My previous blog was about “Creative Ideas for Personal Prayer” action points that are being suggested by Pastor Randy Maxwell in his book: If My People Pray. ” His suggestions are very helpful when you are getting bored of praying the same prayer over and over. Here are more excerpts of Pastor Randy’s fresh, creative ideas and suggestions for personal prayer.

5. Pray for your spouse.
Not in general, vague way, but in specific terms, claiming certain Bible Promises for him or her that are tailored to individual needs.

I like to do this for Suzette and sometimes will leave her a  note with the verse that I’m claiming for on it. She has saved one of these notes and keeps it on the bathroom mirror, where she can see it every day. It reads:

For you today: That your delight will be in the law of the Lord, that you will meditate on it day and night. That you will be like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding fruit in season without withering. And whatever you do will prosper. (Psalm 1:2, 3)   Love ya.

You love your spouse. He or she has struggles, frustrations, goals, hopes, and needs that you probably know about. Take those things to God in prayer. Lift your husband or wife before the Father, and ask Him to meet his or her needs according to His unfailing love.

Search the Word for specific verses that fit his or her situation, and pray for those verses back to God, inserting your spouse’s name in the appropriate place. I did this recently for my wife while I was out of town and she was nervously awaiting the results  of some medical tests back home. We were both on edge, and I went to the Bible for a word of encouragement from the Lord. I found it in Psalm 33:18-22. I claimed the promise for Suzette and then prayed it back to God something like this:

Suzette wait in hope for you, Lord; be her help and her shield today. Let her heart rejoice in You and help her to trust in Your holy name. May Your unfailing love rest upon us both, O Lord, even as we put our hope in You. (verses 20-22)

Later, I called home and told her I was praying this promise for her. I could tell she was pleased. Nothing brings you closer together as a couple than praying earnestly and specifically for the man or woman who shares your life. (P.S. You can pray for your children the same way.)

And, singles, the absense of a spouse doesn’t indicate the absence of other individuals who love you and need your prayers. Claim promises on behalf of your best friend, co-worker, family member, nieces and nephews, or pastor, and let them know that you are praying for them. Any relationship will be strengthened by this prayerful act of love.

6. Pray (or speak) a blessing on your family members.
Anyone can do this. . . In the sixth chapter of Numbers. . . Aaron and  his sons were instructed to bless the Israelites. Read these words with me carefully:

The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites.  Say to them: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:22-27)

. . . What father or mother wouldn’t want this blessing to be on their children?. . .

…We are to be channels through whom God will provide, protect, and profusedly spread His blessing. Men (and caregivers), as priests of our homes, God wants us to transmit that blessing to the children.

My wife and I have done this together. With our hands placed gently on the heads of our girls, I’ve prayed this blessing on them, saying:

“Candice, Crystal, Danielle: The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace. Amen”

You can’t imagine the intensity of hugs and beaming faces that come after a prayer like this. Your children won’t forget, and neither will you. It’s not something to be done casually. At this writing, I’ve done it only once. But this is what a life of prayer is all about. It’s not just words and requests and routine. It’s love and power and relationship and heart and soul.

Speak a blessing over your wife or husband too. As I prepare to leave home for work, I occasionally will cup my wife’s face in my hands, kiss her gently, and say, “The Lord bless you real good day, sweetheart.” Or “The Lord’s blessings be all over you from head to toe!” This always evokes a big smile and the tightest squeeze you can imagine. She often blesses me in the same way.

One word of caution: Be sure your life supports whatever your lips speak. Words that are spoken in blessing are invalidated when a child (or spouse)  hasn’t sensed the daily touch, concern, interest, availability, and care of the blesser.  We must take care to build a platform of relationship from which to bless. Remember, the life we lead backs up the words we speak.

7. Pray through the newspaper.
For those who have trouble coming up with enough things to pray about and for those, who like many people, are addicted to the morning newspaper, this can revolutionize  your prayer life.

The paper is full of needs, crises, hurts, and troubles that should cause the heart of the Christian to break. . . . What fertile ground for prayer! There is something we can do! We can pray.

Each of these stories represents lives, real people who are hurting, desperate, and in need of Jesus. Read the paper with the eyes and heart of Christ, and ask God to mercifully intervene.

You may have noticed that the last few action points have touched on intercessory prayer. This one aspect of prayer is so powerful and vital to our experience as Christians. . .

So, there you have it. Seven suggestions for putting new passion into your personal prayer journey with God. Not an exhaustive list, by any stretch. You may already be experimenting with several creative forms of prayer that aren’t mentioned here. Great. Go for it. Whatever you do, though, pray. Don’t just read about it or mentally assent to it. Pray. Be real. Be consistent. Be creative. But above all, pray. There’s so much in store for you if you do.

A note from ChristianMomsCorner.com – In the next chaper of Pastor Randy’s “If My People Pray” he writes more about on intercessory prayer. If you are interested to get his book, you can find it here.

