A Framework for Prayer

Posted on by Matthew Laker

3 prayersEver find yourself looking for a tool to help frame your prayer time?  

Having a prayer framework can help you stay focused in your  conversation with Jesus. Over the years in my own journey I have used different frameworks to help guide my prayer times.  

A prayer framework is simply a pattern to follow in your prayer time for life.  Jesus provided this to the disciples when they asked him how to pray.

Mike Bickle, in his book “Growing in Prayer: A Real-Life Guide to Talking with God,” shares about how nearly all prayers can be categorized into three themes.

Using these three themes, you can frame your prayer time.  To start, you could spend time within each theme, You could draw three circles that overlap just a little in your journal and place within those circles a request that follows under each heading. Then start praying.  

The three themes to consider are:

1. Praying for the fruit (or Character of Christ) to be established in people’s lives.

It is the desire of Jesus that the fruits of the Spirit, as we read in Galatians 5:22-23, are developed in us.  As the fruits of the spirit take root and reproduce in our life or others we both will enter, engage, and experience the life we were created for.  This areas is about praying for personal character to be transformed by Jesus. 

What this could look like:

Jesus I bring to you Sue (a name chosen at random, not connected to anyone in specific).  Holy Spirit let her see and hear clearly the voice of the spirit guiding her.  Reveal where there may be sin holding her back so that fruit may spring up out of the darkness from your light.   May she know you in greater depths and may she know herself and who she is created to be.   

2. Pray for the releasing of the gifts of the Spirit

Here we are asking for a releasing of the supernatural; we are praying for God’s power to be seen in people’s lives and other various places. (1 Cor. 12:7-10)

What this could look like:

Jesus, in John’s life, I ask for a greater measure of your power to be manifested. Release the gifts of the Spirit in his life that your kingdom may grow and lives be transformed.  Give him favour with others that he may serve and experience your power and glory.  

3. The wisdom of the Spirit released.

Here we are praying for an increase of understanding and insight into God’s plan and will and word for us or others.

What this could look like:

Jesus grant my church wisdom and insight as to the next steps we are to take.  Give us specific direction for each area of the life of the church and overall journey.  

These are just three themes to serve as a simple framework to guide your prayer time.  

What frameworks have you found helpful in your journey?  Try this for a week and see if it can help you and your prayer time.

Jesus Revealing Himself One Step at a Time

Posted on by Matthew Laker

Jesus often reveals himself one step at a time.

When we look at the life of the Apostle Peter, we see there were multiple touch points that led to Peter taking off and choosing to follow Jesus.

20150403_155523There was one day, in my own life, when I stood and watched my Father as he was helping one of my daughters learn to ride her bike. He encouraged her and he held on to the seat and walked behind her, steadying her. Then he let go. She did not know that he had let go, but he continued to shout encouragements. It wasn’t until she put her feet down to stop, after riding all around, that she realized grandpa was no longer holding on. He was close, but she was riding on her own. It was the multiple interactions with her bike, and encouragements from my Father, that had built up to this moment.

In a way, following Jesus is similar. He reveals who he is and that begins to push change in us. We become familiar with Jesus and we learn who we really are and how to walk with him, one small step building upon the other. As we put into practice the life he calls us to, we begin to take off. He does not leave us, but encourages us to ride and flourish.

We first encounter Peter in Matthew 4:18-22; Lk 5:1-11; and John 1:35.

If we put each moment in chronological order, the passage from the gospel of John would come first. This would suggest there was a progression for Peter coming to follow Jesus with multiple touch points that led up to him dropping his fishing nets. Before calling Peter to a full-on following though, Jesus let Peter come to him. Then as Peter’s understanding of who Jesus was increased, there was an adjustment to Peter’s commitment to him. The same is true in our own lives. As our knowledge of who Jesus is goes deeper, there will be a call to change in our own life.

When I look back upon the many stories I have heard of people coming to follow Jesus, each one generally has multiple touch points, either from reading the gospel or from actual experiences of Jesus. Like a rudder on a sail boat, the touch may be small, but over time there will be a great impact.

Try this exercise:

Take a moment and look back over the year. Where have you seen God at work in your life or in another? Write them down.

God seems to reveal himself to us in small portions in order to push us toward him. Sometimes there is one big experience, but for most of us, we experience small pushes that have the potential to redirect our lives in big ways.

Jesus often reveals himself one step at a time. Over the last few months, what has he been revealing to you?

We see in Peter’s story a number of interactions with Jesus. This brings change in Peter’s life. As our knowledge of who Jesus is goes deeper, there will be a call to change in our life. This will be a change that leads to wholeness; a change that leads us to producing the fruit we were created for.

Where is Jesus pushing into your life and challenging you?

How do I find the time to pray?

How do I find the time to pray?

Posted on by Matthew Laker

Finding the time to pray is one of the greatest challenges I hear from people.

chasm 2For followers of Jesus many times we both yearn for prayer and hide from prayer.  We know that prayer is something we should do.  We want to do it, but at times it seems like a chasm stands between us and actually praying.

Let me give you a few tips on how to start building your bridge to cross that chasm.

a. Our view of Jesus needs to refocus.

Think about the story in Luke 15 about the two sons.  In both cases the father shows grace to each son.  We see the father standing and waiting for the one who has walked away for a time. What does he do when he see us? He celebrates.

Then the other son is mad and standing outside and the father goes to him and engages him.  Jesus will do the same to us.

Jesus also shares that he is the living water.  The fact is we do not always believe that.  If we did we would come to him.  At times we believe TV shows are what we really need and so we turn them on.

b. Reshaping our view of prayer.

David Benner shares, “Spending time together ought to be the essence of prayer.”

