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Teach Me to Pray

Teach us to pray.

Jesus’ followers asked him in the gospels to teach them to pray. And as we begin our study on prayer our key thought is: Lord teach us to pray. When I was a little girl we memorized the Lord’s Prayer. It is a very familiar prayer. If you haven’t memorized it yet start working on it today. Place a copy beside your bathroom mirror and soon you will know it by heart.

We find the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:1-4.

Let’s read Matthew 6:9 first.

Names of God.

Think of all the names of God you can think of and write them down. I did this on the whiteboard as a class activity. Here is a start:

Father

Provider

Eternal God

I AM

The Lord is Peace

Faithful

Lord of Lords

Great God

Lord Almighty

The God of Heaven

As we speak or pray each of these names we can add why this is true. Because he has provided us with all good things we can with assurance say to God you are provider.  Think of things God has provided you with and acknowledge his provision.

Which name of God do you use the most? How do you think of God?

I think of God as a Father the most. Probably because of some childhood insecurities thinking of God as a father this has meant a lot to me. Read Matthew 7:9-11. How does looking at God in this way make you feel?

Read Matthew 6:10-11

God’s will be done.

Think of specific areas of your life that you would like God to work his will in. Maybe you will want to write them down. As you write them down and remember to think of specific areas.

Give us today our daily bread. I have probably never felt closer to God than when I was depending on him for my daily food. It is obvious that God provides for all of our needs but sometimes we think we do. So, remember today to thank him for your food and ask him to bless those who are enduring the hungry season.

Read Matthew 6:12

Forgiveness.

The keyword in this passage is AS. Forgiving those who have sinned against us is not easy. When I read forgive as I have been forgiven it is easier to focus on the person who has wronged me instead of how I have wronged someone else or how I have been forgiven. Is there someone you need to forgive? The ask God for the strength to forgive. Ask God to show you the things you have done wrong and ask forgiveness for those as well.  Because when I realize I need forgiveness it is easier to forgive.

Read Matthew 6:13

Temptation.

My constant prayer through the years has been for God to keep us from the evil one, especially my children. As you pray this part of the prayer you might want to share areas of temptation and ask for God’s protection and deliverance from those things. The evil one is prowling about seeking someone to devour.

Praying the parts.

In Jennifer Gerhart’s book Prayer, In Practice, she divides the Lord’s Prayer into five steps and calls it Praying the Parts. This is the beginning.

Praise

Purpose

Provision

Pardon

Protection

 

Resources for this lesson:

Bible

Prayer, In Practice by Jennifer Gerhardt

60 Minutes of Prayer-The Lord’s Prayer

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Prayer is a Big Topic!

Prayer is a big topic!
My necklace reminds me to pray.

 Prayer is a big topic! On January 28, 2019, Maria and I met for dinner. Maria and I have attended church together for 3 years. We had been in some Bible classes together and I knew that her heart and passion for God were real. I wanted to get to know her and more about her walk with God.

I asked Maria if she would help me teach a study on prayer. Not just a study, but an actual study and practice of prayer. We both agreed we should do a class on prayer.

Prayer is a Vast Topic

I quickly realized how overwhelming this subject might become. Have I mentioned prayer is a big topic? We brainstormed as we ate and shared our life and experiences. Keeping notes of thoughts and ideas we might want to cover. We had to narrow down our study somehow.

The Bible has a lot to say about prayer! So prayer indeed is a big topic. Looking through my books I found a lot of resources that I already had on hand. Friends shared with me their lessons and thoughts on prayer (Thank you, Nancy!). I checked out library books on prayer, did a scripture word search on prayer, studied the prayers prayed in the Bible. I listened to podcasts and audio lessons from Lipscomb’s Summer Celebration by Chris Altrock on the prayer of Samuel. These were fantastic. 

Timing

Maria and I thought we would begin this class in the very next quarter. Did this happen? No. There were many delays. We both have children. With graduations, weddings, children leaving for college, and moving we had a full year. Add to that my husband, 16-year-old daughter and I spent a month teaching in Malawi. Returning from Malawi I found out we were signed up to begin the study in November! WOW! 

