One Sunday – just before the sermon – the preacher asked one of the Elders to say a prayer.
The brother bowed his head and said, “Now I lay me down to sleep.” The congregation said, “Amen!”
During this pandemic, every area of our lives has been affected, including our faith. One noted occurrence is the increased interest in prayer. I have noticed a number of new books on prayer:
* Threadbare Prayer. Prayers for Hearts that Feel Hidden, Hurt, or Hopeless, by Stacy Thacker. This book is written as a daily devotion to help those who struggle with how to pray.
* Father James Martin, SJ has written Learning to Pray: A Guide to Everyone. He states this is a book for beginners, as well as pointers for those who have a lifetime of prayer experience. He said there is no right way to pray and sometimes, prayer does not have to include words.
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Different faiths have different ways to prayer. Some use prayer beads, knotted ropes, icons, prayer wheels and prayer flags. Some faiths encourage praying three, five or seven times a day. Once, I was introduce to an ancient way of praying called the Breath Prayer. For example, you pray the Jesus Prayer over and over: “Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me.” You pray as you breathe in and out.
I came across a way to pray called the Five Finger Prayer. With your hand, your thumb is nearest to you. Begin by praying for those closest to you. The next finger is the pointing finger. This is to pray for those who give directions like teachers, preachers, doctors, nurses and helpers. Then comes the middle and tallest finger. It reminds us to pray for our leaders in the community, country and world and our police officers, military, etc. The fourth finger is known as the ring finger. This is a symbol of marriage and reminds us to pray for families. Our little finger is the smallest finger. It is a reminder to not forget to pray for yourself.
Never forget to pray for yourself.
Another reminder to pray is using the word ACTS. You pray to God with Adoration – praise; Confessions – seeking forgiveness; Thanksgiving – giving thanks for God’s mercy and grace; and Supplication – bringing our request to God on
behalf of ourselves and others.
One of my favorite prayers is the prayer of one of the men next to Jesus on the cross: Jesus, remember me, when you come into your kingdom. Jesus answered his prayer, Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise (Luke 23:42).
God answers prayers, God says yes to some prayers and sometimes, God says no. Never forgot, sometimes God may be saying, “Not yet.”
The Rev. John Wesley said, “Proceed with much prayer, and your way will be made plain.” My prayer for you is you find a way to pray that gives you the most assurance and awareness of God.
Eric Reece is the faith columnist for The Graham Star. He is the pastor of Robbinsville United Methodist Church.