Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24 We are often blind to our own failings. We do not see our prideful motives or greedy ways. We do not understand how our choices and behaviors are hurting others. We may not even be aware of the fears and … [Read more...] about Taking Inventory as Prayer

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. Psalm 51: 1,6 Prayer is not a performance. It is not an attempt to impress God. Prayer is honest communication. Transparency is the cornerstone of … [Read more...] about Honesty as Prayer

While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and “sinners”? On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice. For I … [Read more...] about Going to the Doctor as Prayer

I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power… to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3: 17-19 As we fall like a seed into the ground and die to our self-reliance and self-serving ways, the true life God created in us is … [Read more...] about Receiving the Fullness of God as Prayer

I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. John 12:24 Prayer awakens us. Prayer is a source of conscious contact with the One who is Life itself. So how is it that prayer is also the experience of dying? What might it mean that prayer leads us to fall, like a kernel of wheat, into the … [Read more...] about Dying as Prayer

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew … [Read more...] about Becoming Like Little Children as Prayer

Therefore, I urge you…in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices holy and pleasing to God— this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1-2 Prayer is an act … [Read more...] about Entrusting All to God as Prayer

Give us this day our daily bread. Luke 11:3 Prayer is acknowledging our need of God’s help. We tend to dislike our needs. We tend to want to meet our needs by ourselves. We may even feel ashamed of our needs. As a result, we are often afraid to rely on anyone else to help us, even God. But as we move away from self-reliance and begin to rely more and more on God, we begin to see how great our … [Read more...] about Acknowledging our Need of God’s Provision as Prayer

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6 Prayer, by its nature, moves us away from our reliance on ourselves and towards reliance on God. This text from Proverbs instructs us in this basic wisdom. “Trust in the Lord,” it says. Rely on God, lean on God, turn to God for … [Read more...] about Giving up Self-Reliance as Prayer

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. John 15:9 We have all watched loving adults bend low or kneel down, making themselves small so they can be face-to-face with a child. Parents do this instinctively out of a desire to connect and be present to the child. Out of loving desire to relate to small ones, big people make themselves temporarily small. Our … [Read more...] about Encountering the Love of God in Jesus