Eloquent Prayer
I started being exposed to a different kind of prayer once I was hanging around other Christians. In small group settings, in discipleship group meetings, and at church on Sundays, I could hear the ways that other, more mature, Christians, put their words together and I was humbled!
Because their words drew me much deeper into prayer time, a desire to learn how to pray well was ignited within me. Their eloquent words seemed to deliver prayers that carried more depth and meaning than my typical approach which included phrases such as "Lord, help me have a good day at work today" and "God, help my kids want to learn about You". Again, there is nothing wrong with these prayers... I simply knew I wanted more!
So, I started listening intently to the words of other praying Christians, hoping that some of their language would infiltrate my own. Of course, this is a process that takes time, investment in reading and understanding the Bible, and praying out-loud with other Christians.
An Easy And Powerful Addition
In the meantime, there is one VERY SIMPLE technique you can consider adding today with all your future prayer requests. That simple step is to add the following words at the end of all your prayers: ... in Jesus' name, Amen.
When I would hear this phrase recited by other Christians, I knew I liked it. It seemed both to honor and to ascribe Jesus' rightful place in a prayerful mindset. However, I did not fully understand its meaning until once when I was reading my Bible.
On that day, I came across the following quote from Jesus (John 14:12-14):
... And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
Coming across this passage not only educated me on why I heard this phrase so often, but it also highlighted for me the POWER of speaking these words in prayer.
Jesus Himself utters these words... I cannot imagine a better source for not only the suggestion itself, but also the outcomes tied to the action. Specifically, "... I will do it".
Of course, there are variations of this phrase that capture the intent (e.g., in His precious name, in the name of Your Son, etc.). The idea is to present all of your prayer requests with this tagline. In doing so, you will be a witness to how Jesus works to deliver your deepest needs and desires.
