Focus on Prayer

some notes from the Fellowship Team

At the beginning of 2017 at Belmont there is an initial focus on prayer. (See the evening programme for 8th, 15th and 22nd Jan). As part of this, these notes have been produced to help you and your home groups discuss the subject of prayer and more importantly I’d like this to encourage us all to pray and to try new ways to pray. This is not meant to be a set of notes for one evening, rather a resource which can be used throughout the term to help you develop in prayer. If you feel it is useful you could always copy this to your group members.

What is prayer?

In Matthew 6:9 - 15, Jesus teaches his disciples to pray when he gives them what we now call the Lord’s Prayer. Prayer is many things to many people and takes many forms. Here are some quotes to get you thinking about what prayer can be:

‘Prayer is relationship with God. When we pray we discover the truth about ourselves: that we are children of God. Within this relationship we can flourish and become fully ourselves as God intended us to be.’[i]

‘All prayer is responding to God. In all cases God is the initiator-“hearing” always precedes asking. God comes to us first or we would never reach out to him.Prayer as a spiritual gift is a genuine, personal conversation in reply to God’s specific verbal revelation.’[ii]

‘The secret of prayer is a hunger for God.[iii]

’To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world.’

‘I cannot pray said Henri Nouwen, but God can pray in me.’[iv]

‘Mother Teresa was once asked in an interview, “What do you say when you pray?” She replied, “Nothing, I just listen.” So then the reporter asked, “Well then, what does God say to you?” Her answer: “Nothing much, He just listens.”[v]

How do we pray?

Pray can be described as broadly falling into two types.

Communion centred- A means to experience God’s love and to know oneness with him.

Kingdom centred- Calling on God to bring in his Kingdom

What is your experience of praying? We don’t often talk about how we pray so take some time as a group:

  • Reflect on how you normally pray. Do you find prayer easy or difficult?
  • Does the usual form of your prayers fall obviously into one of the above types?

Share your answers to the questions above with one another (may be easier to do this in groups of 2 or 3).

We see in God’s word that there are many ways to pray. There is no one right way to pray. Dom Chapman says ‘Pray the way you can, not the way you can’t’. Read on to find out if there are wrong ways to pray.

Learning from the way Jesus prayed

Below are a number of bible passages which describe occasions where Jesus prayed.You might want to read a few or get several members to read one each and see what they learn from Jesus in the way he prayed in that particular passage.

Luke 5:16; Luke 10:21; Luke 22:39-46; John 11:41-42; John 17; Luke 9:28

R. A. Torrey notes that Jesus prayed early in the morning as well as all night, that he prayed both before and after the great events of his life, and that he prayed "when life was unusually busy".[vi]

  • How does the pattern of Jesus prayer differ from your own?
  • What one thing do we find most challenging about the way Jesus prayed?
  • Having read about the way Jesus prayed what do you feel most called to change about your prayer life in response to what we have read?

Pray that God would give you the desire to pray.

Learning from Jesus’ teaching on prayer

Read Luke 18:1-14

  • This passage challenges the disciples to always pray and never give up. In what area of your life is this relevant right now?
  • How in our groups can we continue to support one another in persisting in prayer?

Matthew 6:9-13 (NIV)

9“This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Fatherin heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10your kingdomcome,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11Give us today our daily bread.
12And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’

  • Read this passage through in several versions
  • You could rewrite it in your own words (this exercise will help you to dig into what each line means)
  • Divide Matthew 6:19-13 line by line and get one person to pray each line and then pray a one-line response to this part of the prayer. This might be a helpful format if you have those who are more reluctant to participate in communal prayer.

You could use a Lectio Divina type approach (see box below for background). This involves quietening and reminding ourselves that we are about to listen to the word of God. Then one person in the group could read the passage followed by a period of silence. During the silence encourage all to note any phrases that especially caught their attention. Then a different person could read the same passage followed by more silence to reflect what phrase struck them. The same passage could then be read a third time. You could suggest a different emphasis after each reading e.g.: What gift does this passage lead me to ask for from the Lord? What does this passage call me to do? This can be done either individually or in a group. In general, with this approach initially you listen, note what is given and respond in the way the Holy Spirit directs.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta said “If we really want to pray we must first learn to listen, for in the silence of the heart God speaks”.

