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.