Prayer School
Do you know how to pray?
Verse of the Day
“Lord, teach us to pray”
Today’s Devotional
I mentioned on January 9th that I would be practicing a new spiritual discipline each month this year. January was the month of meditation. February is the month of prayer. When I first realized that I had “volunteered” to study and write about prayer, I very quickly became fearful. Who am I to study about prayer, much less write about it?
So I asked God for guidance. And then I asked my mom for any books she had on prayer that I could borrow. I didn’t even take half of the books she pulled out for me, and I came home with a bag full of prayer books. Which in itself is a daunting task. I started reading a little and trying to formulate a plan. And something happened…
I don’t know how to explain it. I am experiencing an excitement and a joy to be learning new things about something so vital. I feel the Spirit guiding me to be willing to attend “prayer school”, and to invite all of you along for the ride.
There is very little I can say with certainty today about prayer, other than I have a lot to learn and I am excited to do so. Today’s verse is a request that comes from one of the disciples, after Jesus had finished a time of prayer. This man, seeing his Master who excelled in something that he did not, asked Jesus to teach him. What a humble and profound request.
Do you do that? Do you see others who have Godly qualities that you admire and ask them to teach you what they know? Our world would be a better place if we were brave enough to follow the example of this disciple.
What I have learned so far is that Jesus is a very willing Teacher. Since He is the author and perfecter of our faith, then it stands to reason that He will gladly teach us how to communicate with the Father, and how to learn to listen. It’s hard to have a good relationship of any kind without good communication. And that’s all prayer is. Communication with the Father, through Jesus, with the help of the Spirit.
If you knew me personally, you would know that I have a lot of words. But strangely enough, I don’t actually talk out loud to God all that much. I write to Him in my journal (which is good). I pray in my mind often (also good). But I don’t actually speak in an audible voice to God very often. This is where I feel like God is asking me to grow today. Since some of Jesus’s private prayers to the Father were written down by the authors of the Gospels, my assumption is that these prayers of Jesus were spoken aloud. And if I want to grow to be more like Christ, I need to be willing to do what He did.
I hope that for as long as I live, I am willing to grow in my ability to communicate well with others. Because relationships matter, and communication is key. There is no relationship more precious than the one I have with God, so learning more about how to communicate with Him seems like a great use of my time.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
How would you describe your prayer life right now?
Is there anything that intimidates you about prayer?
How have you been disappointed or frustrated with praying?
Who has godly qualities that desire? Are you willing to ask for their experience (with anything, not just prayer)?
What would you most like to learn about prayer?
Feel free to email me with any questions you have about prayer or to share what you have already learned about prayer: kristen@hungerthirst.net