Prayer Leaders Share Their Best Practices
By John Maempa
How often have we heard people say, “I know I should pray, but I just don’t know what to pray about or where to begin”? Frankly, all of us have struggled with that from time to time. Yet, for people who continue to wrestle with knowing how or what to pray, we can direct them to the Book of Psalms, the prayer book of Scripture.
While the Book of Psalms isn’t all about prayers, there are a lot of them—prayers of praise, prayers of confession, prayers for help and protection, and prayers of hope and trust. There is a template for almost any kind of challenge or concern we might face in life. Because this is true, most of us find ourselves turning to the Psalms over and over again in our prayer experience.
For a number of years as director of the prayer center for the Assemblies of God national offices, I had the responsibility and privilege of providing a brief intercom devotional at the beginning of the workday, four mornings each week. Additionally, I recorded a daily Scripture and prayer “prayervotional” on a call-in phone line. With that many devotionals to prepare throughout the year, I turned to the Psalms many times. I took a basic approach—select a psalm, build a brief devotional around it, and then pray the psalm. Here is an example from Psalm 93:1–2:
“The Lord reigns, he is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength; indeed, the world is established, firm and secure. Your throne was established long ago; you are from all eternity.”
Prayer: O, Lord God, we are in awe of Your greatness, power, majesty, and holiness. There is no one like You in the heavens above or the earth beneath. You alone are the Almighty God, the architect of the world and universe and all that exists therein. You are past our comprehension, yet You love us with an everlasting love. We thank You and praise You on this day for the unspeakable blessings of Your love, grace, and favor toward us. Amen.
On another occasion, wanting to encourage the listeners to collectively and individually be a symphony of praise, I chose Psalm 63:3–8:
“Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands . . . with singing lips my mouth will praise you. On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. I cling to you; your right hand upholds me.”
Prayer: O, Lord God, may we, like David, be instruments of praise unto You. May our lips glorify You, not only in the sanctuary but in the workplace, in the marketplace, in our neighborhoods, and in our families. Then may we collectively comprise a beautiful symphony of praise that will compel a troubled world to stop and listen and be drawn to the love, joy, and peace we share. Amen.
Another meaningful way I’ve discovered to pray the Psalms is to personalize them by adding the names of those close to me. For example, I may pray Psalm 33:13–14 this way: “From heaven, O Lord, I know that You are not only watching over all mankind, but You are watching over my family. From Your dwelling place, You can see John, Heidi, Ashley, Ryan, and Sydney. I thank You that they never escape Your notice. What a wonderful assurance this is! Amen.”
From My Praying Friends
A number of my friends and ministry colleagues on America’s National Prayer Committee also have discovered the value of tapping into the rich treasure trove of the Psalms in their prayer lives. I asked some of them to share insights on how they approach the Psalms in prayer. Many thanks for their rich contributions!
Jeff Eckart is director of Claim Your Campus, an organization that mobilizes students to pray every day on high school and middle school campuses in America:
“I read through a psalm passage in its entirety and always try to be mindful of the context and the author’s original intent. Then I break the text I am praying into different groupings by looking for natural breaks or changes in the themes or content of the passage. These groupings and themes guide me in praying. I simply allow the Holy Spirit to lead the way and allow the biblical content to shape my time of prayer.”
Kevin Senapatiratne leads a ministry called Christ Connection that seeks to encourage pastors, bring hope to smaller churches, and raise up a movement of prayer. He relates the value of the Psalms in his prayer life from a unique cultural perspective:
“[As] a man living in Minnesota, expressing emotion is not always encouraged. That is why, since my teen years, I have loved praying the Psalms. I find the full range of feelings expressed. I love to take a psalm, learn its story, and then make it part of my prayer life over a period of time. Sometimes I memorize the psalm. Then when I’m feeling an emotion that I don’t know how to express, the words of the psalm become my words. I love praying the Psalms!”
Rebecca Shirey is a speaker and author who also travels extensively with her husband Lou in prayer and pastoral care ministries in the International Pentecostal Holiness Church. She delights in the privilege of praying the Psalms:
“These poetic verses comprised the prayer book of Jesus when He was on earth. We have the opportunity to pray the prayers He prayed. When praying the Psalms I sometimes kneel, which places me in a posture of humility and receptivity. Different phrases become prayer points as I repeat them, reword them, and insert my name or the name of someone I’m praying for, making each phrase personal to the need at the time.
“One year, after reading each psalm, I listed in the margin of my Bible what I learned about God. Each characteristic became a prayer of praise back to Him. This record in the margin of my Bible is a catalog of His goodness with each rereading of the psalm, a reminder of His greatness.”
Senator Ed Moore (Oklahoma, retired) crisscrosses the nation in America’s flagship of prayer, Prayer Force One. He is blessed by the impact the Psalms have on preparing his heart for prayer:
“Praying the promises of Scripture, especially the Psalms, is always the foundation of expectant prayer. However, I have found that conditioning my heart with Psalms before I pray is so very helpful. To pray with a heart in tune with God is essential and nothing does this better for me than the tender beauties of the Psalms.
“Someone once said, “Strange that a harp of a thousand strings should stay in tune so long.” The Psalms serve to keep my heart in tune with the majesty and mercy of God. When the Bible says, “Let not mercy and truth forsake thee” (Prov. 3:3, KJV), it admonishes us to depend on the mercies of God as the basis of all our supplications. If we bathe ourselves in the Psalms before we pray, we will have no difficulties in voicing them as we pray; for, “Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Ps. 23:6).”
