(BTW- “the Word” is Christian-speak for God’s words captured in print in the Bible.)
Ok, you’ve got homework for this one. Go read Genesis 1. Some real important things happened there. (Like all of creation.)
Now, quiz time:
1) When God made the world, what was the tool he used?
Correct! He “said” things into existence. He went about saying things like, “Light be”. Then there was light! He used his own words to create.
My personal deduction from that is that God places lots of value on words.
2) In whose image did God create mankind?
Correct, again! He made men and women in his own image (modeled us after himself).
My personal deduction from that is that God values our words highly and expects us to use them to create.
How does this apply to prayer?
What if we take something God values (his words) and combine that with something that needs to be created in our own lives (our needs being met) and make that our prayer?
Here’s a not-overly-personal example:
My thought for the year has to do with learning to “count is all joy when I fall into trials and temptations, knowing that the trials and temptations will help me mature” (James 1, Vicki’s version).
I know that I absolutely STINK at making myself count ANY trial or temptation a joy- so it is hard to get to a place that I can convince myself that I am going to be SO mature when God is through with me.
Thus- I am taking the “count it all joy- Vicki version” scripture and during my prayertime, I ask the Lord to bring those words of his to life in me.
Want to give it a try?
1) Take a need you have
2) Ask God for a Scripture for you to pray- start reading the Bible, eventually he will show you one, or it will come in some other way
3) Put it in your own words
4) Tell it to God daily
See what he creates in your life!
In the ACTS prayer format, the “S” stands for “supplication”. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication)
Basically, supplication simply means- asking God for something.
It could be asking Him for stuff, for something to happen in your life- or someone else’s life. We all need to ask God for something, sometimes.
Here are some tips on supplication:
1) God doesn’t give report cards- your format for asking doesn’t determine whether He listens to your prayer
2) However, God isn’t too interested in giving you stuff just to encourage your greed or keep you up with the Joneses
3) Just ask. Be honest. Be polite. (Ask just like you would ask a friend for something.)
4) Then let God decide what to do with your request. (He’s going to decide anyway, so you might as well just relax.)
5) Sometimes you don’t know what to ask for- you just know something needs to happen in your life (or in the life of someone you care about). In those cases, tell God that you don’t know what to pray for, but let him know you trust the Holy Spirit to help. (Check Romans 8:26, 27 to see how the Bible explains that.)
6) One very helpful way to pray is to ask God to give you a Scripture to pray regarding the need.
For instance, if you are concerned about your temper- Galatians 5:22,23 talks about “the fruit of the Spirit” being “love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, meekness, and self-control”. Ask God to help the Fruit of the Spirit to grow in your life.
You find a Scripture to pray by praying about it- ask God to show it to you. In some way, He will bring just the right Scripture to your attention. It will be through your reading the Bible where something will jump out at you. Or a friend will share a Scripture with you. Or it will be in the Sunday sermon. Something will happen. Just watch.
Supplication is part of a good relationship with God. So- ask.