Prayer

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Patterns: Prayer Guide & Resources

This week, we’re exploring how to make prayer a regular pattern in our lives. We’re do this by practicing an ancient form of prayer known as Lectio Devina. Don’t be intimidated – it’s simply  and slowly praying and meditating on a small section of Scripture in order to listen to the voice of the Spirit in stillness. It doesn’t require skill, but it does require our focus and stillness as we meet with God, who is already present and at work in our lives. Each day, we’ll read through the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6, focusing on one phrase in prayer per day. The focus is simple: slow down, pay attention, read, and listen.

TIME – When I will pray daily: ___________________________________________________

PLACE – Where I will pray daily: _________________________________________________

Monday: Our Father In Heaven, Hallowed Be Your Name.

1. Slow down. Be still. Spend 2-3 minutes in silence in turning your attention to God.

2. Read slowly through the Lord’s Prayer in it’s entirety (Matthew 6:9-13).

3. Focus your attention on the first phrase: Our Father In Heaven, Hallowed Be Your Name. Spend 2-3 minutes reflecting on God as Father – as your Father. What do you feel? What joys, longings, hurts, or hopes are stirring within you? As they come, offer them back to God in simple prayer.

4. Before you close, take 2-3 minutes to listen. Ask the Father in heaven to reveal His heart and hope for you – right where you are.

Prayer: Father in heaven, you are holy, set apart in power and majesty. And yet you delight in me, your child – right where I am. Help me to see and feel your open arms today, and let childlike trust be the posture of my faith in you. Amen.

Tuesday: Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

1. Slow down. Be still. Spend 2-3 minutes in silence in turning your attention to God.

2. Read slowly through the Lord’s Prayer in it’s entirety (Matthew 6:9-13).

3. Focus your attention on the second phrase: Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Spend 2-3 minutes reflecting on God as King – the One who is bringing the realities of heaven to bear on earth. As you reflect on your life and the world around you, where do you see the need for healing and wholeness? Ask God’s kingdom to come to bear in this need, and imagine what healing and wholeness would look like when it comes. 

4. Before you close, take 2-3 minutes to listen. What longings are being stirred by the Spirit within you? What do you sense the Father is speaking to you in this stillness?

Prayer: God Our King, your kingdom came to bear through your Son Jesus, but we still live in the tension between the “already” and the “not yet.” As we see places of brokenness in and around us, empower us to be the hands and feet of your kingdom reign today. Amen.

Wednesday: Give Us Today Our Daily Bread.

1. Slow down. Be still. Spend 2-3 minutes in silence in turning your attention to God.

2. Read slowly through the Lord’s Prayer in it’s entirety (Matthew 6:9-13).

3. Focus your attention on the third phrase: Give us today our daily bread. Spend 2-3 minutes reflecting on God as Provider – the Maker and Sustainer of all things who overflows with generosity towards us. How have you seen God provide for you in the past? What provision do you need from him in the present? In a posture of trust, share your needs with him.

4. Before you close, take 2-3 minutes to listen. What longings are being stirred by the Spirit within you? What do you sense the Father is speaking to you in this stillness?

Prayer: God Our Provider, there is nothing we have that has not come from you. Give us hearts of contentment, and as we reflect on your generosity, may we reject the scarcity that drives this world and live from a heart of abundance. Amen.

Thursday: Forgive Us Our Debts As We Forgive Our Debtors.

1. Slow down. Be still. Spend 2-3 minutes in silence in turning your attention to God.

2. Read slowly through the Lord’s Prayer in it’s entirety (Matthew 6:9-13).

3. Focus your attention on the fourth phrase: Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Spend 2-3 minutes reflecting on God as Forgiver – the One who made a way for forgiveness and reconciliation through His Son. As you reflect on how he has forgiven you, where do you still harbor un-forgiveness? Bring these struggles to Your Father and ask Him to meet you here.

4. Before you close, take 2-3 minutes to listen. What longings are being stirred by the Spirit within you? What do you sense the Father is speaking to you in this stillness?

Prayer: God Our Forgiver, thank you for the gift of Your Son, the reconciler of all things. In the forgiveness you’ve offered us in Christ, empower us to forgive and love our neighbors and enemies. Amen.

Friday: Lead Us Not Into Temptation, But Deliver Us From Evil.

1. Slow down. Be still. Spend 2-3 minutes in silence in turning your attention to God.

2. Read slowly through the Lord’s Prayer in it’s entirety (Matthew 6:9-13).

3. Focus your attention on the fifth phrase: Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Spend 2-3 minutes reflecting on God as Deliverer – the One who disarmed the powers, principalities, and forces of darkness that come against us. As you reflect on this hope, where do you need deliverance? Where have the lies and accusations of the enemy caused damage to your soul? What temptations lead you away from God’s wholeness? Bring these needs to the Deliverer and ask for His power to overcome.

4. Before you close, take 2-3 minutes to listen. What longings are being stirred by the Spirit within you? What do you sense the Father is speaking to you in this stillness?

Prayer: God Our Deliverer, we are bombarded by lies both within and without, and we need the loving voice of your Truth to save us. By your power, silence the enemy and every scheme against us today. Amen.

Recommended Resources:

Books:

How To Pray: A Simple Guide For Normal People – Pete Greig

Dirty Glory – Pete Greig

Prayer – Richard Foster

With Christ In The School Of Prayer – Andrew Murray

A Praying Life – Paul E. Miller

Common Prayer: A Liturgy For Ordinary Radicals – Shane Claiborne, J. Wilson-Hargrove

Websites:

www.prayercourse.org/toolshed

Apps:

Common Prayer App

Inner Room App