5 Christian Prayer Methods for Individuals or Groups
“The point of prayer is not to get answers from God, but to have perfect and complete oneness with Him,” said Oswald Chambers in his book, My Utmost for His Highest. Oneness with Father God certainly is a relationship goal for the follower of Jesus, so how can I cultivate a relationship with Him and with His people through the practice of prayer?
The possibilities of prayer are countless for individuals and groups, but I am going to share five ways to pray that have helped me deepen my relationship with God. Though prayer is not limited to certain techniques, practicing models for prayer has helped me improve my conversations with the One who created me to be in a relationship with Him and His people.
1. ACTS Model
One way to pray is by following the model of praying through a certain attribute of God with the acronym of ACTS: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication.
We ADORE God for who He is and what He has done for us in our Savior, Jesus. We CONFESS our sins silently and aloud in agreement. We THANK God, and we make SUPPLICATIONS or requests of God for our needs and the concerns of others.
JOY Life Groups for women at Orchard Hill practice this model of praying together regularly. Women in Prayer also pray in this way during a weekly, structured hour of prayer together that is Scripture centered, focused, and intentional.
2. PRAY Model
A similar, structured way to pray in which the individual uses the words of the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew’s Gospel 6:10-13 is with the acronym, PRAY:
PRAISE God for who He is and for what He has done with the phrase, “Our Father who is in heaven, holy is your name…”
REPENT of sins I have committed, of commands I have neglected with the phrase, “forgive us our sins and help us to forgive others.”
ASK for the needs of others and my own needs with the phrase, “give us this day our daily bread and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil…”
YIELD my will to God’s will, my agenda to God’s agenda for me with the phrase, “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Sometimes, praying the Lord’s Prayer with the phrases in reverse order helps my mind to focus on the words and allows me to concentrate on how Jesus taught His disciples to pray.
3. Praying God’s Word
Praying God’s Word is a way to pray that I have found most helpful when I am not sure where to start in prayer. Before I even read from the Bible, I often pray Psalm 119:18: “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.”
As I read daily from the Scriptures, I find that I am often convicted and prompted to confess sin and pray for God’s purposes in my life. I will often highlight a verse, pen the date in my Bible, and turn the passage into a prayer for myself or for someone who has come to mind.
For example, when I read Micah 6:8 I am reminded to pray for my youngest son to live as God expects him to: “to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with God.” This is one of many Scripture prayers that have informed my conversations with God for the people I love.
4. Open Hand’s Prayer
Another way to pray, recently modeled by our pastor, Dr. Kurt Bjorklund, and beautifully portrayed in several episodes of “The Chosen,” is with open hands. The posture of open hands reminds me that God loves the people and circumstances in my prayers even more than I do.
Open hands in prayer before I even get out of bed in the morning remind me of the ancient Hebrew traditional prayers that may follow this progression: “I give thanks unto You, Adonai, that, in mercy, You have restored my soul within me. Endless is Your compassion; great is Your faithfulness. I thank You, Adonai, for the rest You have given me through the night and for the breath that renews my body and spirit. May I renew my soul with faith in You, Source of all Healing. Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, who renews daily the work of creation.”
5. Praying Through Music
Praying through music is another way to pray that can lead to relational oneness with God. Many of the Psalms were written to be sung as prayerful worship to God. In addition to the Psalms, other scriptures and truths about God have been crafted into music, which is useful for any person to use as prayer.
One resource that values the use of music as a response to prayer after reading God’s Word and contemplating a devotional instruction from that passage is the First15 Daily Devotional. Scripture. Devotional. Worship. Prayer. All it takes is 15 minutes a day.
Conclusion
I have described 5 ways to pray: ACTS, PRAY with the Lord’s Prayer, Scripture Prayers, Open Hands, and Music Prayers. All these methods have improved my conversations with God and the practice of prayer in my life, individually and within the community.
Whenever I consider prayer, I am always reminded of what C.S. Lewis says about prayer: “I pray because I can't help myself. I pray because I am helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping. It does not change God. It changes me.”
I have been changed by the power of prayer and I invite you to try one of these ways to pray in your own life.
