Avoid the Prayer Rut

Pastor Gary Oser

As I shared last week, prayer is one of the most important things we as Christians do. Therefore, for a few months I am sharing with you on the subject of prayer.

Take a moment to think about the things you pray for regularly.

I suggest we frequently pray for the same or similar things, i.e. family, health concerns, our country, etc. It is easy to get into a rut and constantly pray for the same things. To help us avoid this rut, I want to share 4 other things you may consider as you pray.

1. Pray the words of Scripture (the Bible). Pray the words of a psalm or pray the words of one of Paul’s letters. For example, pulling from Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3:16, you could pray that God would strengthen you with power through His Spirit. You could also pray that you would be rooted and grounded in love and be filled with all the fullness of God (verses 17, 19). One of the benefits of praying words of Scripture is that when you do, you can be sure you are praying God’s will (remember, all Scripture is God-breathed, as we read in 2 Timothy 3:16).

2. Pray for persecuted Christians. Because we are not suffering for our faith in America, it is easy to forget those who are. Hebrews 13:3 says, “Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves are in the body” (NASB1995). Pray for those being persecuted to have God’s comfort and strength. Pray that they will share the gospel and love of Christ with their persecutors. Pray for their families who suffer because of their imprisonment.

3. Pray for the world. When we pray, it is easy to focus on our little “corner of the world.” However, as Christians, it is important to pray for other parts of the world as well. You might find it helpful to look at a map of the world as you pray. Try to pray for different places, especially where there are large amounts of people who have yet to respond to the gospel.

4. Pray for God to be glorified in our lives, in our song and in our church—in everything!

The prayer ends on a note of praise and adoration: ”For yours is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” It is always good to end our praying on a note of praise and glorifying God.

As you pray, I hope you will think about the pattern Jesus gave us in the Lord’s Prayer. I hope you will incorporate things that Jesus shared in this prayer in your own daily praying.