My Prayer Life
My prayer life has looked different throughout my life. As a child, our family always prayed before eating and again before going to bed. They were simple prayers that my dad learned when he was young. The Lord’s Prayer was also something I recited every Sunday, alongside my worshipping community. And in high school, my confirmation classes required I memorize Martin Luther’s “What Does This [Lord’s Prayer] Mean” and recite it in front of the church board. Most of my childhood prayers were memorized words, written by someone else and part of tradition established generations before me. To this day, I remember them and have taught my daughter to use some of them too. They are written on my heart, and I hope they will be on my daughter’s and her kids’ and theirs, etc. There is strength and witness being connected across generations. But over all, my young prayer was heady and without much personal connection.
It was at Bible Camp where I first experienced free style prayer, when someone would simply lift up the prayers of her heart in the moment, inviting the Holy Spirit to intercede and advocate for all of us. I was never the pray-er, but I witnessed it and took part in it through community (where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I with them. Matthew 18:20 NIV) Later in college, I began to pray more freely in groups and as a camp counselor myself. But when I prayed in private, it was usually done silently as I paced through my thoughts and feelings and sandwiched between a “Dear God” and “Amen”. I stopped praying my childhood prayers, unless I went home for the holidays. To this day, meals at my parents still begin with Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest and let these gifts to us be blessed. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
An interesting side note: When my grandma Vi was alive, she would lead our holiday meal prayers with the Swedish words her mother and father taught her: Jesu namn, till bords vi ga valsigna. Gud den mat vi fa. Gud till ara, oss till gagn sa fa vi mat. I Jesu namn. My cousins and I loved when she would lead us in prayer. It felt so exotic.
When I went to seminary, I learned to use the Bible to pray. Simply put, I would repetitively recite some chosen verses, using them as my own to express my praise and worship. As a Youth Director, I used this method frequently. I even built a senior high discussion around the Psalms and iPod Playlists. We used the notion of music becoming a source of prayer throughout our daily life. David wrote each psalm to express his emotions and daily experiences, offering them to God in prayer and praise. In the early church (and sometimes even today), a chosen psalm was chanted during the worship service. In my childhood church, we would do this in a responsive form, half the church singing one part of the verse and the other half singing the next. Back and forth, we do praise. If you look at Psalms in your own Bible, you may find a curious word written in italics after each and before the next: selah. In Hebrew, this word means “forever”. It also comes from the root salal which means to “rasie voices in praise” or “make the instruments louder”. The word selah occurs in Psalms 71 times and 3 in Habakkuk. Or this word may simply indicate pause in the text. In rabbinic tradition, it’s an acronym for a phrase found in Numbers 14:19: Please forgive the sins of his people.
I was taught that selah was used by the early church as an indication for an instrumental refrain between the chanting. As a college senior, I took this working definition of the word and helped chapel ministries put together a praise band called “Selah”. I didn’t sing or play in this band but it was a joyous addition to my college worship experience.
Prayer continues to change and evolve in my adult life. Most recently, I have become more familiar with spiritual authority as it relates to prayer. Because I have been baptized into the the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, Christ’s very authority is mine too. So when I pray, I pray with the authority of Jesus Christ. It is his power and his authority that I invoke through prayer. And this is so powerful, but was scary at first. Growing up Lutheran, this was not the kind of prayer or understanding my tradition embraced. So it has taken me awhile to grow in my comfort and confidence. I look to the Holy Spirit and pray in Jesus name and authority everyday.
Regardless of which style of prayer I use, setting aside time and making it part of my daily routine has been key to staying consistent. And with consistenty, prayer has become a powerful tool in my walk of faith. Most recently, I have been using devotionals and journals for morning prayers. Both of these have been part of my adult prayer life in some shape or form. But recently, I have struggled to find the words for and what to be praying. Without going into details, my family and I have faced some major struggles that have caused disruption and shaken up what we have known to be true. I have longed for ways to pray, to lean into God that feels personal and sincere.
So I am currently working through a devotional called “Upon Waking” by Jackie Hill Perry. It was a gift from my father-in-law, and it has proved to be just what I need. I love it’s layout. It begins with a Bible verse and then provides a reflection around a topic. It doesn’t have titles or dates, so I don’t feel locked into a particular way of using it. Instead, before reading, I pray that the Spirit would move through the pages and into my heart, showing me what I need just for the day.
I have another devotional favorite that my mother gave me over 10 years ago: “Watch for the Light.” I use it every Advent because it has readings and excerpts from various authors and theologians that help me to dig deep into the spiritual practice of waiting and preparing. There is a companion devotion for Lent called “Bread and Wine.” Whatever your writing style or tradition, you can find a devotion that works for you. Using a devotion can give you structure if you’re struggling to be a consistent prayer. Some other devotionals I strongly recommend:
Anything by Christine Cane!! I especially love “Unshakeable“. (And her podcast was life changing.)
“Live on Purpose” by Sadie Roberston Huff.
“Don’t Settle For Safe: Embracing the Uncomfortable to Become Unstoppable” by Sarah Jakes Roberts This has a journal component that I just love for helping me to go deeper into the material and make direct connections to my daily life.
“Hi God, It’s Me Again: What To Pray When You Don’t Know What to Pray” and “Hi God, One More Thing: How to Talk to God about the Tough Stuff” by Nicole Crank Both of these have guided questions with each chapter. And there is a companion journal for “One More Thing” if you want to expand your reflection.
If you aren’t the book type and read your Bible on your phone, consider the Bible App. It has multiple translations of the Bible which can be helpful when you meditate on scripture or want to reference different ways the writers express God’s Word. There are also a lot of different Bible Reading Plans that speak to different topics and seasons. One feature I have been using for 5 years now is the Daily Refresh and Verse of the Day. Everyday, I receive an email with a focus scripture. I open this email first thing in the morning and use it to start my day. On the app, The Daily Refresh begins with the Verse of the Day and then walks you through 2 more steps: Guided Scripture and Guided Prayer that digs deeper into the verse and provides Biblical reflection. Sometimes, there is a video by a chosen speaker, a Christian author, pastor or other leader, to give you some thinking points for deeper reflection.
Very new to me is a prayer method that is bold and involves pinpoint prayers. I use names and I am very specific about my requests. I use my Kindle to access two different prayer books: “31 Prayers for My Daughter: Seeking God’s Perfect Will For Her” (The authors, Aaron and Jennifer Smith also wrote one for sons.) and “Pray for Him: 30 Days of Breakthrough Prayer for the Man You Love.” Because this is such a daring way of praying and it take deep trust, I am still dipping my toes and feel often feel hesitant. These two devotionals give me a life jacket as I swim deeper into praying boldly and with pinpoint focus. As I grow more comfortable in my prayer life, I won’t always need books or devotionals (or maybe I will because I love to read). For now they serve me well, and I hope that you will find something in my suggestions that work to enhance your prayer life as well.
