I know I am not alone when I say that struggle in offering praise to God. I do not struggle to feel gratitude for all that God has done, nor to emotionally be engaged when I consider that the Creator wants to listen to me. But the words … they do not always come naturally.

In a recent small group meeting we made a list of some things that Peter praised God for in 1 Peter 1:3-5. If you are struggling with ‘the pulse of prayer’, then I encourage you to learn from Peter and let his inspired words inspire you.

~The Father of Jesus Christ~

God we are filled with amazement and gratitude when we consider your relationship with our Savior and Brother Jesus Christ. He has brought such joy and confidence into our lives as we depend upon Him. He constantly points us to You in His teachings and we are learning to love You just as we love Him. We do not know how You, as His father, allowed Him to endure the cross – but we are so thankful for your love for us expressed in Jesus.

~Mercy~

Lord we recognize that we deserve nothing from You. Your love has endured with us through so many failures and stumbles. We could only expect your disapproval and ultimately hell… but because of your Mercy we are able to speak to You this moment. Your mercy is enduring, overwhelming, overflowing.

~New Birth~

Father, Jesus taught us to pray “our Father”, and we can truly do this because we have been born again into Your forever Family. As we look back at our lives before we knew You, we shudder with shame, regret, and guilt. We do not dwell there, though, because we are filled with rejoicing at being born into such a diverse and wonderful Family. Thank you so much for Your willingness to adopt us, Father us, grow us, and mentor us in Spirit.

~Hope~

Without You, we have no hope. No hope now – for we have tried to arrange and fix our lives on our own. We’ve just made a mess of it. No hope ever – we have no power to save ourselves. And so we await with patience the hope that is ours now, but which will be ours forever when it is fulfilled. As you know, we live in a hopeless world – a result of hopeless choices … only  You can give us hope.

~Resurrection~

Thank you for hope that includes the resurrection. The Divine testimony of the resurrection of Christ we read in our Bibles gives us the assurance that this resurrection is in your capable hands. We will arise … we will see our loved ones again … this life is not all there is. Some days, that’s the only thing that keeps us going.

~Inheritance~

Everything we own has an expiration date. The gold we wear won’t last into eternity. The possessions we so carefully inventory will be ash. But the inheritance that You have provided is in Your powerful hands. Forgive us for being so attached to this world. Remind us often of Your incredible provision … what awaits Your family.

~Shield of God’s Power~

Father we know that we are not shielded from disaster, troubles, or crisis. These things we experience (sometimes daily). But we know that no matter what happens on this earth, you are our eternal shield, the Enemy cannot have us. We remember through our tears and pain that we belong to You forever.

Our expressions of praise for who You are are inadequate, incomplete, lacking … but please accept them and grow within us the capacity for more. Thank you Father, Amen.

~John

]]> http://johndobbs.com/2012/01/17/the-pulse-of-prayer/feed/ 0 http://johndobbs.com/2011/06/25/prayer-journals/ http://johndobbs.com/2011/06/25/prayer-journals/#comments Sat, 25 Jun 2011 14:04:11 +0000 John Dobbs http://johndobbs.com/?p=4423 Continue reading →]]>

I’m a great beginner, but my perseverance level needs help. I have started prayer journals many times. Keeping up with them, however, is another story. My experience has been a mostly irregular one, and I’d like to change that.

While going through a file on prayer to prepare for a sermon I came across an article from 1997 I clipped from the magazine Pray! The author is Bradley Baurain.  There are some excellent ideas in this article I’d like to share with you.

- Set a Pattern. Decide if you want to write at a regular time and in the same place, or carry it with you to use whenever you have opportunity.

- Record Praise and Intercession. As prayerful people know, there will be times to thank God for answering our prayers as we hoped He would. Also, there will be an ongoing need to pray on behalf of others. Baurain suggests leaving a space after each person/situation on your prayer list so that you can later write in God’s answer.

- Include Personal Worship. There are some permanent prayer items – some things that will always need to be in our prayers and those should be on a special page. Expressing your prayers by writing them out can be a personal way to worship God in prayer. Some of those can be meditations on Bible passages.

- Store Treasures. Along the way you will come across sayings, thoughts, insights that relate to prayer. Write them in a special section of your journal.

