ABC Prayers

Sometimes our prayer life gets into a rut. I remember about a year ago, we talked in our small group about how prayer should be more of an ongoing dialogue with God rather than these little hit and miss desperate cries for help finding the car keys. So I remember one day on a walk with my kids, I was thinking about this and trying to formulate a plan of action. My mind instantly slipped into teacher mode- I taught Middle School Language Arts and Social Studies for 6 years prior to staying at home to raise my kids, so cut me a little slack on the "nerd factor" here. I came up with a plan and I'd like to pass it along to you. It has "teacher" written all over it, but it has been useful to me and could be useful for you and your family too. 


It may seem a little dorky. But you have to try it before you judge. If you have kids, this would be an awesome family activity. On my walk that day, I started with the very basic premise of the alphabet and praying through each letter. For example, I would make my topic for a day "The attributes of God" and I would start with the letter A. A-awesome. B- bigger than my fears. C- creator of all things. You get the idea. Another day, I might wind my way through the alphabet with prayer requests- A- advance my ability to lead. B- bring relief to someone I know who is sick. C- comfort a person who is mourning a loss. D- deepen my devotion to study and prayer. This works really well with kids. An extension of this could be to have a prayer basket on the dinner table filled with letters of the alphabet on cards- you could draw one out each night and discuss words that begin with that letter that describe how we feel about God, who He is to us, or things we are thankful for. I am planning on doing this with my sons this week. 


Another practical use of this for adults would be to get a prayer journal and on the first page, write the letter A- think of a word that praises God that begins with that letter- for example "adore". Then write out a prayer, a poem, or a song expressing your adoration to Him. Then take some time to look verses up in your Bible and write them down to meditate on that have to do with adoring God.


It sounds really elementary, and it is. But sometimes getting back to basics can allow for a lot of growth. You can't get much more basic than your ABC's! God loves to hear from His children- I think any method we can use to start and carry on a conversation with Him is a good thing. Once the basics are mastered, and the routine of a daily dialogue is established, the topics will get deeper and the relationship will flourish. There is power in prayer and I pray that all of you will make the effort in some way to embrace the power today. 



Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.


1 Thessalonians 5:16-18