LET’S PRAY

THIS BOOKLET SERVES AS A SIMPLE GUIDE FOR US AS A LOCAL CHURCH TO GROW IN OUR DESIRE TO ENGAGE WITH GOD BY SETTING ASIDE TIMES OF PRAYER AND

FASTING IN OUR DAY-TO-DAY LIVES.

OUR INTENTION IS NOT TO PROVIDE A COMPREHENSIVE RESOURCE DEALING WITH PRAYER AND FASTING, BUT RATHER TO PROVIDE SOME VERY PRACTICAL TIPS TO ALLOW EACH OF US TO GROW

IN OUR PERSONAL PRAYER LIVES, NO MATTER HOW MATURE OR YOUNG YOU ARE IN THE LORD.

“Ask and it will be given you; seek andyou will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

– Matthew 7:7 (NIV)

LET’S PRAY

“Now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship

with God – all because of what our

Lord Jesus Christ has done for us in making

us friends of God.” – Romans 5:11 (NLT)

PRACTISING THE PRESENCE OF GOD

Brother Lawrence, a humble cook in a French monastery wrote a classic book in the seventeenth century called ‘Practicing The Presence of God’, it looks at how to develop a friendship with God through constant conversation. In the book Brother Lawrence describes how he was able to turn even the most commonplace and menial tasks, like preparing meals and washing dishes, into acts of communion with God. The key to establishing a friendship with God, he said, is not changing what you do, but changing your attitude towards what you do. Where you would normally do things for yourself, for a boss, for your family, or for your clients … you begin doing them for God. This is the key to begin to practise His presence throughout the day. Today we often feel that we need to “get away” from our daily routine in order to really engage with God, but as we learn to practice the presence of God, we end up inviting God into our day-to-day lives rather than waiting for the “right moment” to engage with God.

Our times of prayer and fasting will include times set aside to specifically pray during the course of a day, but we should also look to be developing ongoing conversational prayers with God as we acknowledge His presence with us throughout the day.

This is a wonderful journey which is not just a prayer initiative, but rather something to help each of us to grow in a lifestyle of prayer. So, as we head into this time, let’s not only pray for the sake of praying, instead, let’s be developing a friendship with God.

LET’S PRAY

Tip 1: Invite The Lord

Remembering that one of the most important benefits of prayer is that it helps us establish a friendship with God, it’s good to start off by acknowledging God in our times of prayer. A great way to do this is by simply starting with something like, “Thank you Father God that you love me and that you desire to speak with me. I acknowledge that you are present here with me right now Lord Jesus. Holy Spirit I invite you to come and reveal your thoughts to me.”

Tip 2: Pray Simply

We might think we have to pray passionate, persuasive words for God to hear us, but Jesus tells us to approach God as children. Rather than trying to use long, perfectly constructed, complex prayer sentences, use short, everyday, conversational prayers … Father God loves it! Even the great Martin Luther said, “The fewer the words, the better the prayer.” Isn’t that reassuring!!

RACTICAL PRAYER TIPSSTEP 1 P

RACTICAL PRAYER TIPSSTEP 1 P

EAD THE WORDSTEP 2 R

SK & EXPECTSTEP 3 A

OUR ROLESTEP 4 Y

4 EASY STEPS TO HELP YOU P R A Y

LET’S PRAY

Tip 3: Pray Out Loud

Often when we start praying out loud it feels so awkward! It’s far more comfortable to pray inward, silent prayers, however, praying out loud helps us connect relationally to God. Not only does He hear our prayers, we hear them as well. Expressing our thoughts out loud, our love, our emotions, our requests makes the conversation more “real” and helps us not to get distracted mid-thought.

Just like having a gym partner will help you gym, having a prayer partner will help you pray. Growing your prayer life takes time and sometimes the thought of praying for 10 minutes straight can be very intimidating … enter your prayer partners!! Prayer partners work well in conversational prayer, as you are praying they are listening to your payer, when you stop they can then pray while you listen. It is wonderful how this tagteam approach builds your prayer muscle and encourages both you and your prayer partners.

“Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they

ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in

heaven. For where two or three gather in my name,

there am I with them.”– Matthew 18:19-20 (NIV)

Some helpful hints when praying with prayer partners:

• Take turns praying out loud.• Pray one request/ thought at a time, allowing your partner to add to your prayer.• Keep prayers brief, it gives everyone a turn and keeps people engaged.• As your partner prays, be aware of thoughts that the Holy Spirit is revealing

to you to add to their pray (a single thought can spark a whole new prayer direction).

Tip 4: Pray With Partners

LET’S PRAY

Sustaining a prayer session can become difficult when you are relying only on a spoken language like English, Afrikaans or Zulu. Sometimes you will just run out of things to pray. You may have exhausted your prayer list, or it may be that emotionally you are absolutely spent, finished! The Bible promises that in these times the Holy Spirit will intercede on your behalf and you will often find a renewed life in your time of prayer as you switch over to praying in the Spirit. It’s amazing how switching between your chosen language and praying in the Spirit throughout your prayer time keeps your prayer time alive.

