Jackson Five easy.

 A grateful heart is a beginning of greatness. It is an expression of humility. It is a foundation for the development of such virtues as prayer, faith, courage, contentment, happiness, love and well-being. –James E. Faust 


It happens to everyone, Sometimes it feels like prayer just ain’t happenin’, no matter how badly our heart yearns to pray.

Maybe our brains feel all jumbled up, a Word Search where the letters are all scattered every which way. All the news lately may feel like an assault, and this is the result.

Maybe our lives are just so busy we haven’t time to think things through the way we’d like.

Maybe—maybe we never really thought about what it means to pray, so we have some crazy expectation of ourselves.

Truth is, prayer is exactly whatever we believe and expect it to be. And it’s also true that sometimes, we need guidance. Help.

This week, I offer you something different. (At first, it might sound like it will take more time than you have to give. Try it, anyway, and see how it goes.)

Try praying through the alphabet, a few letters at a time.

Maybe you simply want to drop a name, or a situation. God gets that. Maybe starting with the ABCs will get you unstuck.

I’ll start. God, today I pray for Afghanistan . . . Broken hearts . . . Children . . . Debbie . . . Environment. . . .


Monday Start the week praying for those closest to you by name. If you get stuck at a letter, pause and move on. God will fill in the blanks. Proverbs 22:1-2

Tuesday Draw the circle wider. Pray by name for people who you may not know, but see every day, or pray by what their vocation is (artists . . . bus boys . . .). Psalm 125

Wednesday Today, pray for situations that arise in your heart. Pray over the hump. Isaiah 35:4-7

Thursday Pray for leaders: in your church, in your community, in the nation. Psalm 146

Friday As the weekend closes in, pray for people whose jobs are challenged as the pandemic refuses to give us a break. James 2:1-10

Saturday Pray for the families and friends of lives lost twenty years ago today when the Twin Towers fell, and for first responders in your life. James 2;14-17

Sunday Pick one letter and pray for the things your heart longs to experience. Proverbs 22:8-9; 22-23

 

In my deepest, darkest moments, what really got me through was prayer. Sometimes my prayer we “Help me.” Sometimes a prayer was “Thank you.” What I’ve discovered is that intimate connection and communication with my Creator will always get me through because I know my support, my help, is just a prayer away. –Iyanla Vanzant

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