|||
On June 12th, we completed our revised essays from our series on prayer from a couple decades ago. We also posted one or two interlude essays about prayer since then. Now we want to share with you the specifics of how I pray personally.
The process of how I pray has evolved over the years. It is still evolving as I continue to learn more about our communications with our Creator-God-King-Savior.
Readers can use this as a model for their own prayer time—as a starting point. However, we do encourage everyone to modify it and develop your own personal methods of communication with the Father over a period of time.
In this presentation of my own process of prayer, I will use the italic font to indicate my own words in my daily prayer routine. But these will be interspersed with text in regular font as I comment and explain. Let us begin.
First, there is no point in seeking to communicate with our Father if we have unconfessed sin. He will not be listening. I base that on this passage.
Isaiah 59:1 Behold, the LORD’S [Yahweh’s] hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:
2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
So, before I pray, I make my confession—but even before that, I begin every prayer or confession with praise and thanksgiving to Him. That varies daily but may be like this.
Almighty Father, you are my Creator and Savior. You have given me the gift of life and by that gift I have my five senses to observe and enjoy the magnificence of your creation.
Oftentimes, I paraphrase or quote a Scripture in this phase of my communication; such as: You have created all things by your almighty power and your infinite intelligence. To you belongs all blessing, glory, honor, praise, reverence, thanksgiving and worship. For you have created all things, and for thy pleasure, plan, and purposes they were and are created.
These sentences are derived from…
Revelation 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
Notice the phrase pleasure, plan and purposes. I expand on that verse and I remember it by the use of alliteration (all three words begin with “p”).
In the sentence before that, in my praise of Him, I chose seven words (the number 7 in the Bible is associated with completion and perfection) and they are all in a series in alphabetical order blessing, glory, honor, praise, reverence, thanksgiving and worship.
I then ask permission to enter His divine court to make confession. He knows our hearts and if I am sincere, He always opens the door in the spiritual dimension to allow us to approach His throne of judgment and mercy.
Father, may I enter your court to make confession?
I stop and listen for the still, small voice. It is not an audible voice. The best way I can describe it is that I “hear” a thought in my mind. It is a yes, a no (that has never occurred to me) or some welcoming phrase, such as “Yes, my son, do come in.” Then begins my confession.
Thank you, my Father and thank you, Jesus, my King and Savior!
They are one God and thus I always realize that when I address one, I am speaking to all three manifestations of Him, whether Father, Son, or Holy Spirit. I begin with my statement of one of two spiritual conditions to Him.
Either I am convicted in my conscience—that is, I am conscious and aware that I have sinned; or I tell Him that I am not aware of any sin that I have committed since my last confession. So one version is:
Father, I am not aware of any sin that I have committed since my last confession, but I am fully aware that I am still mortal and therefore have the tendency to sin, and I very well may have fallen short in one way or another. In which case, I do beg your forgiveness for my sins. Will you forgive me, Father?
Sometimes I will quote His word to Him (which He loves to hear). Such as,
1 Chronicles 16:34 O give thanks unto the LORD [Yahweh]; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.
There are 42 verses which have that phrase, for his mercy *endureth* for ever. Here is one more.
Psalm 136:13 To him which divided the Red sea into parts: for his mercy endureth for ever.
There is an entire litany of that refrain in Psalm 136.
On the other hand, if I am conscious of having sinned since my last confession, my wording might be something like this:
Father, I confess that I have sinned against you. I have sinned in either one or all of these categories…in my thoughts, in my words, in my deeds, or by my lack of deeds / actions.
I then would specify that sin which is weighing on my consciousness (conscience). With sincerity and total sorrow and remorse, I admit to Him that I have failed and I further confess that there is no amount of good works which can atone for my sin(s).
Father, I know that there is nothing that I can offer to atone for my sin. But I do trust wholly in your great mercy and the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, whose blood is the only acceptable sacrifice for my failing/sin. Father, will you forgive me?
Again I listen for that small, still voice. If I have been sincere, I always hear something to the effect, “You are forgiven, my son.”
Sometimes, I then add, And would you give me a further and greater abundance of your grace that I may never commit sin again?
Again, I listen. At this point, I know that I am forgiven and that I can then leave the divine courtroom and proceed to the divine throne room of majesty and mercy to make my supplications known to Him.
(To be continued.)
END