Prayer is NOT a List of Requests

It changed my prayer life completely. I used to go into prayer in order to ask God for things or to do something. I had no idea that prayer was never meant to be just a list, but a means of intimacy, comfort, silence, and growth.

Here’s my acronym that outlines how I pray and what it leads to in my life. I’ll only be explaining the part I didn’t include in the October sermon series (Yield):

PRAISE leads to Purpose & Identity.

REPENT leads to Forgiveness & Peace.

ASK leads to Provision & Trust.

YIELD leads to Obedience & Maturity

In order to “yield” in prayer, I’ve had to learn how to pray as I read through the Bible. I want to hear from God because I love Him and He’s my Father. Since He has spoken through the Scriptures (2 Tim. 3:16), listening to Him requires that I read His Word.

As I’m reading, I meditate on the words that stick out, taking brief moments to ask God to help me understand Him. Some of the Bible is difficult to understand even though I’ve been studying it for over two decades. A prayer I have memorized from the Bible comes from:

Psalm 119:18 (CSB) 18 Open my eyes so that I may contemplate wondrous things from your instruction.

It’s important to quietly listen for God’s direction as you are thinking about what is written in the Bible. This silence won’t be wasted.

Understanding His Word always leads to a changed life. As He is transforming my mind and heart, my actions are ready to follow. What God said was never meant to be buried in the past, but is still meant to be applied today.

As I contemplate how He wants me to apply His truth to my life, I often pray:

Psalm 139:23–24 (CSB) 23 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way.

This kind of prayerful contemplation and silence has be known as Lectio Divina in the past. (You can google it if you want to learn more.)

The bottom line is, God wants our prayer time with Him to include listening, not just talking. It should lead to obedience to what He said. And that obedience will turn into maturity if we let it.

I’m comforted by Jesus’ word to the disciples in John 14:

John 14:21 (CSB) 21 The one who has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. And the one who loves me will be loved by my Father. I also will love him and will reveal myself to him.”

God’s interest in your one-on-one time with Him is love. He desires for you to grow in your love for Him.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Jack