Lord Teach Us To Pray – An Invitation to Share Your Ideas

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Andy Wade

Lord teach us to pray

Lord teach us to pray

Last year I posted a series on Tools for Prayer. This year I am working on a book on prayer entitled Return to Our Senses: Reimagining How We Pray. The focus of the book is Madame Guyon’s idea that prayer is an exercise in love as I discussed in my post Let God’s love Soak into Your Soul.  The responses to these projects convince me that all of us hunger for a better prayer life and a deeper knowledge of the God who is love but don’t know how to achieve it.

The time honored ways we teach people to pray and draw close to God are not as effective as they should be. We need to rethink prayer’s purpose and reimagine its practice digging deeper into our Christian traditions and ancient practices in fresh ways for our contemporary lives. In a culture with short attention spans that applauds multitasking and encourages distraction, we need tools that sharpen our ability to hear God’s voice. And in a society that spends less and less time in church we also need to explore ordinary everyday activities that stir our imaginations and stimulate our senses to develop new ways to express prayer.

So can you help? Over the next few months I would like to explore a new range of tools for prayer. What is your view of prayer? Where do you feel most connected to God? What do you find is the most effective way to pray? Will you share with us so that others can learn from your experiences?

If you would like to contribute a post to this blog series please leave a comment below or send an email to msaintern@gmail.com  

 

Filed under: blogs, Prayer, Rhythms of life, spiritual practices | Tagged: , , |

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39 Responses

  1. Gene Anderson, on June 14, 2012 at 9:51 am said:

    I would be interested in a post, if you would like. As I read this post, my mind instantly thought of the concept of Karma Yoga, in Hinduism, the yoga of action. I recall my prof saying the best example of this would be a Habitat4Humanity building project do in Love and Shalom.

    Reply
  2. Christine Sine, on June 14, 2012 at 9:56 am said:

    Gene – I love the concept and look forward to seeing your post

    Reply
  3. Kelly, on June 14, 2012 at 10:38 am said:

    I would like to try, what is the deadline? 🙂

    Reply
  4. Lisa H, on June 14, 2012 at 1:39 pm said:

    I’m interested, too. Do I have to have a blog? : )

    Reply
  5. Paula Mitchell, on June 14, 2012 at 9:02 pm said:

    I’m interested as well. I’ll send something by the end of July at the latest.

    Reply
  6. SillySista, on June 15, 2012 at 8:28 am said:

    I was actually musing over this topic this morning on my own blog, thanks to a tag by a friend. Trying to mentally organize a more in depth post…

    Reply
  7. Christine Sine, on June 15, 2012 at 8:33 am said:

    I look forward to seeing your post

    Reply
  8. Bonnie D. Harr, on June 15, 2012 at 9:47 am said:

    I would love to write something related to my page and work with Prayer Labyrinths. Visit the page here on Facebook at: In His Footsteps

    Reply
  9. Life As Prayer by Roy Goble « Godspace, on June 21, 2012 at 5:31 am said:

    […] Posted on June 21, 2012 by Christine Sine This morning’s post is the first in the series Lord Teach Us To Pray. It is written by Roy Goble the owner of the family real estate investment firm Goble […]

    Reply
  10. Twitturgies by Gerard Kelly « Godspace, on June 22, 2012 at 4:46 am said:

    […] Posted on June 22, 2012 by Christine Sine This is the second post in the series Lord Teach Us To Pray. It was originally posted in 2009 as part of a series on What is a Spiritual Practice, but is is […]

    Reply
  11. Elizabeth sparks, on June 22, 2012 at 7:13 pm said:

    I like to take 3 deep breaths, letting go of my stress, my ideas, and my agenda. Than I love to ask God to be present, with myself or us. I/we have a time of appreciation, than confession, communicate longing, and have hope. Sometimes those things are not easy, but the practice of breathing, seeing each other while together as the body, or appreciating my quiet space alone, hearing even a pin drop….I experience Gods presence and am grateful for what I have and the relationship I have with God. When I walk the streets in my neighborhood I reflect on biblical stories, current stories and listen to how God is active all around me. I hear water, trees blowing, people talking…it all brings me to a place of reflection.

    Reply
  12. Lord Teach Us To Pray: Sailing Over the Sea of Affliction by Steve Wichkam « Godspace, on June 28, 2012 at 6:32 am said:

    […] morning’s post in the series Lord Teach Us to Pray is written by Steve Wickham, author of “Grow In GOD” ebook, is a Registered Safety […]

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  13. Conversations with my Granddaughter: On Prayer by Alex Tang « Godspace, on June 29, 2012 at 2:08 am said:

    […] them and make them happy. Little one, Grampa is thinking about a blog post for a series called, Lord teach us to pray. I have been reading and thinking hard. Then you smiled at me. You know, little one, you are wise […]

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  14. Lord Teach Us to Pray: St Columba’s Vigil « Godspace, on July 3, 2012 at 1:22 pm said:

    […] Posted on July 3, 2012 by Christine Sine The post for today is part of the Lord Teach Us to Pray series.  Today’s contribution is made by Greg Valerio.  Greg is a follower of Jesus and […]

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  15. Lord Teach Us to Pray: Beholding Prayer by Preston Pouteaux « Godspace, on July 5, 2012 at 1:33 am said:

    […] Posted on July 5, 2012 by Christine Sine Today’s post is a part of the Lord Teach Us to Pray series, written by Dr. Preston Pouteaux.  Preston is the Director of Discipleship Ministry at […]

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  16. Lord Teach Us to Pray: Reimagining How We Pray by Lisa Hewitt – Day 1 « Godspace, on July 10, 2012 at 2:03 pm said:

