2 of 3

Concerned for a struggling young friend, I prayed for him along the lines of Luke 11:1 and Hebrews 4:16—Heavenly Father, teach James to pray. May he learn to approach your throne of grace with confidence so that he can receive mercy and find grace to help him in his time of need.

In praying for my missionary friend in the Ivory Coast of West Africa, I've leaned on Ephesians 6:19: God, I pray whenever Clint opens his mouth, words may be given him so that he will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel.

And praying for my church, I have sometimes taken my cue from the Lord Jesus in John 17:23—Father, may we be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent us and have loved us.

Keeping a prayer journal helps keep my habits on track, but those uncomfortable keeping a notebook can use the margins of their Bibles for the same purposes. As meaningful verses are found, they can be switched into prayers and offered aloud. A record of the person prayed for and the date can be jotted alongside the text with a fine-point pen.

Another version of this technique involves memorized Scripture. When retiring at night or while driving down the highway, reflect on a beloved verse and transform it into a prayer. Just the other day, after having said exactly the wrong thing to someone, I drove off while earnestly praying Psalm 141:3—Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips.

This habit can also be extended to the hymnbook. Want to pray a special prayer for your mother? Adapt Frances Ridley Havergal's famous hymn to say: Take Mom's life and let it be/Consecrated, Lord, to thee;/Take her moments and her days—/Let them flow in ceaseless praise. Instead of listening to the radio, use your drive time to pray for family and friends by singing your way down the highway, punching their names into the stanzas.

Some time ago, my wife and I took in a troubled young man with a long history of drug and alcohol abuse. We loved him dearly and beamed at his progress. But after several months of sobriety, he suddenly relapsed into a vicious world of beer and cocaine.

The next six months were a nightmare, but he eventually consented to let us enroll him in a drug rehab program. He entered just before his birthday and I told him that in lieu of a present, I would pray for him for an hour when the day came.

next page... |  2 of 3

	What did you think of this story?
	Please to give us your feedback.

Home  |  People of Faith  |  Stories of Hope  |  Today's Culture
Build Your Faith  |  Laughing Matters  |  Archives  |  Contact Us

				Try 3 Issues of Christianity Today Free! Name Street Address City/State/Zip E-mail Address Subscribe to Christianity Today and get 3 free trial issues. No credit card required. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Offer valid in U.S. only. If you decide you want to keep Christianity Today coming, honor your invoice for just $19.95 and receive nine more issues, a full year in all. If not, simply write "cancel" across the invoice and return it. The three trial issues are yours to keep, regardless. Give Christianity Today as a gift Order a gift subscription!