Planning

Maria and I met several times, studied, prayed together, and planned for this study. In my mind, back in January of 2019, Maria and I had a vision. We envisioned each of us stretching, getting out of our comfort zone, learning and growing, praying more, and seeing answered prayers. Did our class turn out to be what we had envisioned? Not exactly! Did those things happen? Yes. So we took an idea and some plans and God made something out of it.

Some Things I Learned

As I studied and prepared for this class I quickly realized I was learning the most. I learned that Satan will work hard to prevent his people from praying. I am involved in spiritual warfare. If you don’t believe it, teach a class on prayer!

Every day is filled with distractions. It is important to slow down and learn to listen to God. One of the thrilling things for me was to relearn the value of prayer journaling, keeping my prayer list updated moment by moment as people ask me to pray or as needs are brought to my attention. This has become such a blessing as time reveals the ways God is answering my daily prayers.

We have many opportunities to pray for and with people, let’s not miss them. We all feel we have a lot to learn about prayer. No one feels they have quite figured it out. Praying get’s easier the more we do it. To pray is simple. Just pray.

Yes, studying different aspects of prayer was good for me. Studying the postures of prayer mentioned in scripture helped me to learn about my prayers and how they reflect my life. Reading the prayers in scripture taught me a lot about the people in the scriptures, their situations, determination, and confidence in God. 

Yes, prayer is a big topic but the most important thing is to spend time talking with your heavenly Father!

Make the most of your opportunities to pray. God is the answer to my needs and yours!

Now I pray in the name of Jesus Christ that you will be encouraged to spend more time with God. Prayer matters. God loves you and longs to talk with you and have you talk with him. Amen.

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Camping at Savage Gulf

A new adventure! Friday morning I left home with a group of 14 (10 teens and 4 adults) from church to travel 93 miles to Savage Gulf State Natural Area. We set up our camp at # 4 Group site. With hammocks hung and tents assembled we were ready for some fun before dinner.

Some of us decided to explore the falls while some stayed behind to play games. The hike to the falls started at the Ranger station. About 300 yards from our campsite was the Ranger station, so we had an easy time of it! It was 1.5 mile hike to the falls from the Ranger station.  One plus to having the Ranger station nearby was that it has flushable toilets!

We crossed two suspension bridges on our way to the falls which were really cool. The hike was fairly easy. It was very humid but as we neared the falls the air got cooler and cooler. There were pools that ran over huge rocks. The kids stopped and climbed down the rocks to play in the pools.

Peeking through some giant honeysuckles I could see the pool but not the falls. We stood on the top of the giant rocks and looked over into a larger pool. I walked on down the path to the bottom of the falls where the water cascaded over the rocks from above and dropped into a beautiful pool surrounded by natural rock walls.  As I was watching my son climbed around on the giant rocks surrounding the pool. It was beautiful! It was a fun place to climb around. Then I climbed back up the steps. Those steps were the hardest part of the hike for me. Getting my breath I started the 1.5 mile hike back to camp.

The next morning we decided to leave camp at 8 am to hike to the falls again with our whole group. It was actually much more humid than the evening before. Trees which must have blown over in the recent storms were uprooted and fallen along the path. A deer silently watched us from amid the trees. Crossing the suspension bridges took a bit longer with a larger group. We crossed two at a time stopping in the middle to look at the stream before stepping on to the end. When we had all crossed we continued on down the trail toward the falls.

No one was in sight when we arrived at the falls. It was very still and beautiful. The pool was shadowed because of the time of day but soon the sun reached us from between the high canopy of trees. Everyone decided to go swimming. There are too many huge rocks beneath the surface to allow jumping or diving but there were plenty of places to swim and play in the water. The group had a great time climbing around and standing beneath the water fall to get a shower. We explored the rocks and swam for a couple of hours and then headed toward our campsite.

