Prayer - Getting Started

I love to pray and it has turned into quite a journey. About fifteen years ago I was babysitting at a friend's house. After all the kids were taken care of and settled down for an afternoon nap, I looked around for something to do. The lady whose house I was at had a large bookcase full of books and I began to look through them for something fun to read. I happened on a book about prayer. I can't remember the name but there are so many good books on prayer. My daughter taught me to go into a bookstore or library and ask God to guide me to what I should read on a certain subject. You will be pleasantly surprised at how God will guide you. He knows what each person needs and will supply that need. What might work for me may not be what you need so let the Master guide you.

Over the years I have learned to pray many different ways. It keeps my prayer life fresh and I never lack for ways to approach God's throne. I especially like praying God's Word in my prayers and one of my favorite things to do is pray the prayers of the Apostle Paul. Ephesians is a wonderful book for that, but don't limit yourself. Search for Paul's prayers throughout his Bible writings. There are prayers throughout the Bible that can really inspire. Go on a treasure hunt. Sometimes a particular scripture hits me as being really personal to me and I have begun to collect prayers from many different sources. I like to also pray the Psalms. Last year I began to copy my favorite prayers and scriptures into a little pocket journal that I can take with me no matter where I go. I use these like a springboard when I am not sure what to pray. Before I know it, I am talking to God (praying) about things I never thought I would.

A good book to get started on prayers that are based on Scripture is "Prayers that Avail Much" by Germaine Copeland. Prayer should be based on God's Word. God's Word is His Will. If you go to Germaine Copeland's website, you can get a sample of the prayers that are in some of her books. Just go to www.prayer.org and click on the words "Prayer Search" on the left column of the web page. When the search box comes up, you can enter words like salvation, forgiveness, relationship, Jesus, etc. and press "enter." A list of prayers will pop up and you can click on one of the prayers that may interest you. At the end of the prayer is always a list of scriptures related to the prayer. That makes another whole Bible study.

I love to just talk to God out of my heart, use the prayers in my prayer journal, and even pray in tongues. If you don't believe in tongues, God still wants to hear from you. Don't let my statement about tongues turn you away from developing a relationship with OUR Father. As a companion to prayer, I love to sing praises to God and enjoy worshiping God by putting in a CD or just singing something off the top of my head. Here is a website that lists some of the music that I have used over the years. The music is so uplifting and I use it when walking or just to lift my spirit in the car or whenever I can listen to music. You can sample the songs at http://www.charlieandjill.com/music.html

I try to keep a journal of prayer requests that I have asked different ministries to pray with me about and how God has answered those prayers.