Two categories of prayer :
- Subsidiary “Chatter” praying
- Formal “Tap Root” praying
The podcast is at –
http://www.greentreechurch.com/message-sort/podcasts-by-series/treasuring-your-treasure-values-of-gtcc/
A Worksheet of suggestions to grow in Prayer
Informal “Chatter” Prayer
1. Pay attention to the conversation in your head, and understand, deliberately, that God is part of it.
2. Cultivate awareness of complaints, turn them into praise through an act of willful prayer.
3. Praise Him for the delightful things that catch your eye.
4. Pay attention to the body of language of people and pray for them according to the insight.
5. Practice random acts of prayer.
6. Share with someone that you are doing all these things and invite them to be a fellow traveler.
7. Always (always means always) at a verbal or unconscious level, receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit by saying an informed “thank You.”
Formal Prayer
1. Set aside a time and place every week. Mark it as high priority, meaning you will only cancel the appointment for death or sickness. Start with 30 minutes. Keep increasing. Set a goal to grow to a full day in prayer.
2. Find (ask for help from the Holy Spirit or your prayer traveler) a scripture and pray your way through it.
3. Buy a Book of written prayers, and read them as your own (e.g “In the Valley of Vision”) Ask around and search for more.
4. Buy and study a book on prayer (e.g. “Prayer” by O. Hallesby) Ask around and search for more.
5. Use the Lord’s Prayer as a template. (Maximise: Your Name, Your will, Your Kingdom (Develop a relationship with a few missionaries, familiarize yourself with and pray for the persecuted church), Temptation (Reflect on your life and the chatter in your head and understand the dynamics of your individual temptation) and Forgiveness (Your need of, any people you have not forgiven). Minimize: Daily Bread
6. Write out some formal prayers.
7. Never pray without first reflecting on the Majesty of God. Never Ever. Let your first sentence(s) always be in exaltation of Him. Always. Every time.
8. Seek always to pray with a scripture in mind, and apply the scripture to the requests (daily bread) you make.
9. Invite a friend to do help you develop and hold yourself accountable.
10. Develop a list of promises God has made, and pray them in their context. E.g. The Church (look for promises in Ephesians; Holiness, Look for promises in 1 and 2 Peter. Develop your own lists)
11. Introduce lofty praying in every context where you pray.
12. Always (always means always) at a verbal or unconscious level, receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit by saying an informed “thank You.”
progressingpeople 