He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8 Prayer is more than our conversations with God. It is our life with God. Prayer is the life we live, the daily choices we make, the justice and mercy we show. These words from the prophet Micah are God's response to a series of questions … [Read more...] about Seeking Justice and Mercy as Prayer

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. Numbers 6: 24-26 Prayer includes actively receiving words and deeds of blessing. Strangely enough this is something we sometimes resist. When people thank us for something we did or said that touched their lives in some way we may dismiss the … [Read more...] about Receiving from Others as Prayer

May the Lord answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you. Psalm 20:1 Blessing others with our words and with our actions is a powerful form of prayer. When we express gratitude, we offer the prayer of blessing. When we affirm the gifts and the good we see in another person we offer the prayer of blessing. When we envision a hopeful future, we offer the … [Read more...] about Blessing Others as Prayer

Then he {Jesus} turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman?" Luke 7:44 The transformative power of prayer has the potential to change everything. As we place ourselves before God, God begins to give us new hearts. And God begins to give us new eyes. Our hearts become tender and vulnerable, like God's own heart of love. And our eyes begin to see others, no longer through … [Read more...] about Seeing Others Through Eyes of Love

"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you." Luke 6: 27 As we expose our hearts in prayer, our hearts soften in love and our eyes begin to see life through God's eyes of love. As a result, we are changing. We are being transformed. We are being set free to be who God made us to be--people who love … [Read more...] about Loving our Enemies as Prayer

I am writing you a new command, its truth is seen in him and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining. Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing to make him stumble. I John 2:8-9 When we pray, we open ourselves to God who is light. The … [Read more...] about Moving into God’s Light as Prayer

Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker, for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. Psalm 95:6-8 Our hearts long for God. Yet, too often, we defend ourselves against this longing. We protect our hearts by hardening them against the love we seek because we are … [Read more...] about Softening Our Heart as Prayer

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Romans 12:2 As we move away from prayers that are rote, prayers that are performances, prayers that are attempts to appease or change God and we move into a life of prayer in which we are broken and open hearted, something begins to happen. We begin to encounter God. We begin to experience conscious … [Read more...] about Renewing Our Minds as Prayer

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Matthew 5:6 The word "righteousness" as it is used here refers primarily to a relationship with God. So, when Jesus pronounces blessing on those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, he is speaking of those who hunger and thirst for a relationship with God. Jesus was saying, "You will be blessed when you … [Read more...] about Being Filled as Prayer

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God. Matthew 5:3 We tend to come to God full of ourselves. Full of pride, full of a need to "get it right", full of a need to prove ourselves, full of self-reliance. But prayer is not about all we have done, or all we believe, or all the ways we work to prove ourselves. Prayer is coming to God empty of all of this. Prayer is … [Read more...] about Being Empty as Prayer