Have you ever thought about becoming a person of prayer? Do you know where to start? Do you get easily distracted when you pray? Perhaps you feel like you could never measure up to Sister Super Spiritual?
You know, I wasn’t born a prayer warrior, but little by little God awakened me to His purposes in prayer.
Dear Beautifully-Made Readers, prayer is not about religion. It’s about a relationship; it’s about knowing God. The interesting thing is that as you pray and get to know Him more… you will get to know yourself better.
In fact, prayer is not a black and white activity. Like a rainbow of hope, it’s full of color. Therefore, I believe it’s the Lord’s desire for each of us to discover our own personal Prayer Palette. There are no rights and wrongs – only growing in intimacy with God.
So what is a Prayer Palette?
It’s a beautiful set of prayer types that fit your unique personality. Just like an artist mixes colors on a palette and uses just the right colors for her purposes, you need to know how God has specifically wired you for communion with Him.
Do you know that there are many methods that can be used for prayer? Here are just a few ways to color your palette:
- Soaking Prayer, Centering Prayer or Breath Prayers allow you to experience God’s love by focusing on His presence.
- Listening Prayer, Prophetic Prayer and Lectio Divina are prayer types that emphasize listening to God
- Inner Healing Prayer is a special type of prayer that ministers to a wounded heart so that a person can completely trust Jesus concerning a particular hurt, trauma or problem.
- Prayer with Dance, Prayer with Colors and Prayer Walking are great for people who have trouble sitting still.
- Intercessory Prayer and Harp-and-Bowl Prayer are still another type of prayer that stands in the gap when conflict arises so that God’s power is released through the Holy Spirit using scripture, praise and worship.
While all this prayer stuff may sound confusing, always remember… all you need to do is love God with all your whole heart (Mark 12:30) and let the Holy Spirit be your teacher (John 14:26). “Practicing with your Prayer Palette” will become one of the most exciting journeys of your life for He will direct your steps and you can grow into God’s great friend (John 15:!4-15).
I’ll be blogging more on Prayer Palettes on my website as time goes by, but if you’d like to know more about Healing Prayer or Lectio Divina, you can click here for some free resources.
In the meantime, let’s begin with a Breath Prayer. It’s a short petition, usually about 7-8 syllables long, and it’s repeated in the space of one inhalation-exhalation cycle that acknowledges the natures of both the Lord and the petitioner. Some examples are:
- Jesus, I receive your grace.
- Abba Father, I belong to you.
- Lord Jesus, have mercy on me.
- Thanks Jesus for your love.
Are you ready to try a Breath Prayer now? Just take a deep breath and silently speak to yourself… Holy Spirit. Then exhale and say… Come to me.
And another breath… Holy Spirit, come to me.
And another breath… Holy Spirit, come to me.
Oh how good is our God. You just started coloring on your prayer palette, and you can do this anytime, anywhere, anyplace. So how does it feel?
Blessings,
Barb