One of the perplexing questions people have is what they should actually say to God. In conversations with people it’s usually true that the more we have in common with a person, the easier it is to converse. Since God is God, and we are very different than God, we often struggle to know what to talk about with Him. But we are invited by God to talk to Him about anything and everything. There is nothing we cannot come to Him about.
...praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. — Ephesians 6:18
Sometimes when I meet with people I ask them plainly, “What do you want to talk about?” And they tell me. It’s not that easy with the Lord, however. It feels like we are the ones coming up with things to say (though the Spirit is often leading us). So what kinds of things should we talk about?
Generally, Christians offer these kinds of prayers: confessions, thanksgiving, adoration, requests, intercession, complaints and laments. We see examples of all of these in the Bible. These examples give us permission to offer similar kinds of prayers, but we are still left with the question of what exactly to pray about each time we come to the Lord in prayer.
Spurgeon
I was reading a Spurgeon sermon recently on “praying in the Spirit” and he was saying it would be a good thing to spend some time thinking about what we are going to ask the Lord before we start praying. I know I’m guilty of just barreling in and rambling out whatever I can come up with in the moment as if it were a stream of consciousness challenge. Spurgeon makes a helpful point.
Even though we are aware of the categories of types of prayers I think it’s easy to just echo prayers in the Bible or pray thoughtless mechanical prayers. The challenge, always, is to pray from the heart. To really pray out of the depths. For some reason, it’s easy to pray but not be open and honest. It’s perhaps a defense mechanism that all humans have. We hold back. We don’t want to put too much of our secret world out there. So we do a lot of talking without revealing what is really going on inside.
In relationships with people it can be wise to not share too much too quickly. And some things are so private that we might not tell anyone about them. The beautiful thing about our relationship with the Lord is that we don’t need to hold back anything. He already knows what’s in us anyhow. So why not be completely open?
Prayer snapshots
One thing that holds us back from being too raw and open is that it can feel disrespectful. This could stem from the way we were raised as children to only “speak when spoken to” or to address adults, especially authority figures, with reverence. I’m not saying this isn’t good. But in our relationship with God He doesn’t want us to be nervous or uptight around Him. He wants us to feel free and relaxed. He wants us to be so comfortable that we will share anything with Him.
It seems like the best way to illustrate what it means to pray all kinds of prayers, and to pray them with honesty, is to set before you some of my own prayers. I scanned through my notebooks from last year and pulled out a variety of prayer snapshots.
Here are a few things to keep in mind before reading the prayers:
Keep in mind that the prayers I share with you are not my most raw. Because, well, I just can’t show you my most raw prayers. And really my most raw prayers don’t even make it into my private notebooks—or into the airwaves! I pray for them in my mind. But, I’ll give you a variety of my written prayers with a measure of rawness. By “raw” I mean honest, unfiltered and free.
It’s my habit to write for several hours a day so the prayers I pulled out and pasted below are not complete. They are just small portions of longer writings. But I tried to find a medley of prayers. I took these from my 2020 notebooks. Scanning through them this afternoon was such a reminder of how difficult a year 2020 was!
Remember too, that these are my prayers. Each of us will develop our own language of prayer just like we each have our own style of communicating with people. I set these personal prayers before you not as an exact pattern to follow but just to give you a general pattern of what kinds of things can be prayed for and what openness looks like. As I’ve mentioned before, one of the greatest ways to develop in prayer is by hearing other people pray. As someone once said, “Prayer is caught more than taught.”
January 1, 2020
I’m so ready for the new year. I place my regrets behind me and I celebrate what you have in store for this year. I long to walk closely to You, Lord. That’s my supreme aim. Enable me to love people with Your love!
February 9, 2020
Help me to dream big and to diligently, day after day, strive to attain what is in my heart.
February 14, 2020
I’ve had a strange week and have found it challenging to focus on eternal things. I’m doing it but it’s like my heart is somewhere else! The word that comes to mind is “aloof.” Oh God please help me to not be aloof but to be fully and lovingly present!
February 27, 2020
(This one is humorous actually)
Life is good and I’m so optimistic about 2020! I really want our Sunday gatherings to be special. Just being together with God’s people is special.
March 2, 2020
Oh mighty God awaken us to see who You are! Jesus Christ is no mere man. He is exalted supreme over every other god. He reigns forever! And we are in Him!
March 4, 2020
Show me Your glory! Transform me. Don’t let me drift into summer indulgence and laziness. Yeah, there will be rest, but I don’t want to relax my pursuit of You!
March 19, 2020
Things are shutting down—sporting events, church, Disney, museums, libraries, restaurants, travel. Beaches and parks are closing. The effects of the pandemic are touching everyone in some way. What are we to do but cry to You for mercy? Spare us Oh God! Restore us. Forgive our pride and arrogance. “In wrath remember mercy.”