Previous blog: If My People Pray: Why Must We Pray

Creative Prayer Ideas:

• Creative Prayer Idea: Five-Finger Prayer
• Creative Prayer Ideas for Personal Prayer – “If My People Pray”
• “If My People Pray” – Too Bored to Pray?

Helpful Books on Creative Prayer

More Creative Prayer – Helpful Resources Here

Affordable & Meaningful Gift Ideas

Christmas Pure & Simple
CLICK HERE

When it comes to our relationship with Jesus, choosing to pray — to  be with Him — is often the greatest battle.

Pastor Randy has some fresh prayer ideas and suggestions to help you begin practicing prayer as relationship. We should first begin enjoying the times, however brief, the time that we spend and share  with God.

Prayer Ideas -  Action points for enhancing your personal prayer time

1. Pray whenever you think about.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can pray only at a certain times and in a certain places. Pray when you think about it. In your car, in a meeting, in bed when you can’t sleep, as you mow the lawn or wash dishes, or while brushing your teeth.

So learn to converse with Him all the time. When you think about praying,  that’s God talking.

The natural man or woman doesn’t desire prayer. If it’s on our minds to pray, it’s the Holy Spirit calling. Don’t put the King on hold! Answer His page, and hear what’s on His mind!

If you’re forgetting to pray for people you’ve promised to pray for, learn to pray when God puts it on your mind — when you think about it.

2. Pray about variety of things.

We talk about kids, schooling, the church, vacation plans, family members, music, bills, romance, TV programs, work, etc. We don’t try to talk about everything all in one sitting. We pace ourselves. Talking about this now, that later; this thing today, the other thing tomorrow.

Do the same with prayer. Don’t pray about the same things all the time, and don’t try to cover everything in one prayer. Vary your conversation. You can pray about the supervisor who gives you grief today, and save time for the missionaries tomorrow.

Pray different types of prayer. Try praying a prayer of praise without any petitions. Make no requests about anything. Put away the shopping list and just spend time praising God for who He is in your life.

Or sing your prayer to God. Paul admonishes us to “sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God”   Colosians 3:16. There are times when we pray by singing favorite praise hymns such as “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” or “I Love You, Lord.”   During sung prayers, I sometimes experience the presence of God more profoundly than when I’m at my “regular” prayers.

3. Pray without words.

You don’t always have to have something to say in order to be with God. I know this may seem odd to some, but sometimes it’s perfectly alright, “to be still and know that [He is] God” (Psalm 46:10).

Learn to “be still and know.” Quiet can be profound. And don’t feel like you “fail” if words escape you occasionally when you pray. Remember, there are times when “we do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will” (Romans 8:26, 27).

4. Keep your prayer time and Bible-study time separate.

This suggestion may get me in trouble, but it’s worth trying. . . It’s been my experience that when I bring my quarterlies, commentaries, and multiple translations of the Bible into my devotional time, I spend little time in prayer and much more time in study. And please don’t put this book down and start a rumor about Randy Maxwell’s campaign to eliminate Bible Study. . . I’m simply suggesting that we give each of these its own time.

Prayer is primarily meeting with God. Reading and studying during this time may not always be required. . . . Whether you’re just being quiet with Him or focusing on your own needs, you’re still meeting with Him. This is not a wasted time.

ChristianMomsCorner.com note:

My comment to Pastor Randy’s suggestion – Keep your prayer time and Bible-study time separate…

During my personal devotional time I always love to hold and read my Bible. I also read E.G.White’s Our Father’s Care – my favorite morning devotional. Every time I read my Bible I learn something new and I thank the Lord for that. I do talk about it with Him to what I just learn — it’s like a conversation starter. But there are at times when I sat down on the couch to start my personal morning devotional — I just like to sit down there and “be still.” After this “be still devotional” I’ve sensed that I never missed God’s presence.

Excerpts Source: Randy Maxwell, If My People Pray, pp. 105-110

If you are interested to get his book, you can find it here.

Previous blog: If My People Pray: Why Must We Pray

Creative Prayer Ideas:

• Creative Prayer Idea: Five-Finger Prayer
• “If My People Pray” – Too Bored to Pray?
• More Creative Prayer Ideas: Personal Prayer

Helpful Books on Creative Prayer

More Creative Prayer – Helpful Resources Here

Affordable & Meaningful Gift Ideas

Christmas Pure & Simple
CLICK HERE

Here’s what he says:

Do we really believe that God hears and answers prayer? Are we convinced that prayer makes a difference — that unlimited power is made available to us through prayer? Do we really feel a need for prayer? What is our true attitude concerning this?

Here are a sampling of attitudes about prayer that keep us off our knees.

Prayer as Exercise

Many of us view prayer the same we do exercise — it’s a drag. We know exercise is good for us. It relieves stress, improves the circulation, strengthens the heart, boosts the energy level and improves physical appearance. Some claim that exercise even enhances one’s sex life.

But despite  these valid and desirable benefits, many of us would rather keep lifting a fork to our mouths than lift weights. Exercise is boring, painful and just too much trouble. . .

