Day 14: Planned Prayer
As you begin to spend time with God, settle yourself somewhere quiet and comfortable. Take a few deep breaths. Spend a few moments gathering your thoughts, becoming aware of God’s presence with you and in you.
Journal for 5 minutes on yesterday’s experiment of praying about your fears. What did you notice and learn? What challenged you? Did God say anything to you throughout the day?
Then, begin today’s devotional.
Read: Daniel 6, Psalm 5:3, 55:17;63:6,Acts 3:1, 10:3,16:25
Have you ever heard a word or phrase that made your skin crawl? For some people, it’s a word like ‘moist’ or ‘lugubrious’ that, when heard, causes them to recoil in disgust. When asking someone to consider why they don’t like that word, it’s not uncommon to hear them say “I’m not sure what it is; it’s just the way it sounds.” Likewise, many of us suffer an aversion to our pastor’s encouragement to try pre-planned and pre-scripted prayers. When words like “formula,” “liturgy,” or “fixed-hour prayer” hit our ears, we get uncomfortable, like we’ve got a bad case of the heebie-jeebies. We don’t quite know how to put our finger on what is bothering us about it—“it’s just the way it sounds”.
When we consider what really draws us to prayer, it’s easy to see that we value spontaneity and manifesting our thoughts when we are caught up in a precious moment with God. There is a place for this sort of prayer, no doubt. But many of us worry too much that a structured plan will keep us from truly expressing ourselves and our desires to God. Contrary to popular preference, God’s Word demonstrates that pre-planned prayer times can be incredibly beneficial to believers. The spirit of this practice is to engage with God in an intentional way, encouraging us to make our time with God a priority and a vital part of each day. Not only that, it helps us transcend patterns of anxious “I’ll call you when I need you” prayers and experience a deeper and more consistent relationship with God.
We shouldn’t be afraid to explore the beauty of fixed hour prayer or even pre-scripted prayer. Sometimes it is refreshing to find help when you feel there are no words to say, or to be spurred to meditate on aspects of life with God that you would not have otherwise explored. Whatever you experience, may it leave you a better follower of Jesus than before!
Prayer: God, thank you for the freedom that I have in you. Humbly, I ask that you liberate me from fear of rules and regulations in my prayer life. Help me to see the purpose of intentionally making space for you in my day-to-day routine. Amen.
Today’s Experiment: Plan three different times you will stop what you are doing and focus on prayer today. Pick one word that describes the kind of prayers you would like to pray (i.e. Thanksgiving, Lament, Praise, Hope, Endurance, etc.). Let these topics guide your conversation with God.
Bonus: If you have a prayer book, use it to guide one of your prayers today.
By Destiny Kennedy, Student Leader – Local Missions