Growing in Prayer

One of my greatest struggles in my journey with Christ is my prayer life. I think we all have areas of our walk where we have more confidence than others. My prayer life is one that I just feel I am lacking in. However, rest assured, I am logging plenty of time in prayer, waiting in hopes of a break through or something. Because of my struggles with prayer, I love prepared prayers and prayer models. I feel that they help me focus, give me a clear purpose, and keep me from rambling.

Having a prayer model or prayer shell is something that the Church of England is very good at. Like all good things, this can be abused and words can become just a mindless recitation. However, for someone like myself, I find it extremely beneficial.

Over the weekend Henry emailed me and asked if I would lead the prayers on Sunday at St. James. Luckily he emailed me the general shell or format. In working with the shell or guidelines, you then insert your own words in the parenthesis to make the prayers a bit more personal. Here are the guidelines for the prayers that Henry sent me:

Prayers of Thanksgiving and Concern

We pray to the Lord for courage to give up other things and to give ourselves to him this Lent, saying;
 
Lord, meet us in the silence, (The prayer leader says this line)
give us strength and hear our prayer. (The congregation says in unison)
 
Give your Church the courage to give up her preoccupation with herself and to give more time to your mission in the world. (We pray for Nigel our bishop and . . .) May the blood and water flowing from the side of Jesus bring forgiveness to your people and help us to face the cost of proclaiming salvation.
Lord, meet us in the silence,
give us strength and hear our prayer.
 
Give your world the courage to give up war, bitterness and hatred, and to seek peace. (We pray for . . .) May the shoulders of the risen Jesus, once scourged by soldiers, bear the burden of political and military conflict in our world.
Lord, meet us in the silence,
give us strength and hear our prayer.
 
Give us the courage to give up quarrels, strife and jealousy in our families, neighbourhoods and communities. (We pray for . . .) May the presence of the risen Jesus, his body once broken and now made whole, bring peace and direction as we live with one another.
Lord, meet us in the silence,
give us strength and hear our prayer.
 
Give us the courage to give up our selfishness as we live for others, and to give time, care and comfort to the sick. (We pray for. . .) May the wounded hands of Jesus bring his healing touch, and the light of his presence fill their rooms.
Lord, meet us in the silence,
give us strength and hear our prayer.
 
Give us the courage to give up our fear of death and to rejoice with those who have died in faith. May the feet of the risen Lord Jesus, once nailed to the cross, walk alongside the dying and bereaved in their agony, and walk with us and all your Church through death to the gate of glory.
Lord, meet us in the silence,
give us strength and hear our prayer,
here and in eternity. Amen.

I don’t mean to sound like I am boasting because that is not my heart in telling you this, but on Sunday I did feel or sense something . . . . deeper or . . . . more in tune . . . . like I was standing before God and I clearly heard his gentle whisper. I felt like a breeze gently swept over me and indescribable sense of peace filled me.

Over the past year and a half in England, I feel I have learned so much about prayer. The greatest thing I’ve learned is that for me, it’s not the words that I am saying that have so much meaning but in the spaces of silence when I STOP rambling and I am able to HEAR the divine whispers of the Lord.

Yesterday at the Lent group that I am attending each Monday, Henry and others had some very encouraging things to say about the prayers I led on Sunday. Henry said there were numerous people that come up to him after the service and said that the prayers were very meaningful and moving.

I’m honoured and thankful that God uses regular messy people like myself who feel lacking in their abilities and he takes their something normal and turns it into something beautiful. I love that I serve an extraordinary God in the business of restoring and empowering ordinary people.

Be blessed this day,
Chad