Teaching on importance of and methods of personal prayer
At some point in the early life of the new Christian the church should bring teaching on prayer. It is important that the new convert is not left floundering without the help of direct access to God, or rather not knowing that they have that access.
This teaching should be done in such a way that prayer is not made mystical or the suggestion given that prayer is going to he hard. If and where possible let prayer be natural, but if they are finding prayer hard, then do not let it be long before someone is there to help them find a way to practice frequently stepping into the presence of God.
Then frequently in the normal life of the church teaching should be brought on pray. New people may have joined the church and may not have been given teaching on prayer as part of a discipleship course. Others may have let prayer slip and need help to re-establish the habit of prayer.
Prayer helps
When prayer is natural and easy – great. If you are finding it hard then use some helps.
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Pray with an open Bible.
Read a passage, not with the aim of getting to the end of a set amount, but stop reading and starting to pray at some point as the reading inspires you and not worrying if you ever get back into the reading again that day.
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Pray with an open note pad.
If your brain is anything like mine, it forgets and loses things all over the place. Use a pad to record:
- Prayers asked
- Answers received
- Promises found in the Bible
- Thoughts
- Prophetic words
- Things God has asked you to do
- etc.
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Have a set time or times for prayer.
This is not necessary, but most people find it helpful. First thing in the morning and last thing at night are good times, but as a busy mum, just after the children leave for school might be a good time. (If you are letting your children go to school they need your prayers, but Home Schooling is another subject).
- Develop a prayer list.
Developing a prayer list is not normally a problem once you start, the problem normally is keeping it a manageable size. Do you ever find that you just never get to the bottom of your prayer list before your time is all gone? If your list is just too big, cut it down, or rotate it.
When I say cut it down, I do not mean cut people out or off your list, (though you might need to do this, you are not responsible to pray for the whole world). Cut it into more than one list. You could have seven lists, one for each day, or two list one for mornings and one for evenings.
By rotate it I mean do not think of a top of the list and a bottom, just have a next item and then another, when you have to stop praying, just remember where you are and start again at that point.
Some ideas to help you build a prayer list.
- Pray for yourself
- Pray for the members of your household
- Pray for your wider family members
- Pray for your prayer partner(s)
- Pray for the members of your life group
- Pray for the people you serve with and for your church
- Pray for people you work with or go to school with
- Pray for your neighbourhood, city, county, area
- Pray for your country and for world needs
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Use prayer partners.
Not only does having prayer partners help to keep you accountable, but they are also powerful weapons in a spiritual war. Jesus said “if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 18:19).
People often find that two others and themselves make a good number. This is often called a prayer triplet. You and one other can also work well and might be called prayer partners.
You could share prayer lists or parts of prayer lists, share news on answered prayer etc.
Sometimes you could pray together and other times pray at the same time, but apart. This is not necessary nor always possible but can be helpful to some.
But you can always hold each other accountable. Text or phone to see if the other partners have prayed or if they need some encouragement.
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Arrange to receive a FEW prayer letters or missionary newsletters
Like a fire needs fuel, prayer to burn hot needs to be fed with fuel. Having up-to-date news about just what is happening in the life of a missionary or organisation can help you to be relevant and fervent in your prayer.
Provision of practical helps
As a church, we should do all we can to help our members grow and be effective in prayer.
Now many people will just pray – and praise God for them. But others will struggle, but can grow and be effective in prayer with some help. So what can we do to help? Well we can help people to do all of the above.
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Help them to pray with an open Bible.
The church could have a programme of daily reading material available for people of deferring levels of growth or reading ability, or a list of passages that are fairly easy to move into prayer from for example Psalm 25 would probably be easier for a new Christian than Judges 3:16-26.
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Pray with an open note pad.
Any note pad will do, but a larger church with a book stall might like to have special prayer journal pads available, or pads that have sections for prayers asked and answers received etc.
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Have a set time or times for prayer.
A prayer bell, well maybe not, but it works for monks in monasteries…
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Prayer list.
The church could provide forms or pads that might help with this, but it really is a personal list to draw up.
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Prayer partners.
Prayer partners are normally a very personal thing. People often share very personal feeling and needs with prayer partners, but it may be possible to help people pair up into groups. Some guidelines on what is expected of prayer partners might be a good thing. Some teaching or notes on the importance of confidentiality etc. might be helpful.
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Prayer letters and prayer news.
This is where the church can really be of help. Weekly or monthly news sheets and copies of letters from supported missions can easily be made available. This is a great job for the shy or infirm. No door knocking or public speaking involved, but a great service for the kingdom.