  • What is your experience of how God speaks to you?
  • Share with one another ways you have heard God speak.
  • What has helped you to ‘hear’ from God?
  • How do you know that what you hear is from God?

It is really important that we are able to test that what we have heard is from God.

  • When we hear from God, should we expect to find what we hear in scripture?
  • How do we test what we have heard is from God?

A pattern for prayer

Broadly patterns of prayer fit into four main categories with the acronym ACTS

Adorationthe simple prayer of longing, where we pour out our heart to God, where we desire to meet God, we desire to BE with God. This may involve silence, meditating on God’s word of contemplation on Christ.

ConfessionConfessing our sins and seeking forgiveness and change in our lives.

ThanksgivingJoyful praise to God, could be in relation to creation, God’s work in our lives, God’s provision

Supplication‘Asking’ / Intercession, bringing our needs and those of others to God

  • Which of these four areas do you most neglect? Spend a few moments sharing this and then pray in this particular area.

Praying with others

In our own day we have often lost the balance between worshipping in church and worshipping at home. We need to sanctify our homes. We need to let them become cells of the church, places where we are nourished, and also places of witness and service. This will happen when we restore prayer to our life at home.[vii] Here are some situations you could consider introducing prayer into home life.

Singles/Christians with non-Christian partners & everyone!

  • It is always good to pray with others, so if there isn’t an opportunity to do pray with someone at home then why not find a prayer partner or form a Life group?
  • Participate in Prayer Thursdays at church?
  • Why not set up a prayer chain in your home group?
  • Create a prayer lucky dip box into which everyone puts a prayer request and from which everyone takes away one request to pray for during the week

Praying with children

Children who see and hear their Mums and Dads speaking with and listening to their Heavenly Father learn more about prayer than any formal teaching can ever give.[viii]

  • If you pray or have prayed with your children, then was any particular format/type of prayer helpful?
  • Should we expect children to develop a faith in God if they do not pray in the places they spend the most time during their week i.e. their homes?

Here is a mixture of ideas from Steve Cottrell:

  • It can be a real encouragement for adults and children when they pray together.
  • You should expect that the nature and structure of your prayer time will change depending on the age/development of your child/children.
  • In the very young a mixture of routine, spontaneity and fun should all be present.
  • Older children are more likely to want to lead the prayer time.
  • Mealtimes and bedtimes often form a useful routine for prayer.
  • Symbols to help focus on prayer, such as a candle, a small cross, some stones,all may help to focus children in prayer.
  • To read a short passage of scripture together and reflect on what is being said may help as a focus before prayer.
  • Older children may be helped by using music/worship songs, candles. This may be a good time to engage with your teenagers at the end of the day. A time to recollect the events of the day and pray for concerns.

Praying with your spouse

Another helpful resource (from the USA) you may find books by Stormie Omartian helpful.[ix]

  • If your spouse is a Christian, then do you ever pray together?
  • Is this something you do in a crisis, or something you pursue regularly?
  • If prayer is not something you are in the habit of doing, then why not try initially praying once a week together? You could try ending the day in prayer together.

Praying for the world

In 1 Timothy 2v1-2, Paul instructs us to prayer intercessory type prayers. The idea of intercession is that we ‘stand between’ a situation and the Lord, representing concerns and people to the Lord. The instruction is to pray for everyone, kings, and all in authority with the goal of living well for God. It is helpful therefore to be informed about situations, about people. The media can provide a lot of detail to help. Try turning headlines into prayer. It takes imagination to get away from the sensational headlines but draws us into a deeper understanding of circumstances . News praying this is often on a very short cycle as the next headline comes up. So perhaps you could take an interest in an area of the world, a particular country and gather information regularly about that place? You could do some research using Operation World by Patrick Dixon, an excellent resource giving geo-political information and church numbers. More available on the website

Praying for the Church

Prayer is about a relationship because God is actively working in his world. Prayer, in some strange way. Seems to draw us into God’s work and also presents our work before God to use for his purposes. In several of his letters, Paul asks for prayer for his work. In Romans 15 v 30 – 33, Paul says that prayer is the way in which the Roman Christian actually join in the work with Paul. They are not passive observers but are engaged in spiritual struggle.