As we started the return hike we met several groups out for a day hike. There were several family groups with young and old hikers. One group was 11 ladies, old college friends, who meet-up every year for a reunion. Everyone on the trail was friendly to our group. By the time we arrived at the Ranger station we were all hot and sweaty and ready for the bathroom and some water.

 

I had fun hiking in Tennessee!

 

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Prayer Triggers and Routines

 I want to share a few triggers or routines. Some are ones that help me and might help you with your prayer life. I believe in prayer. I believe that through prayer God can and does show his power and strength in our lives. He gives help and comfort and direction. So why is it hard to take the time to pray? I’m not sure what the answer is to that question. I know that many of you have ideas and I hope you will share those with me in the comments below. I treasure your comments.

Here is a list of prayer triggers and routines which you may find helpful. Remember that we are better together.

1. Passwords

A friend and I are working on a prayer class for the fall. As we were meeting to discuss this class we found out that we both do this with our passwords.

You may use your passwords for triggers. My work prompts me to change my password frequently. I use my passwords to remind me to pray for special people in my life. So every time I log in I can say a prayer for that person.

At first, it was a little hard trying to think of different things I might want to pray for my loved one. I pray for faith, love for God’s word, wisdom, peace, comfort, specific struggles, success in their work, for God to show himself to them specifically that day, I pray for God’s protection, for God to keep them from the evil one, etc. After a while, I kind of got a little excited when I got to sit down at my computer and bring my loved one before God. Surprise! It did get a little bit easier.

2. Calendar

Calendar reminders write the person you want to pray for on your calendar or set daily cell phone alarms to remind you to pray for a specific person perhaps for a specified time.

3. Jenga Blocks

One of my kid’s Bible classes gave the kids Jenga blocks with a person’s name on it to pray for. I love this. Whenever it surfaces in their room they remember to pray for this person. Or some might possibly put it on their shelves to glance at frequently and pray for that person.

4. Tasks

Tasks that I can use as triggers for prayer.

Ironing. Praying for my husband while ironing his shirts makes the task go so much faster and blesses my husband.

Dishes. Thankfulness for food and running water to wash them in. Remember to pray for the hungry.

Laundry – clothes, washing machine.

Buying groceries.

5. Develop the habit of praying with your daily schedule.

Upon rising pray. At lunchtime pray. Dinner prayer of thankfulness for the day we have had and the food we have regularly before us. Bedtime prayers are when my husband and I pray for our children.

 

6. Memory

Do you occasionally have someone come to mind that you have not thought about it for a long time? Perhaps a childhood friend? A relative? I have had this happen a lot through the years and I try to pray for these people. No, I have no idea what is going on in their lives but I lift them in prayer. Maybe it is someone who has passed from this life, then I thank God for the influence and blessing they were in my life.

7. Emails

Smyrna Church of Christ sends out Emails – reminders to pray for those with health concerns or loss of loved ones, etc.

8. When someone is struggling and asks you to pray.

Pray right then with them. When someone is sick or ask they ask me to pray for them. Pray right then or you might forget.

9. Facebook

Facebook can give us a reminder to pray. When you get angry at something you see, pray, when you see your friends baby growing pray for that child to continue to grow strong and healthy and to grow up to know God. When they lose jobs, family members, etc. Pray. When something wonderful happens to your friend, rejoice with them.

10. Have a Daily Commute?

Pray yourself to work instead of shouting at bad drivers. Pray yourself home and leave the day’s struggles with God so that you can go home and enjoy your loved ones. Listening to an audio of the Bible and also praise music lifts and feeds the spirit.

11. Salvation Bracelets – Made of colorful beads

Black- my sin

Red – the blood of Christ

Blue-baptism washes my sins away

White-forgiven

Green-growth

knot- no separation

Gold-eternal life

12. Other jewelry pieces

Other jewelry pieces may also be reminders of things we would like to pray about. Tree of Life necklace might remind you to ask God to keep you on the path to heaven.

13. Gifts

I have friends who have “the gift” of gift-giving. I wish I was better about this myself so I really appreciate those who have it.

Use those gifts as reminders to pray for the special people in your life. Thank God for those special friends.