April 2, 2020
In times of distress we can so easily slide off the rails into fear and anxiety. Please be near. Surround us with peace. It is predicted that thousands in Rhode Island will get the virus, and hundreds will perish. It has not fully come so we await its arrival like a weak village awaiting the arrival of an invading army. Lord, shield us! Strengthen the churches.
April 23, 2020
I pray for the 70 dear folks in the ICU struggling for their lives. Visit them Lord. Surround them. I take up their cause, and I pray that the glory of the Lord would fill their hospital rooms. Manifest Your love to them!
April 29, 2020
I’m at a breaking point. Father, I could really use Your compassion right now. Maybe I’m simply doing too much. Maybe I’m trying to compete with all the other churches out there. It’s hard to know how to pastor in this pandemic. Give me wisdom. I feel the ground underneath me giving way. I feel like I’m crumbling. Oh that you would renew my strength!
May 1, 2020
I confess my weaknesses to You, Lord. Remember my frame and fragility of mind. I’m treading water, and my limbs are getting weary. Please hold me up. I need to feel Your strong arms around me.
May 8, 2020
I’m thankful to know You God. I’m thankful that I can crack the window at my desk to not only let in fresh air but to hear birds chirping. I’m so thankful for this warm weather! I’m thankful that my days are in Your hands—every one of them planned out before one of them came to be.
June 5, 2020
Will we be a generation that tolerated the killing of black people in broad daylight? Lord, have mercy—not on our watch! Help us to stand for truth and to speak out boldly against injustice. I pray that we would come alongside our black brothers and sisters and stand with them. I pray that we would do the steady Gospel work of promoting justice year after year. That we would continue to listen and learn even when the volume fades, and the masses are onto something new in social media. I pray that we would demonstrate how the Gospel triumphs over racism!
July 13, 2020
Oh Lord, come on! It’s been too long since You’ve appeared. Why must I go about being oppressed? Show me Your glory. If I have sinned, then expose it. If I am proud, then humble me. If I have wronged anyone, then tell me who, so I can make it right. When You first appeared to me I knew You were real. But where are You now? Why are You hiding? Please don’t leave me at the bottom of this miry pit. I appeal to Your mercies, my God.
July 29, 2020
Renew my first love Lord. I remember the early days when I ran after you wildly. The relationship was so real and raw. I suppose there’s no way to return to the wonder of discovering You for the first time. Honeymoons cannot be repeated. I’m thankful for the quiet consistent communion I enjoy with You.
August 7, 2020
Have I become desensitized? I think when we do a thing, and do not feel any conviction, we conclude it must be okay. It may, in fact, be okay, but—it also could be that we are hardened. Oh Father, may there be in me nothing impure, nothing unholy, nothing questionable. The most dangerous pastors are those who have become desensitized to sin but still preach with passion. If I am desensitized then dry up my passion! Don’t let me think I’m okay if I’m not okay. Discipline me (gently please).
August 27, 2020
Oh that I could create things that would evoke thirst in people to know You! Enable me to preach and to write, to make art and music that awakens people to who You are. I may be a quiet soul but I pray that my witness would be loud and bold. Baptize me with your ideas—with creativity and imagination—and show me how to release the knowledge of God in this generation. Use me. Don’t let any part of my life be wasted. The curtain is closing. Time is short.
September 23, 2020
Father, strengthen me today in all I do. Draw me near. Put a cry within me to know Your embrace. It’s been too long since I’ve experienced that. It feels like we are in exile in some ways. I miss the corporate worship in a packed house. The church is hidden, scattered, divided. Some are falling away. Oh dear God may we patiently endure.
October 22, 2020
Paused to watch the presidential debate. I’m really not excited about either candidate for different reasons. This is such a strange process and the issues are complex. It makes me long for the coming of King Jesus who will rule in perfect love and justice. The end is at hand. You will crush evil and set up Your kingdom; You will make all things new. I can’t wait!
November 3, 2020
Oh dear God, carry me through! Though the earth gives way, help me to trust. Put a protection around us—but, if I get the virus, may I not fear. Even there Your hand will guide me. If You choose to bring me to the edge of death, Your presence will surround me. When it’s my time to pass through the waters, they shall not overwhelm. If I perish, I perish, so be it. To be absent from the body is to be present with You.
December 29, 2020
More and more continue to join me in this 100 day pursuit. Show me what You want me to say to them on day one. Thank You for entrusting me with this Lord. Speak through me. I pray that they will grow in grace and knowledge like never before. I pray that many of them will encounter You in a dramatic way. I want them to succeed in this! Help them!
Amen.