This is a hard one because often our prayer life is about us asking God for things.  Now there is a place for that.  However, what does it look like to just be with Jesus? To say, “Jesus here I am”, and sit, or go for a walk with him.  Our relationship with Jesus only develops as we spend time together and our spending time with God is at the core of prayer.  It is not about getting the check list done.  It is about recognizing his presence in the moment of everyday life and that is part of the core of prayer.

Prayer is about spending time with Jesus.

c. Schedule it

In my life I have deemed it necessary for the good of my relationship with my wife to go on dates. Four months out, I picked nights, found a babysitter and booked it in the calendar.  If you are not willing to book it, it is not important.  You will always find time for the things that are important.

We need to start small and be realistic.  What if you try this week to take 10 minutes a day.

You do you have the time.

Are you looking for help to develop in-the-moment short prayers? Check out this post: “How to develop the Habit of prayer in one minute.”

d. Community and prayer

What if you met with one person with the purpose to pray?  You could call it your prayer partner.  Prayer is not just a personal thing.  Community plays a huge role.  Perhaps you connect with this person in the flesh or on-line, but connect to pray.

Prayer is something we learn and it is strange and awkward at times.  Prayer is a journey so do not forget that and begin to walk.

What is one things you will do right now to build the discipline of prayer?

Prayer, Why?

Posted on by Matthew Laker

inside church 2webWhy does God insist on our asking?

If God already knows what we need and even what we will be asking, why do we read in the New Testament the call to ask?

We underestimate who God is and the reality of his desire to want a relationship with us.  Prayer at its core is about connecting with God.  For many, they want to say their prayer, get what they want, and never talk with God again.  However, God wants a relationship.  For many that is a struggle to understand. It is not like the relationships we have with each other.  However, in one sense it is. 

I still struggle with the conversation around prayer. The struggle is often between my experience in life and what Jesus says about prayer.

Jesus is both King and Groom.  The language of the scripture is very relational in how God sees us and wants to interact with us.  Yet how do we speak with the King and Groom?

I am, over time, learning that the process of prayer is more about connecting us with God, then it is about praying for others. It is relational. Often our view of who God is, is the challenge to our prayer.  

At times, you and I may feel like the writer in Psalm 55 when he says, 

“God, listen to my prayer; don’t avoid my request.”

So what if prayer is about something else and not our request?

Many people carry an image of God that is more like Santa Claus than what scripture reveals.    A tension arises because scripture on one hand says ask and you receive, but then on the other, our experience knows often there is no answer or we must wait.  Then we wonder, why should we ask if there is no answer or why do we not receive? 

What if prayer is not about getting, but about knowing?

Jesus talked about perseverance in prayer ( Matthew 7:7-8).  The language used there carries with it a continued present tense.  This means we should keep asking, keep seeking.  Then as we do that, as we come to Jesus, we will find all that we need. There is a sense in which knowing Jesus begins to fill greater wholes in our life. This does not mean he will not provide the physical answers. Just that prayer has more to do with getting to know Jesus.

Hebrews 4:16 says, “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.”

Hebrews 4:16 speaks about how we come to the throne of God and there we find peace and mercy.  It is in the coming to the throne of God and the perseverance of asking that we receive mercy and grace to endure the moment we are in.  

God may very well know what we are about to ask and for sure knows our needs.  However, asking is about opening our life up to God’s presence and allowing God room in our life.  Only then will answers and transformation come.    

There is still tension around this conversation of prayer for me. However, our asking is about becoming aware of God’s presence and giving room in our life for his power to work.

Developing the Habit of prayer in one minute

Posted on by Matthew Laker

Have you ever said, “I want to be better in my prayer life,” or how about, “I want to increase my prayer time, but where will I find the time?”

Developing the habit of prayer is one of the great challenges for many believers today. For many of us, we must start with a simple mind shift when it comes to our prayer life.1304

When many people think of prayer, they think of intercession prayer and long periods of prayer. There is nothing wrong with those, but what if prayer is both less and more than that? What if it is about the relationship?

To develop any relationship we know we need multiple interaction. Now right away some are thinking, I do not have the time. However, prayer is about our relationship with God and for many of us we need to rethink that relationship.

The reality is you do have time, you just need to change your mind set. You may not be able to spend long periods in prayer, but you can however, develop the habit of not ignoring God in the everyday.

Dean Inge says, “If we spend 16 hours daily of our waking life thinking about the affairs of the world, and five minutes in thinking about God, this world will seem 200 times more real than God.”

One of the core realities of prayer is to connect us with God and get out of the habit of ignoring God. Prayer, at its basic level, is just about recognizing God’s presence with us and in us. It is stopping for a moment to look upon him — taking a moment to thank him, confess, call for wisdom or help, ask for direction, or pray a blessing for someone else.

In my life I have been reflecting on how to do this and how to help other people who are dealing with the same problem. Then one Sunday at church the pastor brought up a man named John Burke in his sermon in regard to a practical tip. John Burke shares in his book, “Soul Revolution,” a way to stay connected to God and be responsive to him. What he introduces is a mind shift in thinking about prayer.

He called it the 60/60 challenge, but when I first heard it the pastor changed it to 60/40. The challenge works like this: Every 60 waking minutes set an alarm to beep at the top of the hour. When the alarm beeps, take a moment to talk to God, but not to tell God everything you need him to do. Instead, this is a moment to interrupt our ignoring of God. Possible elements of this minute or two may include:

– recognizing his presence

– giving thanks and confessing

– asking if there is anything you need to hear

– listening

– praying for someone else

Now you do not have to do all of these points or spend much time in them, just a minutes or two is all you are doing. The beep is to remind you that God is there — to look upon Christ.

As we develop the habit of prayer, a great first step is to interrupt our ignoring of God.