Kent shared one of his favorite ways to pray with us. Check it out:
Dear Friends:
I often find myself needlessly anxious about relatively small things. Is that ever true for you?
As a young person I was initially taught that though prayer involves a personal relationship with God through Christ, it means that we do all the talking and God does all the listening. That make for am imbalanced relationship! What healthy relationship do you have where one person does all the talking and the other always does all the listening?
In recent years I have learned about contemplative prayer which involves taking time to listen for God's voice in prayer in spite of the noise of life around us. Please understand - I don't claim to be very skilled at listening for God's voice! In fact when I've tried to be quiet in prayer my mind wanders, so to keep me centered on God I pray these three short phrases over and over. Each addresses our Triune God from a particular angle, as I try to open myself to God's voice and leading. So here is what I do. Perhaps you might find it helpful?
Gracious God, guide me.
Lord Jesus, have mercy.
Holy Spirit, fill me.
Blessings on you and
your prayer practices!
Warmly in Christ,
Kent
P.S. - If you want my thinking behind those three phrases read on:
In the first phrase about our Creator I'm reminding myself of God's gracious nature and asking for God's direction for my day, my week, etc..
In the second phrase I address Christ Jesus as Lord, meaning the Risen Lord, and am asking for his mercy, since he is our compassionate redeemer.
In the third phrase I address the Holy Spirit, and ask for an experience of the Spirit's fullness, enabling my growth in faith and service as a follower of Jesus.