Doug Small is founder and director of Project Pray and director of prayer for the Church of God, Cleveland, TN. He relays his approach to the Psalms from the perspective of personal transformation:
“I simply read a unit, several verses that hang together, several times. I reflect and then I ask myself, What word, phrase, or verse is leaping off the page at me? Then I wrestle with that idea in context. What is God saying to me in this moment? Is there something in me to be changed? Is there some new idea or awareness to be cultivated? Is there an attitude or action involved here?
“Sometimes the answer is clear, at other times the pursuit occurs over a series of days or weeks. The goal is not only clarity and cognitive learning, but transformation. With an answer, I rest. The goal is congruence, reconciliation with what God is saying, followed by a resolve to congruent action—read, reflect, reason, wrestle, and redirect.”
Kay Horner is executive director of the Awakening America Alliance and Center for Spiritual Renewal. She notes that a spiritual mentor in the faith helped her early on to understand the power of praying God’s Word:
“Incorporating God’s Word into my prayers is one of the most powerful elements in my personal prayer life. We are to enter His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise, and nothing inspires our hearts to praise like God’s Word does!
“On the first day of the month, for example, I would pray Psalm 1, 31, 61, and 121 (adding 30 to each day’s date allows you to pray through the entire Book of Psalms by the end of the month). The Psalms have since become a rich part of my prayer life on a consistent basis. They are rich not only in praise but also in petitions or cries of desperation. There are many prayers that I can personalize for my life situations. While we want prayer to flow from a heart that is in right relationship with God, He is OK with our using His words when we don’t seem to be able to verbalize our own. Just as He’s comfortable with our silence, He loves hearing the Holy Spirit breathe His written Word through our lips.”
John Bornschein is senior pastor of Calvary Fellowship Fountain Valley Church, Colorado Springs, CO, and the former vice chairman of the National Day of Prayer Task Force. He echoes the value of praying God’s Word:
“Scripture calls praise the “fruit” of our lips (Heb. 13:15). With our lips we glorify God, praise Him, and honor Him. The Psalms often describe this form of audible expression and encourage it greatly. For example, Psalm 63:3–4, states, ‘Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live.’ Similarly, Psalm 66:2 calls the people to, ‘Sing out the honor of His name; make His praise glorious’ (NKJV).”
Indeed, may we all “make His praise glorious” as we tap into the rich, deep, and very real, human, expressions of prayer, praise, and petition found in the Psalms.
JOHN T. MAEMPA recently retired as director of the Office of Prayer and Spiritual Care at the Assemblies of God (AG) national office in Springfield, MO. He continues to write, speak, and represent the AG on the Pentecostal/Charismatic Churches of North America Prayer Commission.
Praying the Psalms Creatively as a Family
By Kim Butts
If you yearn for a fuller, richer life of prayer, spend time hanging out in the Psalms! For both individuals and families, the Book of Psalms is the most amazing prayer book. Through it, we can discover more fully the nature and character of God, we can gain a richer vocabulary to express our hearts to God, and we can step into the creativity of prayer. Here are a few possibilities to explore:
Learn about God’s character. As you read and pray through the Psalms, gather descriptions and names of God. This can be an ongoing delight, for each time you read through a psalm, or even a different version of the psalm, you will discover something new about God that you may not have seen before. Psalm 145 is a good place to jumpstart your search.
As you gather names, add them to a poster board or assemble them into a collage that can hang on a wall in your child’s bedroom as a daily reminder of God’s character.
Pray as the psalmists describe. Here is an amazing opportunity for the creativity of prayer that will engage young and old alike. Psalm 98:1 says, “Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.”
What is a new song? It is one you make up yourself either using the words of the psalmist to your own tune and style—or singing whatever the Holy Spirit has placed in your heart. Practice doing this alone, and then ask God for the courage to share your new song with your family. Teach it to your family and sing it before your mealtime prayers.
The Book of Psalms also encourages praise to the Lord through the use of musical instruments and physical movement. Psalm 149:3 says, “Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with timbrel and harp.” We can express praise to God by moving our bodies (in whatever form dancing looks like for you) or by the addition of piano or other instruments. This can be a fun expression of prayer. My little granddaughter likes to use rhythm instruments as she dances for Jesus. Families can learn together and encourage one another to have a fuller expression of praise.
At times the Holy Spirit will urge you into fresh, new experiences of praying the Psalms that might make you a bit uncomfortable. But as you practice, it can also set your heart free to fully engage God’s presence if you will remember that He is the only audience! Find a balance in free expression when around others. We never want to distract others as they worship in their own ways. So keep this in mind as you learn and grow in your prayers of praise to the Father.
Use your imagination. One wonderful way to use the Psalms as you pray is to exercise your God-given creativity through drawing, painting, or sculpting. Both children and adults can enjoy praying the Psalms by “drawing” their prayers or artfully crafting them in other ways! Perhaps the Psalms can become a unique coloring book for your prayer life. Psalm-based art projects of various types can also cure children’s boredom during school vacations.
Listen to what the Spirit speaks to your heart as you pray through this amazing book of prayer, and unleash your imagination to pray the Psalms in many creative and engaging ways.
KIM BUTTS is co-founder of Harvest Prayer Ministries
