We are studying the book of Acts as a church at Watermark. This past Sunday, JP spoke on the church’s first recorded prayer and how we should be modeling our prayer lives after it. We felt so ENCOURAGED, CONVICTED, INSPIRED to analyze our prayer lives and adjust accordingly. Here’s what we found out:
– we pray when it is convenient (before bed, at church, at community group, before meals)
– we repeat what others have said before (what we heard at camp / church growing up)
– we are not praying BOLDLY (asking a loving God for kind of boring stuff)
So here are some steps that we are trying to implement in our family’s prayer life:
1. Quote scripture WHILE praying
Ex. “Lord help me introduce others to you” becomes “Lord we know in Matthew you tell us we are the light of the world, please give us the boldness to not hide under a bowl” ***** this requires some scripture memorization, if we find ourselves praying Phil 4:13 and John 3:16 before each meal we may have found ourselves going through the motions again*****
2. Don’t limit what we ask God for, if it aligns with His desires we should DELIGHT in talking to the Father about it
Ex. “Lord please help us in the house hunt, we trust you and know your will be done” becomes “Lord, we want a house, so so so BAD. Thank you for this apartment, but we are tired of paying rent, the construction is loud and we don’t always feel 100% safe. Please align our hearts with your will and give us wisdom to process our options. Please give us a house so we can use it to further your Kingdom. In Jeremiah you remind us you already know our plans for us, we believe that includes where we will live, so help us seal that truth in our heart and show us the way!”
3. Pray Constantly
Ex. “Thank you for today Lord, please keep us safe as we sleep tonight” becomes “Good morning God, thank you for another day!” And “thank you for Taves and his good morning smiles, they remind me of your love for us as the father of Abraham, David, Jesus” and “thank you for Freedom Truck Finance, use me as the salt of the world like you said in Matthew” and “thank you for another great day of work, may my work in this garden be pleasing to you my rock and redeemer” etc, so on and so forth.
Please join us as we try to #praybold
What do you think? Any tips or tricks you have to strenghthen your pray life? Let us know!
Resources:
JP’s message can be found on Watermark’s Website
Sun Stand Still is an AWESOME book about BOLD prayers, we have a copy you can borrow or you can find it on Amazon!
#RobertsForever
RobertsForever 