Sadly, this is how too many of us view prayer. We know prayer is good. Deep down in our spirits, we know that prayer is important — that it strengthens our relationship with God, relieves stress, boosts our faith, and is the source of unlimited spiritual power.

But despite these valid and desirable benefits, many of us view prayer as boring, painful, and just too much trouble.

Prayer as Discipline

Another attitude that must be changed is the one that views prayer as discipline.

This is the eat-your-spinach-because-it’s-good-f0r-you approach to prayer. We pray because “prayer is to the soul what breathing is to the body.” You can’t do without air, right! Neither can you do without prayer… Prayer is is a spiritual discipline that will make us grow into strong Christians…

In David Winter’s Closer Than a Brother (a modern-day reinterpretation of Practicing the Presence of God, by Brother Lawrence), “Laurie,” as Brother Lawrence is referred to in this book, responds to a question about set hours of prayer or quite times like this:

“Well — yes, I do have set times of prayer, and I believe they are a useful discipline, especially for a beginner . . . a learner as you might say. . . Set times of prayer are valuable in order to form a habit of conversation with God, and — as I said — referring all we do to him. They aren’t the end itself, but means to an end. The end is God: being with him, living in his presence and under his control.”

Prayer as Relationship

My wife is my best friend. Everything in my life is better because of her. I enjoy her company, and I hate being separated from her…

When I come home from work, we often fight the kids off so we can spend the first few moments of our reunion snuggling, catching up on each other’s day, and reconnecting after an 11-hour separation. Yes, I ‘m proud to say that 15 years of marriage and 3 children haven’t slowed my heart rate one beat for this woman who shares my name and my life.

Imagine. . . how long would it take for her to be bored out of her mind with me if I said the same thing in the same way at the same time in the same sequence day after day after day?

How absurd! You can’t have an enjoyable relationship under these circumstances.

If this is how we keep our own human relationships vital and fresh, what makes us think our relationships with God can be kept vital and fresh with the same old prayer day in and day out?

We love variety — so does God! . . .

If prayer is boring to you, check your conversation. Are you stuck in a rut, praying the same thing with almost the same words over and over again?

I love what F.  Laubach said about this.

The notion that religion is dull, stupid and sleepy is abhorrent to God, for He has created infinite variety and He loves to surprise us. If you are weary of some sleepy form of devotion, probably God is as weary of it as you are.  Shake out of it, and approach Him in one of the countless fresh directions.

And Maltbie D. Babcock hit the target when she said:

Our prayers must mean something to us if they are to mean anything to God.

I acknowledge that there are times when we’re dealing with circumstances or situations that require perseverance. I’m not talking about these here. God doesn’t weary with our daily pleas for our children or for the healing of a marriage that appears to be over.

No. I’m talking about the kind of praying we do when we put our minds on “cruise” and rattle off pet phrases without even thinking about what we’re saying. But even if this is the best we can offer, God still accepts it and us just as we are. He just wants us to come.

Begin to view prayer, not as exercise or discipline, but as relationship — sharing life with your best friend.

Source:  If My People Pray, Randy Maxwell, pp. 98-103
If you are interested to get his book, you can get details here.

Creative Prayer Ideas from Pastor Randy’s “If My People Pray”:

• “If My People Pray” – Too Bored to Pray?
• Creative Prayer Ideas for Personal Prayer – “If My People Pray”
• More Creative Prayer Ideas: Personal Prayer

Other Creative Prayer Idea(s):

• Creative Prayer Idea: Five-Finger Prayer

Helpful Books on Creative Prayer

More Creative Prayer – Helpful Resources Here

Affordable & Meaningful Gift Ideas

Christmas Pure & Simple
CLICK HERE

A few weeks after the prayer seminar, I went down to our home library to find some books for children’s ministry and health. Lo and behold, I found a new book which has  still the plastic wrap — it’s the book “If My People Pray”. I believed it was given to us by our Pastor, but the gift was set aside and ignored.

Even though the pastor had said many times that it’s an excellent book, I still wasn’t interested to read it. I did browse a few pages here and there. The contents seemed to me that I have heard them before. So I just laid it aside on the kitchen table.

A few weeks after,  I’ve been questioning about my attitude toward prayer and the nature of my prayer. It seemed to me I was getting bored. So I picked up the book “If My People Pray”. The title “A Passion for Prayer” caught my eye, so I started there.

If you are interested to get his book, you can find it here.

Creative Prayer Ideas from Pastor Randy’s “If My People Pray:

• If My People Pray: Why Must We Pray?
• Creative Prayer Ideas for Personal Prayer – “If My People Pray”
• More Creative Prayer Ideas: Personal Prayer

Other Creative Prayer:

• Creative Prayer Idea: Five-Finger Prayer

Helpful Books on Creative Prayer

More Creative Prayer – Helpful Resources Here

Affordable & Meaningful Gift Ideas

Christmas Pure & Simple
CLICK HERE