“Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you.” (Saint Augustine)
It shouldn’t be surprising that most people
know how to pray. This is because prayer is a request to God, which most of us can
do. In prayer, we are exercising a personal relationship with God by thanking
Him and asking Him for our wants and needs. Prayer is one of the most
important aspects of communication in knowing God. His mercy tells us our
requests (of any kind) are always heard.
Though God always hears you, prayer is good,
but it can be difficult for some people. Maybe your mind tends wonder during
it, you never say what’s really in your heart, or it becomes a repetitious and
monotonous chore at times. You can believe that the traditional style of prayer
doesn’t work well for everyone. Do you struggle with your mind not being clear
enough to hear from God? Here are four alternative ways to add variety and
clarity to a dreary prayer life:
Breathing meditation: Christians have been engaging with meditative prayer
for hundreds of years. Meditation is about setting time aside to be calm and at
peace. It is different from most other types of prayer. It is not about talking
to God, or even listening to God, but simply about being. The idea is simply to
sit somewhere quiet. Let your mind be free from thinking about anything in
particular. You are not trying to achieve anything, say anything, or do
anything. You are just taking time to be.
If you're unused to
sitting in silence for prolonged periods of time, focus on your breathing
and/or repeating the same word or phrase to help you concentrate. The Lord’s
Prayer or your favorite Bible verse could be used. Don't worry about any
distractions or thoughts that come into your head. Acknowledge them, but don't
dwell on them, them. Refocus your thoughts.
Coloring the Bible: Adult coloring
books are enjoying a surge in popularity. Why not combine an adult coloring
book with prayer? You could also draw your own design. By spending time writing
out and illustrating Bible verses, your conscious mind will be occupied with
the drawing and coloring. This leaves allows your subconscious to meditate on
the scripture, and let it to soak into you. Approach this activity deliberately
as a prayer (not just as decoration), and expect the words to speak to you.
Prayer den:
Create a prayer den somewhere in or around your home. This is essentially a
small enclosed space dedicated to prayer. Think of a pop-up tent or something similar.
Decorate it with lights, objects, or photos of people or countries you want to
pray for. Having a smaller space to pray in can help you to feel intimate with
God (especially when you arrange it so it's personal to you).
Praying with your body: Our minds, bodies, and spirits are all intricately connected.
What we do with our bodies can shape our thinking. Instead of sitting still
while you pray, why not adopt your posture as a way of physically expressing
your prayers? There are endless positions you could try, but a few suggestions
include lying down face down as a form of prostration before God while you
reflect on his majesty and our comparable weakness.
Standing with your arms
raised in a posture of worship, or kneel. Sit on a chair, and imagine Jesus
pulling up a chair and sitting next to you. Take time to reflect on how each of
these positions makes you feel in relation to God, and allow that to move you
to worship.
If the traditional form of prayer is
something you wish to get better at, consider using the acronym ACTS to help you with that:
Adoration: Give God
praise for who He is as Creator of everything in the universe.
Confession: Ask God for
forgiveness of the sins in your life.
Thanksgiving: Verbalize what
you're grateful for in your life and in the world around you.
Supplication: Pray for the
needs of others and yourself.
“God is the best
listener. You don’t need to shout, nor cry out loud… He hears even the very
silent prayer of a sincere heart.” ((Anonymous) [i]
[i] Adapted from:
· “4 alternative ways to pray” by Carey
Lodge
· “5 Alternatives to Praying” by
Vernetta Reshell
· “The ACTS Method of Christian Prayer”
by Richard Wagner
· “The Five Types of Prayer” by
Strategic Ladies
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