Gifts that I have done this with…

vans

baskets

makeup eraser

rug

towel sets

dresses

jewelry

dishes (Betty bowls)

14. Shoes

When you are putting on your shoes remember you are saved to serve. Ask God to help you be a light where-ever you are planted.

15. My faults

When I feel impatient with someone I can use that opportunity to pray about my own faults. We all have them.

16. Struggling with someone in your life. Try praying for them.

I hope that you find these prayer triggers and routines helpful in your life.

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Made by God

What amazing gifts I see daily in the spring!  As Phillip Keller said, “Whenever I am afield or outdoors, there steals over me the acute consciousness that I am confronted on every hand by the superb workmanship of my Father. It is as if every tree, rock, river, flower, mountain, bird, or blade of grass had stamped upon it the indelible label, Made by God.” I agree!

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Mentoring Women

When I was in my 20’s we moved to Seattle, Washington… well, actually it was Burien. We were there to start a house church. We had read, How the Church Grows in the City. We were on a mission. We lived in Seahurst Manor (400 + apartments) where we came to know several of our life long friends as a result.

After we had been there a few months and were settling in I decided to put an ad in our newsletter that went out to all of the residents. I advertised for a Ladies’ Bible Study. The first night 3 women showed up. Surprise! This started what would be one of the greatest learning experiences of my life. We met every Wednesday night, to begin with. We held it in our apartment. I had three little ones so they could go right to bed or play quietly in their rooms.

Lawrence still worked varying shifts and usually late. He was working for a plumbing company and preaching for our little house church that started with our family and soon added our neighbors and friends.

Soon other ladies’ came to join our small Bible study group. During the three years that I had the group there came to be 40+ ladies who participated. To begin with, most were unchurched and had never been involved with a Bible study group and were new to Bible study. This group came to be a huge time of growth for us all.

As a young woman, I longed for an older woman to learn from, to seek advice from, a mentor in the spirit of Titus 2. I prayed for such and continued on studying and praying with these women. To begin with, I did all of the teaching and leading prayers. Our prayer time together became a huge part of what we did together. Sometimes we would pray for an hour. We grew together in so many ways. We were a great encouragement to one another. No one wanted to miss these studies. If anyone had to miss they would call and ask for prayer. Soon some who were Christians joined the group. We stretched and others began to teach some lessons and lead prayer. Many of us were young mothers, some were Doctors, engineers, construction workers, inspectors, etc. We were a mixture and we loved sharing our lives together.

I have been thinking lately about those days and how hard it was for me to find an older Christian woman. I think I now know why it was so hard to find a mentor. As I have grown older one thing I have learned is that most older women don’t have confidence that they have anything to share. I have learned that we think in terms of our mistakes and mess ups and shortcomings. We know that we are not the ideal role model. We are insecure. We don’t know how to share. Most women are not Bible class teachers and don’t know where to begin. I was determined back then to one day be that older woman, flaws and all, who would share and mentor young women. I would pray that I would have something to share when I was finished raising my family.

I am so thankful to the women in my life who have taught me so many things. I am thankful for my first teacher, my mother, then aunts, grandmas, teachers, and Bible class teachers. I studied the Bible and other books that were a great source of instruction for me as I learned.  As I grew older I learned from other women, especially my mother-in-law and a few older Christian women when I could persuade them to share with me. From all of the women in my life, I learned practical skills such as cooking, cleaning, sewing, Bible lessons, lessons on being a good Christian wife, mother, sister, caring for elderly parents, etc.  The women I have learned the most from were not just Bible class teachers, in fact, many may not have ever taught a  Bible class. They taught me by example. They taught me by doing things with me, ordinary everyday things. They taught me by simply living their lives before me. As a young woman, I longed for even more of these times.

Do young women still want an older woman to learn from? If you are a young woman what do you wish for? What do you want to know and learn? Do you prefer to learn from books, working alongside someone, trial, and error?

I am truly wanting insight into what young women want today so please share in the comments here or feel free to send me a private email: redaredding@gmail.com