Categories: uncategorized
Date: 23 January 2006 09:07:54
Note: this is not intended to be definitive, but I hope it's useful.
A - Answers always come, but often not when or how we want.
B- Be yourself. God knows us inside out anyway, so there's not point being someone else when we pray.
C- Corporate prayer is an undervalued part of many churches.
D- Drawing closer to God in prayer doesn't rely on lots of words.
E- Everything you say in prayer is valid, it's ok to be angry with God.
F- Forgiveness comes through communicating you've messed up (again), but you're sorry.
G- God is at the other end of the conversation
H- Hearing as well as speaking is part of prayer
I- Investing time in prayer is good
J- Jesus gave us a model, but if you take on board it's implications it's a v.hard model to use with integrity
K- Keep going even when it feels like you are talking to yourself.
L- Life may involve some changes if we really expect God to answer some of our prayers.
M- Ministers, vicars, priests or what ever you want to call them, need our prayers too, we shouldn't just expect them to pray for us, when required.
N- New technologies can be incorporated into our prayer lives
O- Own the prayers of others when you are praying corporately
P- Praying for people and organisations is a commitment, if you say you're going to do it do, but if you don't think you can don't say you will just because you feel it's the expected response
Q- Quietness is part of prayer
R- Resources are useful. Litergy and prayer books can be useful, as can candles, stones, pens, paper, music and all sorts of other things
S- Saying thank you and sorry are both as much a part of prayer as intercession
T- Think creatively, time maynot be the problem you think it is.
U- Unusual answers to prayer are usual
V- Very few people find prayer easy all of the time, it's ok to admit it if you're finding it hard
W- Waiting for God to answer is difficult, but tends to be part of the process
X- prayer is eXciting
Y- Young, old, or somewhere in between doesn't matter. Prayer is the most inclusive activity within the church.
Z- is for the Holy Spirit, v. involved in us connecting with God through prayer (and like Z often a difficult one to get your head around).