My prayers used to sound like I was catching up with one of my old friends over tacos: lots of topics, pretty unfocused (even a little wordy and excessive if I'm honest!). I thought of Jesus as my friend, so my prayers sounded like conversations I'd have with friends — about my job, my issues, my kids, and the world around me. I often repeated the same requests over time, sometimes thoughtlessly.
Don't get me wrong, I think God is happy when we talk to Him at all. I don't think He gets tired of hearing from me or you. But I started to feel like my prayers weren't mattering much. I wondered if I might be one of the people Jesus was talking about when He said,
And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. — Matthew 6:7
I became less satisfied with my random, conversational prayers. They felt haphazard — and at worst, a little self-centered.
My prayer life shifted when I began to pause and decide before I spoke what I wanted to say to God. I did that by using five types of prayers I found in Scripture. These prayers throughout the Bible are powerful and effective. The more I modeled my prayers after them, the more focused, bold, and fruitful my prayers became.
These types of prayer appear again and again and began to help me think through what I'm really saying or asking of God. I often name the type of prayer I'm going to pray, which sharpens my focus and helps my prayers answer the question Jesus asked so many people:
What do you want Me to do for you? — Mark 10:51
Sometimes the answer is — nothing! Sometimes I just want to say how much I love Him and acknowledge His presence in my life. Knowing that has helped me do it more deeply.
1. Praise – When you speak the truth of who God is
I often look out my back windows and see the truth about God through the seasons, the trees, the sky, or the position of the sun. My backyard reminds me of His beauty, faithfulness, power, and goodness. Like the Psalms show me, I turn this kind of observation into prayers of praise to help me remember that God is always at work above my circumstances, like
Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; His greatness no one can fathom. — Psalm 145:3
Praise acknowledges God's sovereignty and prepares your heart for the rest of your conversation with Him by placing you rightly below Him in awe and trust.
2. Thanks – When you express gratitude for what God has done and promises to do
Thanksgiving is more than a polite "thank you." It is a recognition of God's provision and promises. For two months, I thanked God for fifteen things every morning before getting out of bed. I thanked Him for my husband beside me, the warm water waiting in my shower, the health of my kids, the bed I was in, the work I get to do, the Dunkin hazelnut brewing in my coffee pot.
This kind of prayer shifted my perspective from what I lack to what I've already been given. As Paul wrote,
Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
— 1 Thessalonians 5:18
Gratitude cultivates trust in what you cannot yet see. It aligns my heart with God's track record so I can see more clearly.
And clear eyes are definitely required for the third type of prayer.
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