Rethinking Prayer | A 5 Point Approach

When it comes to rethinking prayer, one has to ask if we have been overthinking prayer. In some ways it’s like the sun is setting on this ancient spiritual practice.

JVI | sundown today | 03.14.24

And perhaps the sun is setting. We have certainly examined prayer from every angle.

At least that’s what I felt like, until I found a couple ways of prayer that are transformative. One is the ancient practice of Lectio Divina, really a way to pray through Scripture.

The second is this 5 point outline for praying, and for crafting prayers.

1) a name for God

In the same vein as the “Our Father,” we begin by giving glory to God for one of His names.

There are countless names for God given in Scripture, names that carry the full power of the Holy Word, names that glorify Him.

Yahweh Rapha…

I choose to pray today using the name which means the God who heals.

There may be some correlation with the name Saint Raphael, who is the 3rd Archangel, and the angel who delivers healing (according to the Catholic Church).

I have certainly pleaded for a touch many times, whether it be from Yahweh Rapha or from Saint Raphael.

2) thanksgiving in association with the name

It’s important to link the name of God to something tangible that He’s done in your life. God is not merely transcendent, over it all, looking down on us. God is also with us in the mess of everyday life. It is good to pick a name and have something tangible to say to express our gratitude for who He is.

Gratitude is a lost art, but still an essential ingredient in prayer.

If your children did nothing but ask you for things or for favors, it would get old after awhile. God forbid, you might be tempted to turn a deaf ear.

But if your children learned simple ways to express gratitude, you would feel appreciated. You might be tempted to give them more.

Gratitude is a Biblical practice that we are commanded to practice until it becomes second nature, 1 Thessalonians 5.18

Yahweh Rapha, thank You for healing my sensitive spiritual eyes with glimpses of You, despite the pain I see around me and in the world…

3) a petition, a prayer

Naming the name of God exalts Him. Thanking Him for what He’s done, in line with His name, humbles us. We put God in His place first, and then we thank Him for the place that He’s given us alongside of Him.

This praise of God and gratitude for what He does positions our hearts to ask for Him to do something new in our midst.

4) so that…

In some ways, this is the crux of the prayer. It’s not enough to praise God. Neither is it enough to thank God. It’s not enough to petition God. Prayer also requires purpose. Why are we seeking God for what we are seeking of God?

5) Trinitarian closing to the prayer

I know we are tempted to say something trite like, “in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen” It’s not trite because of the words we speak. It’s trite because of the way we repeat it by rote.

This is once again a good time to tie in the theme of the prayer with the closing Amen.

There are are different names for the Trinity as well. Often in Scripture the Father is just called God. Jesus Christ the Son is most often called Lord. One can also use the names, Holy Ghost, Holy Spirit, or simply Spirit.

Yahweh Rapha, thank You for healing my sensitive spiritual eyes with glimpses of You, despite the pain I see around me and in the world. Heal me from the posture of looking down on the world and help me to see You in the world, so that I will see Your face in the least of these, and so that my heart will be prepared to fully engage the world as You so loved the world. Accomplish this in me through the divine love and will of God, so that I may participate in the very activity of Jesus Christ our Lord as He ministers to those around me, in the power and the influence of the Holy Spirit. Amen

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