Changed: CCV StudentsSample

P.R.A.Y.

The “text message prayers” we talked about yesterday will quickly build your friendship with God, and will hopefully become a daily habit that you carry through the rest of your life. However, praying ONLY those quick and random prayers would create an incomplete prayer life. There is a great deal of good that comes from spending at least a few minutes in focused prayer. Going back to the example with your best friend: if you ONLY talked to him/her through quick texts and didn’t also spend longer periods of time actually talking together, your relationship wouldn’t grow. The same is true for us and God – for our friendship with Him to truly thrive, we need both quick prayers throughout the day and longer periods of focused conversation.

But, what should we talk about? If you were to set aside five whole minutes to sit in silence and pray to God, what would you say? If you’ve ever tried it, you probably felt like you ran out of things to say after about 90 seconds. Or, you felt like you were rambling on, got distracted, and next thing you know you’ve been sitting there thinking about your upcoming math test for the past four minutes. We’ve all been there, and it’s totally normal. That’s why I’m a big fan of using a simple acronym to keep our prayers focused and balanced – P.R.A.Y. Each letter is an important part of our prayer lives and will help keep our minds on track. Here’s what they mean and how to use them…

P – Praise. A great way to start any prayer is to praise God for how amazing He is. This can be the awesomeness of His creation, His limitless power, or even just great things He has done in your life. Kick things off by spending a minute praising God for who He is.

R – Repent. Repent is an old-timey church word you may have heard that simply means “turn around.” When we say repent in this context, it simply means that we admit any sin in our lives and “turn around” – we seek to leave that issue, behavior, or bad habit behind and turn back to God. Spend a minute confessing to God any sins that are weighing on your conscience (He won’t be shocked – He already knows anyway), and recommit to following His ways for your life. 

A – Ask. This is the part we’re usually pretty good at in prayer. This is where you can unload all your worries, asking God for help with anything that may be stressing you out, and admitting to Him (and yourself) that you are totally dependent on God. One tip – try not to make ALL your requests about you. Spend some time praying for other people in your life, and especially asking God to give you opportunities to share Him with your friends or family.

Y – Yield. If you’ve been paying attention on the road, you’ve probably seen those white and red triangle signs that say YIELD on them. They simply mean that if you are in the lane with the Yield sign, the OTHER drivers have the right of way (translation: it’s YOUR job to look out for them and let them stay on their course before you move into the lane). After we’ve finished laying out our “Asks” before God, it’s always good to verbally Yield and tell God that ultimately you want what He wants. In other words, if what you just asked for is not what God wants, you would rather He say “no” to that and keep you moving in the direction He wants your life to go. 

Pretty simple stuff – four little steps, and you’ll be amazed at how focused and powerful your prayer times can be. To get started today, read the following passages and then try to spend 1 minute on each of these steps (that’s a 4-minute prayer, if math isn't your thing). You can even set a timer on your phone to keep you on track. Go for it!