When Your Heart Has More to Say Than Your Prayers
How the prayers of Christians from the past can help you put deeper faith into words.
In this semi-regular post, I will share what I enjoy in life that you might also appreciate (or at least get to know me and my quirks better). In addition, I will share things to stir godliness in your life.
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Why Prayers from the Past Can Help Today
Most Christians learn how to pray in one of three ways.
By trial and error. (Just do it.)
By hearing others pray. (Watch and learn)
By studying what prayer is. (Learn and apply.)
But there is another method of learning how to pray that Christians can all grow from.
Just as we can learn doctrine and how to express praise and worship through songs and hymns, we can learn how to talk to and express our hearts better to the Lord through written prayers from others.
A songwriter's prayer- someone else's words- offers words that help express our heart’s gratitude and praise. In the right and sincere setting, such expression and encounter with the living Spirit of God can lift, stir, strengthen, and convict our hearts.
Why is that? Because we adopt them as our own.
Written prayers from others can do a similar work of the Spirit.
Think about it: when we are in a service or prayer room, we hear others pray, and then we imitate and learn from them live and in the moment. Written prayers offer the same type of eavesdropping and learning curve from the great, famous, dead guys (and gals) in the past.
In reading and adopting prayers from the past, they can fill our hearts’ cry when we don't know what to say. (see Acts 4:24-30)
The Spirit can remind our souls of expressions that our ordinary words don't know how to speak. (see Romans 8:26)
Sure, I get that depending on your church tradition or background, such a suggestion can create a bit of a queasy feeling in your spirit.
But hey, look, it's me, Eric. Your friend.
Forget the baggage from past church experiences.
You likely pray Scripture. Which is great. Those are written prayers.
If those are the type of written prayers that you are only comfortable praying, then of course, go for it. It's a great start. Incorporate those written prayers to aid you in growing in your prayer life.
Yet if your prayer life needs a bit of shaking up, ask yourself this question:
What could I learn about prayer and drawing closer to the Lord from godly men and women if I were to peek into their
prayer life and journaling?
If you are interested in this, I recommend to you The Valley of Vision. This collection of Puritan prayers will stir your heart to pray more deeply than your heart currently engages.
This is a good challenge. When I read it, I ask like the disciples, “ Lord, teach us to pray…” (see Luke 11:1)
As I have gone through this book and slowly read and applied it over time, my soul has grown from it. Not as a replacement for Scripture or in place of my sincerity in prayer.
Even the simplest sentences of petition, praise, or confession have now become a manner in which I pray and have helped me better express deeper longings of love, trust, and faith in God.
Pick up your copy today (Click below. It also comes in a beautiful Bonded Leather Gift Edition)
My Recent Reads
I’m recommending this short read article by Derek Hughes, because, as his publication title implies, he gives “a little nudge” for all of us who have dropped the ball on prayer and assures us that a wall we all might inadvertently build in our minds doesn’t prohibit us from drawing near.
Take a moment to read this. Click below
Derek is a great writer and ministers to help us all practice spirituality in everyday life.
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Until next time, keep living For 1 Glory.
Keep Living for the Glory of God.
Eric