Lyn, Erin, and Cindy are co-instigators in a new synchroblg, entitled, How Do You Pray? (Lyn, thanks for the invitation.) This sychroblog is open to anyone who cares to participate. So, feel free to jump in. Just remember to link back to one of the afore mentioned individual’s sites.

I have thought about my prayer life in terms of influences and stages that I have gone through. Here they are.

Performance. When I was a pastor I always felt that I had to perform by coming up with a moving and eloquent prayer. Prayer became as demanding and tasking as preaching.

Formulas. ACTS was my favorite (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication.) I felt that each prayer needed to be balanced. Perhaps, not a bad idea, but too mechanical for me.

Lists. Church prayer meetings and prayer lists in which we went through the whole thing or assigned requests was a common expectation. This one bored me, wore me out, and seemed like vain reputation.

Charismania. Most of my pastor friends were neo-Pentecostals, so I heard some very dramatic, bold prayers in which people would take authority over this and that and boss demons and God around. This had a short-term appeal for me, then it seems as phony as all the above.

“Blessings.” Mealtime prayers have been our family tradition since day one and they have also been a tradition in the churches that I pastored. I found myself droning through them and they too wore me out.

Fasting. I have tried this… a very big thing for me since I am a religious eater. I have felt like the common conception about fasting is an attempt to be manipulative of God. I struggle with Jesus’ words about this kind (of demon) comes out only with prayer and fasting. The Old Testament teaching about fasting for victims of injustice resonates with me.

Pain, Heartache, and Frustration. In the last few years I have felt like the catcher of some totally unexpected curve balls. God, of course is the pitcher in my metaphor, but he never signaled that he was going to through a curve. Now I have grown fond of saying that God throws mostly curves. These things have driven me to honest prayer. I don’t think that it is very pretty nor eloquent prayer, just honest. I have yelled, cried, “hit the wall,” and, at times, had unexplainable peace and joy.

How do I pray? My practice for decades has been to start the day with prayer and try to get my mind focused by getting God’s perspective on things. Usually, I have something of a process that I move through… asking for God’s help to get his take on things, looking back at yesterday and ahead to tomorrow, talking about whatever is on my heart, praying for the people in my life, and trying to “hear” him and figure out what he is “saying.” My favorite prayer postures and places include, kneeling, walking, and in the shower.

Prayer, like so much of our life, especially our religious life, easily get shrouded in pretension and that is a killer for any authentic, intimate relationship. It seems like God shows up when we get real. It’s not some kind of guarantee because sometimes he does not show up, at least, not as far as we can tell or in the way we would like. Though it seems like two lovers in the most intimate of relationships long to hear and speak to each other in deeply honest ways from the depths of their heart.

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