Are you feeling like your prayer life is lacklustre? Does God feel distant? Is your list of requests long, overwhelming, and regardless of praying for them you are still anxious?

I can identify. This is my default prayer mode. Wow, do I ever need God to draw me into and guide me in my prayer life. I am reminded that Jesus gave me a prayer that does just that.

My name is Corey Porter and I have had the privilege of writing this prayer series: “Learning to worship God in my prayers.” If you want to receive these reflections directly to your inbox, you can subscribe to our prayer emails at p2c.sh/subscribe

To give you some context of my journey, I have served with Power to Change – Students since my first year of university. Throughout the years, I have had many adventures serving as: a student leader, mission trip participant, intern, a staff lead at University of British Columbia, and a facilitator of partnerships with many ministries and churches. Currently I am writing content for the Creative Communications Department of P2C-Students.

Confessing my self-centred approach to God in prayer

Even after so many years of partnering with God, I am continually convicted of my lacklustre prayer life. Not only do I often fail to prioritize my quality and quantity of time in prayer, I also tend to approach God with misguided attitudes and expectations.

Sometimes I am so consumed with or overwhelmed by immediate life needs that my first reaction is to stress out, feel anxious, and feel the pressure to solve problems myself.

In my impatience to see resolution, I rush to God with many pressing requests. I am so immersed in and concerned about the happenings of my life and ministry that I often find my prayers resembling a wish list of things I want to see God bless and make happen. My prayers gravitate to centre around me. Do you find that your prayers can be like that too?

I often find my prayers resembling a wish list of things I want to see God bless and make happen. My prayers gravitate to centre around me.

Learning to worship God in my prayers

As I reflect on my default prayer posture, a few questions continue to challenge and change the way I pray. If my conversations with God primarily consist of me talking about my needs and wants, isn’t that an imbalanced relationship? 

Even in my human relational experience, if my friends are dominating the conversation with only what they need or want, it doesn’t build much of a dynamic relationship. What would it mean for me to let God take the lead in my prayer life? What would that look like? Where can I go to learn about how God desires me to approach him in prayer?

Over and over again I realize my need to align my prayers with the prayer Jesus taught his disciples and to allow his template to increasingly shape my prayers. What would happen if my prayers had the same posture that Jesus modelled? How would this impact my deepening relationship to and worship of Jesus?

What would it mean for me to let God take the lead in my prayer life?

I want to invite you to experience how the Lord’s prayer can orient your prayers towards a more dynamic relationship with God, a heartfelt worship, and a transformation of your desires to his kingdom priorities. In this series I will mostly share personal reflections from my own experience of prayer but will also draw from the written tradition of the Shorter Catechism.

 

What is prayer?

“Prayer is offering our desires to God in the name of Christ for the things that agree with His will, confessing our sins, and thankfully recognizing His mercies.” Shorter Catechism Q. 99

How does God direct us to pray?

The whole word of God, but especially the Lord’s prayer, which Christ taught his disciples, directs our prayers.” Shorter Catechism Q. 99

 

Church tradition affirms what God has been doing in my prayer life for many years. As I have learned to allow the Word of God (and the Lord’s Prayer in particular) to direct my prayers, I have experienced a more dynamic relationship with my heavenly Father, increased my heartfelt worship of him, and seen him align my prayer requests to what gives him glory.

Written by Corey Porter.

 

Read more from this series:

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