Search

Prayers

Prayers

(Conversing with God)

After you hearkened to the Lord’s voice through the verse you contemplated, you now need to talk to Him.

He is longing to hear your voice as he conveyed to His bride: “ O my dove, in the clefts of the rock ,In the secret places of the cliff, Let me see your face, Let me hear your voice; For your voice is sweet, And your face is lovely” (Song of Solomon 2:14)


Your conversation with the Lord can be about any or all of the following:


-    The verse you contemplated
-    Your personal matters
-    Others’ needs
-    Prayers for your own service.
-    Prayer for the service as a whole everywhere.


1) The Verse:


Through the verse you contemplated, the Lord spoke to you about one of the points presented before, which may be: a sin, commandment, privilege, promise, one of His characteristics, or a biblical role model.


Therefore, you should talk to the Lord through what He already talked to you about. So it may be: confession, prayer, thanksgiving or glorification.


If He had talked to you regarding a certain sin, you should confess about it asking for forgiveness through Christ’s blood because: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

St Anthony said: “Do not keep the sins you committed because the best that one can offer is to confess his sins in front of God and blame himself.”

b) Prayer:


If God called you through the verse to forsake a certain sin, or to fulfill a commandment, ask of Him the help and strength to do so, for He said: “...For without me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

Very admirable is what Abba Isaiah said: “When you pray to God say: ‘My lord Jesus, You are my help and hope and I am under Your hands. You know what is profitable for me, so help me and do not allow me to sin against You nor to follow my desires; and do not refuse me for I am weak; and do not hand me over to my enemies for I have come to You; so save my with Your compassion”


c) Thanksgiving:


If God has through the verse shown that He had given you a certain privilege or blessing, thank Him for that as it was said “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thes 5:18)

St Isaac said: “No gift is without growth unless that which lacks thanksgiving”


He also said: “An unceasing thankful tongue receives the blessing from the Lord and grace is bestowed on a grateful and thankful heart.”


d) Glorification and Praise:


If the verse had pointed out a characteristic of the Lord such as His love and mercy, then glorify Him and exalt Him, that is what David the prophet once did when he said: “ Bless the Lord for His mercy endures forever” (Psalm 106:1)


This is the subject of the incessant prayer stemming from the contemplation verses.

St Basil the Great and Origen the scholar summarized four elements:


-    Firstly, we ought to glorify God with all our strength and our capabilities and we see that in psalms 103,104. Then, we thank Him for His goodness to the whole humanity (See David the prophet’s thanksgiving in 2 Samuel 22)


-    This is followed by confessing one’s sins and transgressions of God’s commandments and asking God to forgive his past sins and to heal all his spiritual infirmities that had overtaken him.


-    Finally, all of the individual spiritual and physical needs are presented as well for others.


-    At the very end, the prayer is concluded with glorifying God.


2) Personal needs:
-    This is another aspect of praying and conversing with God who is present with you in your prayer room.  Prayer can pertain to these important points:


a) Key decisions:


-    If you were faced with a situation that involves and requires a crucial decision or a difficult matter, place your request in front of the Lord and talk to Him regarding the matter.

Do this until the Lord guides you through the verses of the Holy Bible to a decision that coincides with His will because He promised: “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;I will guide you with My eye.” (Psalm8:32)


b) Setting your life’s goals:


Discuss your goals with the Lord, and whether or not it is His will to pursue them. Also, if these goals are according to God’s plan for you or not?

St Paul Said: “For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living.” (Romans 14:7-9)

c) God’s Involvement in your daily schedule:


Put God before all of your works and your visitations as your time is a gift from God to you. Ask yourself: will every minute be according to God’s will and plan?

Present your schedule to the Lord so that he may take off what is not pleasant to Him and add what He sees good. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”(Ephesians 2:10)


Will our works for the day be truly the good works that God has prepared so that we may go through with them?



3) Prayers for the others:


While in the presence of the Lord, it is good to pray for your brethren who are under trials just as yourself, as commanded by Saint James: “… and pray for one another.” (James 5:16)

That is what St. Paul the Apostle used to do as he said “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy” (Philippians 1:3, 4)


Once, St Personofious was asked: 
“If I was asked to pray for someone, am I supposed to pray for them or not? He answered: It is good to pray for whoever asks of you because the apostle says: ‘Pray for each other’ and people did pray for the Apostles. But we do that as unworthy and undeserving”


Let your conversation with the Lord also include your family members and friends, neighbors and your brethren; Christ’s members

… and your prayer can be:


A-    Around their situations, worries, their sickness, sadness, monetary needs, etc.


B-    Ask for them what you would want for yourself.


C-    Ask for God to visit with His salvation those who don’t know Him yet.


D-    Ask for the spiritual growth of those who have just begun to walk in God’s path, that God may increase their knowledge of Him. 

These are some matters that can help you to open the conversation with the Lord for others.  You may use a list of the names of those who you pray for and the specific supplication and the specific verse relating to that supplication if you can.

In addition, make note of the start date of your supplication and the date the prayer was answered so that you may thank the Lord. (Belowyou will find a schedule to help you organize your prayers for others.)


4) Prayers for your (local) service:

Among the other things that youcan converse to the Lord about, is the local services within the community and where you live.

The Church always taught us to raise prayers in the liturgy  saying “ Pray for this Holy place which is Yours…” and the deacon replies ‘ pray for this city of ours, districts, islands …”

You ought to pray for:


-    The Church services and other Churches in your same city and the country as a whole.


-    Pray for our fathers the priests, servants, preachers.


-    Pray for Sunday school children, Youths Meetings, and General Church meetings.


-    Pray for all the classes of people who attend the Church and those who do not attend.


-    Pray for the spreading of the gospel in every home and every heart.


-    Pray for the rulers


Our Lord said: “Ask Me of things to come concerning My sons;And concerning the work of My hands, you command Me.” (Isaiah 45:11)


5) Prayers for the whole world:


Undoubtedly, God loves the world (John 3:16), and He sent His disciples to the world to preach the Gospel (Mark 16:15). It is then recommended that we speak with the Lord regarding His plan for the world. 

Your conversation can be about:


-    The world’s salvation.


-    The outreach of preaching to every place, (every continent: Africa, Asia, Europe, Americas, and Australia)


-    Natural disasters such as volcanoes, earthquakes, wars, famines, epidemics that affect the world.


Supplications Table

Date of Prayer's Answer Supplication Start Date        Verse                             Supplication                    Name