- Review. Go back and look at previous entries from time to time. Baurain makes an excellent suggestion when he encourages,

“…set aside one or more journal pages for reflections on the impact of prayer in yoru Christian experience. How has God used prayer in your life? How has prayer deepened your walk with God?”

A prayer journal can enhance our spiritual journey in significant ways. It takes discipline – I know I struggle to do this regularly. Would love to hear your ideas about prayer journals and your experience with this practice in the comments.

Thanks for reading,

John

(This is a summary of Bradley Baurain’s article. If you want to read the article you can go to the Pray! Magazine site, create a free account and read it there. jd)

God, of your goodness, Give me yourself; For you are sufficient for me. I cannot properly ask anything less, to be worthy of you. If I were to ask less, I should always be in want. In you alone do I have all. ~ Julian of Norwich (ca. 1342)

What a powerful prayer. We seek so little from god Himself. We want His powerful blessings to rain down upon our lives. We give Him the laundry list of details He is to attend to in our lives. We casually ask for forgiveness, forgetting that it is only at the cost of the blood of His son that we can even approach Him. We mumble meaningless things at Him, as if He likes to hear us run through our common prayer habits.

I’m walking a thin line here, for I do believe that a casual ongoing prayer life is a part of our walk with God. So, on the one hand we can be so formal in prayer that we are afraid to speak to the Father as we go through the day. On the other hand, we can become so relaxed in our common prayer practices that we never put much effort into seeking Him with our whole heart.

Have you prayed to have more of God in your life? It is a big prayer, and it requires that we accept whatever implications that prayer contains. Having more of God may not fill all our temporal desires for life, but any less will leave us thirsty for God.

Thanks for reading,

John

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever

Dear Lord,

I sing your praises because you have led me so perfectly. On this journey I have faced my greatest fears. They were not imaginary, they were not irrational. They were as real as the wood that formed a casket. They were as severe and as strong as any I ever thought I might face. The Wolf did his best to ensnare me, wound me, devour me. Honestly, there were times when I thought he had. Yet here I am. You have led me to food and water. You taught me to live in your righteousness. You illuminated the path through the darkest valley. You led me to Your banquet table, so perfectly set even in the presence of my enemies.

Now You lead me home. My heart smiles as I realize that You are not leading me back to the sheep pen … back to the barn…back to my humble beginnings. You are leading me to Your house. Oh my God! My Shepherd! My Savior! What a home it must be! And look who’s here! No greater joy, no greater peace.

All those times I thought I’d find my own path are now revealed to be such foolishness. The voices of the The Enemy filled my ear and sometimes my heart, but he could never provide what You are giving me now. I was discouraged sometimes and wanted to give up but something inside wouldn’t let me.

I know. There is a sense in which I am still a lamb in your flock. The danger isn’t over. But in Your grace and mercy You have revealed to me the deepest longings of my soul.

I will dwell in the house of the Lord.  Forever.

Shepherd, I await the renewal of all things and look forward to our forever time together. Tomorrow I may find myself reminding my heart the virtues of this Song from the beginning once again. But the ending is the same. In faith I will wander the pasture with You. In the storms and miss-steps, I will remember where we are going. I will picture the beauty of your estate and think about how long we shall be there. Then the familiar words will ring truer than ever as they pass my lips.

The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.

~John

Dear Lord,

As I have followed the worn path through the fields of this Psalm, I have encountered danger, surprise, comfort, and fulfillment. No wonder so many have traveled this way before me. Doubtless many more will follow after me. Through the dark places and light, I have discovered no escape from Your presence. That makes me smile.

I am sure of Your goodness and love. True, sometimes I have to remind myself of the reasons why I am sure. I have to remember who You are, and all the places we’ve been together. Forgive me for memory lapses, even when they are embarrassingly long.

When I finally accepted the deep truth that Your love is forever, I took a step into Your arms. It has taken me some time to realize that this does not mean that I am already home. Your goodness and love following me does not mean the end of suffering.

I am sure that there were many times that Your careful shepherding averted sure disaster and guarded me from some misstep or consequence. In wistful hours I wonder why You cannot keep me from all pain. It is while contemplating these things that I recall that You are not sending pain into my life, rather, it is goodness and love that is following my uneven path. I’m sorry for the times that I blamed You for the evil I’ve suffered.

My Shepherd, no matter what happens in the length of my days, my hope remains in that one day that You bring me home. Until then, we travel together.

All the days of my life.

~John