Friday

On written prayers

I would guess most of you pray. From time to time you close your eyes and speak to God. Some of it may be contrition, some supplication and some praise. We encourage you to do that often. Combining prayer with reading the Word of God can work wonders for your soul. He actually may give you impressions or help clear things up for you. Pray on!

Talking and reading are good. How about writing? Have you ever written a prayer? Have you ever heard a written prayer read aloud? For some of you, the thought may take you back to earlier days when someone in flowing robes would stand in a high pulpit and say rather loudly, "O Lord, we thankest Thou for Thine Divine mercy and grace.....etc"

I am not talking about that type of read prayer. I am talking about writing a prayer so that you can get your thoughts in order. Now some would say, "The Holy Spirit will sort it out...I just need to blurt out words!" I call that sloppy praying. I wonder if God might call us, even as we would type an email to a friend and edit it as we think of a better word to use in this sentence or that, to write Him a prayer to read. Not to be formal, but to be respectful and real and thoughtful.

Just a thought. The Psalmists like the idea. Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah did too. I find when I write a prayer for public or private use it helps me "zone in" to what I really want to say or ask. Willing to try? Worship Well.