Recap from last week

• Prayer is something that we learn – we start where we can and God will move us along
• Prayer can change things
• 2 things are needed to begin: Time & Place
• “Simple Prayer”
• Turning our wandering mind into prayer

Intercessory Prayer

• Ephesians 1:16-17, 6:18

• Philippians 1:4

• Colossians 1:3, 9-10

• 1 Thessalonians 5:25

• 1 Timothy 2:1

Intercessory prayer is prayer that is offered to God for someone else’s need.“When I intercede for others, the circle of my concern becomes expanded a little beyond myself” – John Ortberg

Douglas Steere notes that this type of prayer is especially needed in our world today which is very individualistic. He also says that at no other point do we touch what he calls the “inner springs of prayer” more than in intercessory prayer.

Richard Foster teaches that one of the most important aspects in “learning to pray for others is to get in contact with God so that his life and power can flow through us into others.”

This is important because in order to pray the will of God into others lives, we must hear it and know it.

Intercessory prayer also forms us spiritually because it trains us to think about others through the lens of God’s desire to transform them.

Exercise:

(In class, we each received a 3×5 card, wrote our name on it, then took someone else’s card so that we could pray for them this coming week) This week, practice intercessory prayer by praying for the person named on your card (if you missed class, simply pray for someone you know). Ask God to direct your prayers for them. Look at some of the Bible examples of intercessory prayer listed above and pray these things for them (see John 17 also).

Written Prayers

Prayer Books:

Sometimes using written prayers can help our prayer lives grow also.

This can include using a prayer book (such as a Celtic prayer book or old church Hymnal)

It can often help us put words to our hearts prayer and it also can help to expand our prayers.

We have to watch and be careful though that we do not allow this to become a meaningless habit.

Journaling:

Another practice is writing your own prayers. A private prayer journal where we write “letters to God” can be very beneficial. There is no formula or rule, just simply write to God from your heart; it could be a note of thanks, a love letter, a poem or song, etc.

Praying the Scriptures

“When our prayers seem to be more about maintaining control and offering God our agenda for his stamp of approval, praying Scripture can return us to a simpler state of openness and attentiveness to God.”
“When we are at a loss for words and have no prayers in our hearts, the prayers of Scripture are ready to guide us to God.” – Adele Calhoun

The book of Psalms is a great place to start for praying the Scriptures. Christians throughout the ages have used it as a prayer book and so can we. The Psalms are full of raw emotion and often express the same things that we feel. They run the gamut from praise and thanks to doubt, confusion, and anger.

Exercise:

1) Find a Psalm that best expresses your current state. Read it aloud several times over. Personalize it, insert your name if need be, and pray it.

Some places to start:

• When you want to praise God : Psalm 92:1,2, Psalm 100, Psalm 150
• When times are hard : Psalm 138:7,8, Psalm 94:17-19, Psalm 18:1,2,
• When your integrity is tested : Ps.1:1-3, Ps.119:9,11,104,105, Ps.25:10,21
• When you want God’s protection : Psalm 27:4-8, Psalm 91:1-16
• When you are tempted to hit back : Psalm 37:7-9
• When you want God’s guidance : Psalm 32:8, Psalm 27:1,14
• When you need to be reminded of your dependence on God : Psalm 105:3,4

2) Begin reading the Psalms from the beginning and try to read one each day, feel free to stay on one for as long as God keeps you there. Turn each reading into a time of personal prayer.

Additional Resources

Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Praying the Psalms by Thomas Merton
Answering God: The Psalms as Tools for Prayer by Eugene Peterson
Celtic Daily Prayer from the Northumbria Community
Celtic Prayers from Iona
Soul Care Journals

Next Week: Meditation on Scripture

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