“… at times we don’t even know how to pray, or know the best things to ask for. But the Holy

Spirit rises up within us to superintercede on our

behalf, pleading to God with emotional sighs too

deep for words.”– Romans 8:26 (Passion)

Tip 6: Find A Good Spot

The environment we pray in has an impact on our prayers. Find a place that is not going to have distractions or where you are not going to be concerned about people around you. Jesus often withdrew from the crowds to a quite place to pray. You may like praying in nature, or where you have a view. You may enjoy praying early in the morning in your office, before people get in to work. Find out what works best for you.

Tip 7: Practice. Practice. Practice

Prayer is not only engaging in a conversation with God, it is also an act of worship. Whether we pray or not shouldn’t be dependent on whether we feel like praying, or even if we feel like God is near or far from us. There will be times that you don’t feel like praying, or times when God may seem very distant … God actually admits that He sometimes hides from us. Don’t let your feelings dictate your prayer life. Keep “practicing” and keep worshipping God through your prayer! The more you pray, the more you will find yourself desiring to pray.

Tip 5: Pray In The Spirit

LET’S PRAY

Praying Scripture, or reading Scripture during times of prayer is an important part of growing our prayer muscle. The Word of God is active and alive and as we read and pray the Word, the promises of God in the verses become our prayers and inspire our thoughts. God loves us to remind Him of His promises towards us, we see this again and again in the Bible. As we pray Scripture our minds are renewed and we align our thoughts to God’s will.

There is also a direct connection between the extent to which our minds are shaped by Scripture and the degree to which our prayers are answered.

“If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will, and it shall

be done for you”– John 15:7 (ESV)

EAD THE WORDSTEP 2 R

LET’S PRAY

SO HOW SHOULD WE ASK?

“You have not because you don’t ASK!” These are some of the most profound words in the Bible. While God is absolutely sovereign, having all things firmly in His control, for some reason, He has chosen to use us as His agents here on earth to accomplish His will. He has called us to make His enemies His footstool and to see His Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. Much of the effectiveness of our prayers have to do with us having an understanding of our identity as adopted children of Father God and fellow heirs with Jesus. When we understand the place from which we are asking, as beloved children of God, the tone of our prayers change and we are able to entire our times of prayer with a confidence.

“And all the time you don’t obtain what you

want because you won’t ask God for it! And if you ask, you won’t receive it

for you’re asking with corrupt motive, seeking only to fulfill your own

selfish desires.” – James 4:2b-3 (Passion)

ACTING IN AUTHORITY

Under His authority, God has given us jurisdiction over our world. He wants us, not sin, or demonic powers, or negative circumstances to be the governing voice in our world. Webster’s defines govern as “to direct and control; to regulate by authority; to influence; to restrain; to steer the course of; to exercise authority; to maintain the superiority.”

SK & EXPECTSTEP 3 A

LET’S PRAY

“Then Jesus came close to them and said, “All the authority of the universe has been given to me.

Now go in my authority and make disciples of all nations ...”

– Matthew 28:18-19 (Passion)

As ambassadors of the King of kings, we have been chosen to be a voice of influence in this world, declaring His righteousness, peace and joy in every area of our lives. We are on an official assignmentand the prayers that we pray should reflect this.

SEEKING & SPEAKING GOD’S WILL

Life can often seem complicated and confusing. How many times haven’t you prayed, “Lord, if it’s your will …” not really knowing if your request is legitimate. How do we really discern the will of God? How do we know what we should be praying? The great news is that God has already revealed much of His will is the Word. God is very clear about many aspects of His will, and the Bible is a great reference point for our prayers. We can also be certain that God reveals Himself, and His will, to those who earnestly seek Him.

KNOWING THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD

Knowing and declaring the attributes of God is another great reference to include in our prayers. When we declare that God is good, that He is faithful, that He is holy, that His love is unconditional, that He is trustworthy and merciful it influences our prayers and stirs our hearts to encounter Him more.

LET’S PRAY

EACH OF US HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY WHEN WE PRAY, HERE ARE A FEW

THINGS TO CONSIDER:KEEP YOUR HEART SOFT AND SURRENDERED

The Lord is most concerned with the attitude of our hearts. Sin in our lives, unforgiveness, strife in a marriage, pride … all of these things can hinder our prayers. It’s up to each of us to continue to come humbly before the Lord, asking the Holy Spirit to highlight any issues in our heart that we need to be dealing with before we pray.

KEEP A PRAYER JOURNAL

Keeping a prayer journal is a great way to take note of specific things that the Lord is revealing to you during your times of prayer, it’s also a great way to track that prayers which the Lord is answering, which in turn, builds faith!

KEEP IT GOING

Think of ways to keep your prayer times fresh. You may want to incorporate worship songs into these times, or the breaking bread and taking of communion … it may necessitate a change of scenery every once in a while, perhaps a trip to a hilltop or walk around your neighbourhood. Whatever it is, we serve a creative God, so let’s keep our expression of prayer creative as well.

KEEP SHARING

We can be assured that when we continue in a lifestyle of prayer we will see the Lord answering our requests. When this happens be sure to share the testimonies of God’s goodness and how He has answered your prayers with others! “The Bible says that it is the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony that will defeat the enemy.”

OUR ROLESTEP 4 Y

LET’S PRAY

“I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if

you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. But when you

are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that

your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.”

– Mark 11:24-25 (NLT)