Prayer
Paul gives some excellent advice in his letter to the Church in Philippi. His words should drive and inspire any Christian, even more so in the anxious days of isolation as our planet deals with the Covid-19 virus.
Philippians 4:4-9 NLT
Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! 5 Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. 6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.
I encourage our church family to use this time to be with family, to pray and do some Bible study together and on your own. We are adding some more Bible study resources on the website every week to give you topics to explore.
Some prayer resources
Have you ever struggled to figure out what to say during prayer? Here are couple models that many have found useful to direct their thoughts.
Follow the Lord’s Prayer – Jesus gave us a model to follow. Maybe doing what He said works… Consider using each line of the famous “Lord’s Prayer” as a set of directions in how we should pray.
| Matthew 6:9-13 NKJV 9 In this manner, therefore, pray: |
He did not tell us to repeat these words, but to follow it “in this manner”… |
| Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. | Focus on the Holiness of God and His precious name and what it means to you. Jesus as the name for the everlasting God (see Isaiah 9:6 for instance) also means “God has become our salvation”. We can focus on the attribute of God, especially on His great holiness and the privilege and joy to know Him. |
| 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. | Focus on God’s will, and on the things pertaining to His kingdom and what we can do on Earth and what He is doing on Earth to make that kingdom happen here through us and in us. |
| 11 Give us this day our daily bread. | Focus on Daily Provision. Pray about daily needs in and around your life. Make sure you are actually reading His Word every day as well. |
| 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. | Focus on His Grace, and on forgiveness and attitudes of forgiveness and grace towards others. |
| 13 And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. | Focus on Spiritual Warfare and on sin and temptation. |
| For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. | End with giving glory and praise to God. |
Another popular model is
to Pray the Word Acts
Another model is the One Hour Prayer Wheel – this is a bit old-school but it works great, and makes it easier for many who would consider an hour of prayer to be almost unmanageable. Not only is it manageable, but this kind of time with God is quite rewarding for many that put the time in.
