Be quiet and listen
Prayer is not a one way stream. It is a conversation. That means talking and listening. Treat it like that.
We too often rush into prayer, even with the best intentions, asking God for guidance, provision and everything and then rush on before giving the heavenly Father the chance to respond.
Factor in times of silence into your prayer time. Don’t worry if your mind wanders. But allow God the time to speak back.
Use the ACTS pattern
If you struggle to know how to begin or structure your prayers the ACTS pattern is really helpful. It stops us rushing into a list of demands for God and forces us to think about the God we are talking with and the amazing gift that we can even come before him.
It stands for adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication.
Adoration – begin by praising God for who he is. Just pause and worship him for all that he is – not for what he has done but for who he is.
Confession – say sorry for all you have done wrong. Too often we rush into God’s presence without first remembering our own sin and the grace he offers us in forgiveness.
Thanksgiving – worship God for all he has done for us. Even if your life is tough at the moment, you always have so much to be thankful for. Remembering this and thanking God helps us not to forget his goodness to us.
Supplication – last of all we come to asking God for things. Supplication just means the act of asking or begging for something humbly. At the end of all our gratitude and praise, now we come to humbly asking God for what we need – remembering he has promised to give us all we need – which isn’t always the same as all we want.
