that we develop a rhythm of living that brings God to mind throughout the day and we intentionally recollect ourselves before God as we engage in the activities and duties of life. Check out THIS resource to learn more about Practicing the Presence of God.
Prayer of Lament
These prayers are ways to approach God with the realities of sorrow, frustration and angst that consume and distract. A great way of practicing this is reading Psalms of lament or the book of Lamentations and examining how to trust God through the pain of life. This may help you put words to the contents of your heart during difficult seasons of life. It may help you grieve through failures, pain, or even unanswered prayers. For more information on this, check out The Prayer Course II.
Pray with Partners
This communal type of prayer is when prayer partners agree to support one another and pray together for their own concerns as well as world affairs. They engage in regular and consistent times of shared intercession. This can look like:
- meeting regularly to pray for personal as well as global concerns
- confessing sin and praying for strength to face trials
- using Operation World as part of the prayer practice
- giving thanks for answers to prayer
- praying for particular events, mission endeavors, schools, churches, etc.
Praying Scripture
This concept of prayer allows God to direct the content of prayer. It opens the heart to praying particular prayers, psalms, teachings, and hopes found in the Bible and meditating on them. This looks like:
- meditating on Scripture; interacting with God around the revelation its stories bring
- listening to the Lord and lingering at the spaces for reflection that biblical stories allow
- listening for the questions Jesus puts to the disciples as if they were questions he is putting to you
- adopting a prayer of David, Daniel, Paul, Mary, Jabez, or Jesus.
- finding a music playlist that puts the words of scripture to songs and actively listening.
Prayer Walking
This idea of prayer is a way of physically walking with Jesus through places (hospitals, homes, businesses, churches, schools, playgrounds, housing projects, service agencies, counties, countries, etc.) that you are concerned about. From the vantage point of proximity, prayers for the kingdom to come are offered to God. Since you need to open your eyes while prayer walking, this helps you use your visual senses to see what God is doing all around the area you are walking.
“Prayer is more than a lighted candle. It is the contagion of health. It is the pulse of Life.”
books
“I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom … seemed insufficient for that day.”
podcasts
Common Prayer Daily
Pray the Word
The Lord's Prayer
“If I throw out a boathook from the boat and catch hold of the shore and pull, do I pull the shore to me, or do I pull myself to the shore? Prayer is not pulling God to my will, but the aligning of my will to the will of God.”
videos
Online Course on Prayer
Below are videos from 24-7 Prayer, an organization all about helping people pray together. Their online course is a great place to start learning about prayer. Click HERE to go to their website and access the full course.
Another Online Course on Prayer
Practicing the Way has also done a great job on this topic of prayer. Check out their video course at practicingtheway.org
“No man is greater than his prayer life.”
blogs
Does Prayer Work?
24/7 Prayer
How Do I Hear God When I Pray?
24/7 Prayer / Jazz Crowne
Do I Have To Pray?
24/7 Prayer / Hannah Heather
Why Hasn't God Answered My Prayer
24/7 Prayer / Pete Greig
How Do I Stop Distractions When I Pray?
24/7 Prayer / Carla Harding
5 Ways To Pray Together As A Family
24/7 Prayer / Dan Swires-Hennessy
“Men and women are at their noblest and best when they are on their knees before God in prayer . . . To pray is not only to be truly godly; it is also to be truly human.”
reflection questions
1
After reading this page about different types of prayer, what types of prayer sticks out to you? Is there any type of prayer that fits your personality or lifestyle?
2
Using one to two words, describe your prayer life. How can you improve your times of communion with the Lord?
3
On this resource page, there are many different types of expressions of prayer that fit many different denominations and ecclesiological backgrounds. What is one aspect of prayer that seems foreign to you? Are you comfortable practicing that type of soon? Why or why not?
4
How might sharing your prayer concerns with another help you bear your anxieties differently?
5
When praying in a group setting, do you feel confident about it or insecure? How do you think you can pray more boldly with others?
6
How has your prayer life changed over time?
7
What is it like for you to spend time with God when you are not speaking to him? What happens inside you when you are quiet with God?
“To pray is to descend with the mind into the heart, and there stand before the face of the Lord, ever-present, all seeing, within you.”
Matt Garcia
Matt is the creator of this website and curates resources on spiritual formation. He is a husband of Jesika and a father of 4 children. He also helps lead a house church. Follow him on Instagram to see what he's up to.