Spiritual Disciplines Course.

Introduction to the Discipline of Prayer.

• Prayer is the chief point of contact in a living relationship with God. It is the communion of our whole being with God.

• It is not only one way communication, and it is also not simply talking. Prayer involves talking, listening, and sometimes just enjoying the company of God without words.

• Richard Foster says that, "Real prayer is life creating and life changing.", It is, "the central avenue God uses to transform us." We begin to see things as God sees them as we change through our prayers. Sometimes our inability to pray is a resistance to change.

• Prayer is something we learn to do. We cannot simply become "giants of prayer" overnight. We need to practice, train, spend time and effort, and we will develop a deep life of intimacy in prayer with God. Remember Jesus had to teach His disciples to pray (Luke 11:1). Even though they had probably prayed all their lives, their was something different about the way Jesus prayed. So don't be scared to experiment, even if it seems as if you "fail".

• When we pray for others, we need to first get in contact with God, so that His life and power can flow through us. "We begin praying for others by first quieting our fleshly activity and listening to the silent thunder of the Lord of hosts...Listening to God is the necessary prelude to intercession." The Holy Spirit will guide us as to what we should pray. It is not only for the big things we must pray, but also the little things.

• Sometimes we feel we don't have enough faith to pray for others, or we feel afraid. If you feel the Spirit is guiding you to pray for someone, do it. The simple act of praying shows faith.

• We need compassion when we pray for others. "We do not pray for people as 'things', but as 'persons' whom we love" or who God loves through us.

• We mustn't make prayer too complicated. We should always bear in mind the Biblical analogy that we are God's children, and He is our Parent. Our communication should be open, honest, and built on trust. We should never be afraid of laughter, and joy in our prayers. We need also to remember to pray with confidence. When a child goes to it's parents for lunch, they never fear they will not receive (except in unusual circumstances, which can't really be compared to our Heavenly Parent).

• Another thing we can learn from children, is their use of imagination. Imagination can be a powerful aid to pray, it "opens the door to faith". If we imagine Jesus actually doing what we ask, it can be strengthening to our faith. It is not that we are conjuring something up, or manipulating God if we do this under the guidance of the Spirit. It is God who is telling us what to do.

• We must not wait until we feel like praying, but like everything else we must do so that we feel like doing (imagine if we only worked when we felt like it, we'd never get anything done). As we 'exercise', the 'blood' begins to flow, the 'muscles' begin to loosen up, and we begin to feel like praying.

• Prayer should not be seen as taking up valuable time, it should enfold our time, and our work. Pray and action should be interwoven.

Exercises:

During these times you may want to use some of the exercises. You don't have to use all the exercises, they are simply there as examples in case you need something. Do try and use at least one though.

You could also use the following Bible readings and pray in response to what they evoke in you. Again, you may use them in any order you want, and spend as long as you need on each one:

Reading Matthew 6: 5-15 Psalm 103 Psalm 51 Psalm 150 Matthew 26: 36-46 James 5: 13-18 Mark 9: 14-29

Focus The pattern of prayer. The prayer of worship. The prayer of repentance. The prayer of thanksgiving. The prayer of guidance. The prayer of faith. The prayer of command.