In an effort to grow in my devotion to God and improve my prayer life, I took the day off work and spent the first 15 minutes of every hour praying for a wide range of topics.
All in all it was 2.5 hours of prayer time over the course of the day.
That may actually be the most I’ve ever prayed in one day.
This has given rise to a number of observations and lessons that came to me that I wanted to share with you.
- I did not have an epiphany or amazing emotional experience. The heavens didn’t open and the angel choir didn’t sing. I think secretly I was hoping for something like this. But it didn’t happen. Looking back, I guess that’s probably for the better. If the experience of praying became more appealing than the Person to whom I prayed, that would be a really big problem.
- It really wasn’t that hard to spend fifteen minutes praying for a specific topic. I found that once I got down to praying, the time really flew by. Of course, I think it made all the difference that I had prepared by making a list of what I wanted to pray for in advance. That preparation really helped keep me focused.
- By the same token, I stayed up late the night before and was tired. Physically I had to work a lot harder to stay focused compared to having gotten a proper night of sleep. It would have been much better to have gotten a good night of sleep before – a lesson I will take to heart next time I do this.
- I did not do much with posture. I think it might have been a really neat effect to have knelt or lain prostrate at times. This is a new layer of planning I need to consider for the next time as well.
- I prayed to my self, silently. There were times when I kind of got lost in my own head and the idea of forming words silently got all tangled up. I think another way to do this would have been to pray aloud or pray by writing my prayers in a journal (by hand, not typing). This is DEFINITELY something I want to explore more.
- Similarly to number 5, I struggled with the idea that God could understand my thoughts vs. I needed to articulate my requests in words. I think there is probably a Bible study in this about how to pray. (note to self!)
- Even when I wasn’t praying, I was aware that it would soon be time to pray. This kept me in a semi-continual prayerful state. I was able to do some other things, but it made it easy to return back to prayer.
Overall, I had a really positive experience with this day of prayer. As indicated above, I want to find another time to do it. I think I have a lot to learn about prayer, and the only way to get to it is to actually pray.
Before I wrap up, I have an announcement about the new book!
Getting To Know God’s Word is out in all bookstores and all formats! I won’t bore you with the list, but you’re sure to find your favorite ebook store or a print format that you’ll love.
It actually launched on May 4th – the three year anniversary of Study the Bible – Six Easy Steps (and favorite day of Star Wars fans everywhere).
Amazon US (e-book, paperback, large print & hardback)
Amazon UK (e-book, paperback, large print & hardback)
The rest of the online stores (Apple, B&N, Google, Kobo, etc)
I’m getting ready to take the book off it’s low low release price of 99c. After this weekend, I’ll be putting it to it’s normal (and still pretty low considering what you’re getting) price of $4.99. So if you act before Sunday night, you can get it for a steal (without breaking the 8th commandment).
This is a book about building biblical literacy. It’s about understanding the Bible so that it all makes sense. It’s about creating a foundation of knowledge that makes reading God’s Word even more rewarding than it is today.
It also shows how the Bible tells an amazing story of God’s mercy, patience and love. No matter how many books or authors or centuries it took to write.
But what I think will make the biggest difference is the workbook.
It’s one thing to read something informative and be presented with information. It’s a completely different game to take the same knowledge and spend time organizing it into a custom workbook that causes you to highlight all the critical information and write it out on a piece of paper so you can see it and make it yours.
That’s what keeps the information from going in one ear and out the other (or would it be in one eye and out the other?).
The Getting To Know God’s Word Workbook is also available on Amazon in the US and in the UK. You can also find it on Amazon in Europe, Japan and Canada.
I think the workbook alone is worth getting the book. But if you know someone who is struggling to come to grips with Scripture, this would be a powerful gift of knowledge and spiritual freedom.
Dennis
PS. You might wonder what was my favorite hour of prayer last week. it was actually two different hours. The first hour when I prayed only praising God was fantastic. But right with it was the time when I prayed for all the people who have purchased my books. My deepest prayer is that what I write will change your life and build your Christian walk. I feel very convicted that this is something I need to pray for more fervently and more often!
D