When we pray for the church we can pray for all that happens at Belmont, for the people who meet there, for those who carry responsibilities. There are loads of prayer resources, including the term card, the prayer and address list, the prayer diary in Focus each week, Prayer Thursday plus you could join the prayer chain to pray for specific pastoral situations. With so much to pray for you could adopt one particular ministry area or activity and one mission partner to give focus to your prayers and research.

Praying as Mission

Everyone does not already know what we mean when we speak of prayer.[x]

“Words spoken in deep love or deep hate set things in motion within the human heart that can never be reversed.”[xi]

In his book Life of the Beloved, Henri J. M. Nouwen says that to give someone a blessing is the most significant affirmation we can give. It goes beyond offering praise or recognizing someone’s talents, but should rather shine a light on a person’s belovedness. For Nouwen, being blessed is an ongoing gift from a loving Creator “who will never leave us alone,” not an occasional nod of approval from a distant God. “The blessings that we give to each other,” Nouwen writes, “are expressions of the blessing that rests on us from all eternity. It is the deepest affirmation of our true self.”[xii]

We tend to think of prayer as something that we do with other Christians, but prayer can be a powerful way for non-believers to learn about, or even encounter, Jesus. People are more open to being prayed for that we might dare to believe. The offer to pray for someone, if done insensitively or with pride, may hinder people taking up your offer. The offer to pray for someone, born of genuine love and care, will often be met with a positive response. When I offer to pray for people they usually have one of three responses. No thank you; Yes, but not with me in person; Yes, pray for me here and now!

Some further questions to help share and learn together.

  • Consider how does the way you pray teach people about Jesus? Think about the practices you use and the words you adopt in prayer with non-Christians.
  • ‘The most powerful evangelistic prayer is not to pray that people would become Christians.’ Discuss.
  • The most powerful evangelistic prayer is to communicate the love of God to a person. Discuss.
  • If we pray to God to provide what we already have available to us to share e.g. money, whether it is for missionary related work or some other purpose, who needs to answer the prayer? Is it wrong to ask God for things that he has already provided, but we are too mean to share with his body, the church?

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References

[i]Cottrell, S. (2010).How to Pray: Alone, with Others, at Any Time, in Any Place. Church House Publishing.

[ii]Keller, T. (2016).Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God. Penguin Books.

[iii]Merton, T. (1972).New seeds of contemplation(Vol. 337). New Directions Publishing.

[iv]Cottrell, S. (2010).How to Pray: Alone, with Others, at Any Time, in Any Place. Church House Publishing. p.2

[v]Claiborne, S., & Wilson-Hartgrove, J. (2009).Becoming the answer to our prayers: prayer for ordinary radicals. InterVarsity Press. p.11

[vi]Torrey, R. A. (2007).How to Pray. Moody Publishers.

[vii]Cottrell, S. (2010).How to Pray: Alone, with Others, at Any Time, in Any Place. Church House Publishing.

[viii]Keiller, J. (1992).Praying with Children in the Home. Grove Books.

[ix]Omartian, S. (2014).The Power of a Praying® Husband. Harvest House Publishers; Omartian, S. (1997). The Power ofa Praying Wife.

[x]Hauerwas, S., & Willimon, W. H. (1989). Resident aliens: a provocative Christian assessment of culture and ministry for people who know that something is wrong.Nashville: Abingdon.

[xi]Cited from: URL: [accessed 16th December 2016]

[xii] Cited from: URL: [accessed 16th December 2016]