    […] post is for the Lord Teach Us to Pray series, written by Lisa Hewitt, borrowed from her blog Digging for […]

    Reply
  17. Lord Teach Us to Pray: Reimagining How We Pray by Lisa Hewitt – Day 2 « Godspace, on July 11, 2012 at 11:52 am said:

    […] post is a continuation of Lisa Hewitt’s contribution for the Lord Teach Us to Pray series, borrowed from her blog Digging for […]

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  18. Lord Teach Us to Pray: Reimagining How We Pray by Lisa Hewitt – Day 3 « Godspace, on July 12, 2012 at 8:30 am said:

    […] post is the third and final installment of Lisa Hewitt’s contribution for the Lord Teach Us to Pray series, borrowed from her blog Digging for […]

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  19. Lord Teach Us to Pray: Knitting and Praying, by Christine Dutton « Godspace, on July 19, 2012 at 11:54 pm said:

    […] Christine Dutton Posted on July 19, 2012 by Christine Sine Today’s post is a part of the Lord Teach Us to Pray series, written by Christine Dutton.  Christine lives near Liverpool, England, and is a minister […]

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  20. Lord Teach Us to Pray: Posts So Far « Godspace, on July 20, 2012 at 3:41 pm said:

    […] on July 20, 2012 by Christine Sine The post for today is a recap for all the submissions to the Lord Teach Us To Pray series thus far.  Thank you to all the authors for […]

    Reply
  21. Postordinandy, on July 21, 2012 at 12:43 am said:

    Hi Christine, thanks for this. Below is a link to a poem I wrote on prayer:
    http://tinyurl.com/7xe6rv9

    Reply
  22. Christine Sine, on July 23, 2012 at 1:08 pm said:

    Thanks we will post it as part of the series

    Reply
  23. Lord Teach Us to Pray: Why Pray? by James Prescott « Godspace, on July 26, 2012 at 8:02 am said:

    […] post is for the Lord Teach Us To Pray series, focusing on the ”why?” of prayer, written by James Prescott.  James is writer […]

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  24. Lord Teach Us to Pray: Prayer Poem by Postordinandy « Godspace, on July 27, 2012 at 8:01 am said:

    […] July 27, 2012 by Christine Sine The post for today is a poem written by Postordinandy for the  Lord Teach Us To Pray series.  He says of […]

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  25. Lord Teach Us to Pray: The Prayer Window by Kimberlee Conway Ireton « Godspace, on August 1, 2012 at 8:00 am said:

    […] Posted on August 1, 2012 by Christine Sine The post for today is the next installment in the Lord Teach Us To Pray series.  Today’s post comes from Kimberlee Conway Ireton.  Kimberlee is the author of The […]

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  26. Lord Teach Us to Pray: Nothing to Say to God by Joy Wilson « Godspace, on August 2, 2012 at 8:02 am said:

    […] contribution is for the  Lord Teach Us To Pray […]

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  27. Lord Teach Us to Pray: Everyday Walking, Talking Prayer by Steve Wickham « Godspace, on August 15, 2012 at 8:01 am said:

    […] Posted on August 15, 2012 by Christine Sine Today’s post is a part of the Lord Teach Us To Pray, contributed by Steve Wickham.  Steve, author of “Grow In GOD” ebook, is a Registered […]

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  28. Lord Teach Us to Pray: Prayer of Devotion, Prayer of Knowledge, Prayer of Action, by Gene Anderson « Godspace, on August 16, 2012 at 8:01 am said:

    […] by Gene Anderson Posted on August 16, 2012 by Christine Sine The contribution to the Lord Teach Us To Pray series today comes from Gene […]

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  29. Lord Teach Us to Pray: On Prayer by Ryan Harrison « Godspace, on August 17, 2012 at 8:01 am said:

    […] Lord Teach Us to Pray: On Prayer by Ryan Harrison Posted on August 17, 2012 by Christine Sine Ryan Harrison has graciously provided today’s post in the Lord Teach Us To Pray series. […]

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  30. Lord Teach Us to Pray: Free Our Hearts by Paula Mitchell « Godspace, on August 23, 2012 at 11:42 am said:

    […] by Paula Mitchell Posted on August 23, 2012 by Christine Sine The contribution to the Lord Teach Us To Pray series today comes from Paula Mitchell.  She is the founder and program director of Doorways […]

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  31. Godspace, on August 24, 2012 at 2:23 pm said:

    […] on August 24, 2012 by Christine Sine Our post for today, a contribution to the Lord Teach Us To Pray series, comes from Lynne Baab.  She is the author of several books on Christian spiritual […]

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  32. Lord Teach Us to Pray: The Lord and His Prayer by Barb Buckham « Godspace, on September 4, 2012 at 6:31 am said:

    […] Posted on September 4, 2012 by Christine Sine This morning’s reflection, part of the Lord Teach Us To Pray series, comes from Barb Buckham, who lives with her husband, Rich, in the Bartimaeus Cohousing […]

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  33. Lord Teach Us to Pray: The Quietest Prayer by Monette Chilson « Godspace, on September 5, 2012 at 6:34 am said:

    […] Prayer by Monette Chilson Posted on September 5, 2012 by Christine Sine The post for the Lord Teach Us To Pray series today comes from Monette Chilson.  Monette is long-time yoga practitioner and dedicated to […]

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  34. Lord Teach Us to Pray: The Entire Series « Godspace, on September 6, 2012 at 6:50 am said:

    […] is a list of the posts thus far in the Lord Teach Us To Pray […]

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