Do you pray? Most people do. Prayer is an natural part of life and it allows us to encounter God on daily basis in a variety of locations. People pray for different reasons. Maybe you are worried. Maybe you have loved ones who are sick. Perhaps you are looking for peace. There are a million reasons to pray.
However, for most of us, we are not certain HOW to pray.
In Luke 11, Jesus’ disciples asked him how to pray and what is interesting is that Jesus did not simply say, ‘Just talk to God.” He didn’t condemn their question but instead acknowledges that prayer is something that can be taught and learnt.
Jesus starts by telling his disciples to find a quiet space and to remove all distractions.
There are four basic steps to pray that can be found in the early church, in ancient texts, practiced by the wild Celtic missionaries as well as the Jesuits. They have different names in different countries but author Pete Greig describes them as: Pause. Rejoice. Ask. Yield.
Pause
Psalm 46:10 says ‘be still and know that I am God.’ Do you ever feel like God is distant? Like he is far away? The Bible makes the unbelievable claim. It tells us that because of Jesus, God is never far from us. And so the problem is usually not distance but distraction. We have all these voices, social media, work, pressures of life and we are filled with sorries and stress. Pausing is active. You must choose to stop. This is the first key to a rich prayer life.
Start by relaxing and breathing. Allow God to speak.
Rejoice
The word ‘rejoice’ literally means to bring back joy. It is when you look back at every good thing that you have in your life and to take a moment to show gratitude for them. This habit not only honours God but it reminds us of his presence, which deepens our trust in him, opening the door to experiencing greater peace, joy, and spiritual growth.
Take a moment to say thank you for the blessings that you have in your life. Be specific.
Ask
There is nothing that is too big for God to achieve or too small for God to care about. Just as a loving father, he invites us to share our concerns with him. We can be bold and authentic with our prayers because God already knows our hearts. He wants to bless and provide for us. That doesn’t mean that you will get everything that you pray for. However, we know that he hears us and that our prayers change things.
Ask God to move in any areas of your life where you need help.
Yield
Yielding to God is an act of surrender and submission, allowing Him to take control of our lives. We realise that we are flawed and so we choose to trust in his goodness and timing. This was what Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane when he said, ‘not my will but yours.’ When we yield we surrender our worries and fears, we let go of control and instead, we receive freedom, peace and joy, by living in alignment with God and his purposes.
Give God authority over your life and ask him to point out anything that he wants to change.
