Some Tips For More Meaningful Prayer

There are so many prayers of praise in the Old Testament that I could spend a year writing about them. My favorites are those found in Psalms. What a glorious book of prayers! Praising the Lord is not always easy for us. We suffer, our families suffer, the world suffers………but that is nothing new. Jesus reminds us……”These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me, ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer: I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

In Hebrew, the book of Psalms is not called psalms or even prayers, but Praises (Tehillim). This means that in some way, all one hundred and fifty psalms, whether supplication, lament, confession of sin, etc., are meant ultimately for praise. Confessing sins can contribute to praise. We are renewing what God already knows about us. Praise is first of all, a statement of faith in God. Biblical prayer is a dialogue where both parties are important. However, God always comes first. Did you know that Alleluia means Praise God?

Using our Bible as a guide, the following are some tips for more meaningful prayer:

1) Pay attention to the vocabulary of prayer……..such as call, cry out, sigh, praise, extol, recount, giving thanks, supplication etc. See what you learn about the experience of prayer in the passage you are reading. Look for context……where is the prayer located in the biblical book.  How is prayer impacting the people who are praying. Why are they praying and what event is prompting their prayer. They might have similar problems as you do. Write it down………or highlight in your Bible. Use the names of God or God’s attributes that are mentioned in the prayer. Names such as Lord, Rock, Shield, Shepherd. Attributes such as lovingkindness, mercy, mighty. Learn to use these names to make your prayer meaningful to you. Bibles should not be neat and clean. Use them and mark in them. Your kids will know that you have been studying!

2) Reflect……..How would you “translate” these attributes and images in your own words? Look…….. Biblical commentaries are sometimes helpful. These might give you some historical background of the people who are praying. You might not think that this matters but you will feel better looking at their life compared to yours. Shifts in mood of the prayer……..especially from the beginning of the prayer to the end. Such as from lament to praise or from supplication to trust. Look for similarities or differences in prayer……Hannah’s praise  (1 Samuel 2:1) compared with Mary’s praise in Luke 1:46-55. Look in the Psalms to see how David submits his prayers to God and the circumstances he faces, i.e. Psalm 51).

3) Write out your prayer………This is where a prayer journal is handy. You might simply reflect on a Biblical passage and what it means to you. Writing out your thoughts might seem tedious but take it from me…...this helps to organize your thoughts and focus your prayer. —Barbara Hyland

—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets