Prayer Can Change Everything
Prayer can change everything! And a prayer tool is a powerful guide to inspire your time in prayer. As I sit here today, I can look back and see how God has graciously worked and weaved through prayer and it has been nothing short of transforming in my life! I could shout it from the rooftop!
Recently, I shared my journey through prayer and the power that praying for your friends and family can have. Today, I want to share a simple prayer tool that I learned about at a fall retreat.
The tool I share below is not mine; it is an outline for prayer from Lee Nienhuis. I had the privilege of hearing her speak at a break-out session and this prayer outline was so impactful for me.
The prayer outline example is below. Feel free to print both and use as you would like. Or, you can print and use the outline as a guide. I use a spiral-bound notebook and draw the lines like her outline shows.
An Eye-Opening Tool That Changed the Way I Approach Time in Prayer
The biggest and most eye-opening thing I realized was this: I was always asking God for something. “Please this…please that…and please this…please..please…please…” followed by whatever it was I was asking. Like an endless laundry list of items. And the next night, start it all over again. “Please this….please that..”
But instead of launching into all sorts of asking, this prayer outline opened my eyes to starting time in prayer with praise.
The five components of the prayer tool are: 1. Praise, 2: Scripture Meditation, 3: Confession, 4: Thanksgiving, and 5: Intercession (broken into areas for each individual).
Start your prayer in praise. You are going before the Lord Almighty, the creator of all things. A heart that praises Him, is stayed on Him. And these verses were really eye-opening to me regarding praise:
“I cried out to him with my mouth, and high praise was on my tongue. If I had cherished my iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me!” Psalm 66:17-20.
Hmm..I was always praying and asking for something “please this..please that..” But notice what Psalm 66:17 does NOT say. It does not say “I cried out to him with my mouth, and I pleaded..!” or “I cried out to him with my mouth, and I begged for insert whatever you want here.” I cried out and praised it says. “I cried out to him with my mouth, and high praise was on my tongue.”
Praise first, not pleading.
Those verses really hit me. First, praise. Praise Him from whom all blessings flow.
Praise in Prayer
In the Praise section, you start here and list certain attributes of God’s character that you want to praise Him for. For example, He is the King of Kings, full of grace and mercy, abounding in steadfast love. Whatever you feel led to praise Him for that day you list out here and pray over it.
Scripture Meditation in Prayer
The Scripture Meditation is the second section as you go through the prayer outline. And I love this one! This was also new for me, but so incredibly powerful. In this area, you pick a verse you would like to mediate on that day, and pray over that verse here.
Confession in Prayer
This area was eye-opening for me as well. Confession is agreeing with God regarding specific sins. This area of prayer was helpful for me to first admit to myself the areas I want to change, and actually take the time to pray and repent over it.
Thanksgiving in Prayer
Confess first, then offer thanks. Our sins are forgiven because Jesus’ death on the cross. Letting that sink in, the powerful truth that you are forgiven because Jesus chose the cross for you, naturally leads to a heart of thanksgiving.
Be specific in what you want to thank God for. It will help you remember and connect all that He is working and weaving in your life.
Intercession in Prayer
The last section of Lee’s outline is Intercession. And I love that it’s called Intercession. Intercession means: “the act of intervening on behalf of another.” This is where you pray for your loved ones, yourself, our nation, etc. Or as I shared earlier, where all my “please this..” would fall.
What an honor to be able to intervene to the Lord Almighty for your loved ones! How approachable our God is!
In Lee Nienhuis’ break-out she put it this way (and I love this): “We intercede because Jesus and the Holy spirit intercede for us.”
We intercede because Jesus and the Holy Spirit intercede for us.
“Who then is the one who comdemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died – more than that, who was raised to life – is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” Romans 8:34
In the outline, list the prayers for yourself under “me” and then your spouse if you are married, followed by your children. Friends and family you would like to pray for are listed next ,followed by any upcoming events, projects, etc. Think of it as a ripple effect. Those closest to you first and outward. I like being specific in these areas too. Sometimes I will specifically write what I am praying for after my friend or family member and I can already see God’s hand in certain prayers!
I hope you enjoy this prayer tool and are encouraged to take an honest look at how you are currently praying. My “please this..,please that..” prayer life has been transformed into an intentional time in prayer that I look forward to starting my day with.
Thank you Lisa for sharing this beautiful guide and outline from what you learned and now experience with prayer. I have used this for my first day and feel an open heart on its completion. I concluded my list of intercession prayers with: Thy will, not mine, be done. Lisa, I appreciate your continued vulnerability honesty and hope as you share your experiences in this blog!!!! Hugs and love ❤️
Thank you Aunt Michelle! And happy to hear you tried it! Love how you end it – “Thy will, not mine, be done” – that is a great reminder too. God’s will, not ours. 💙
Going to add a bit more as I’ve now used this for 3 days in a row. I have committed myself to do 30 days in order to establish the habit in my routine. This will give me the knowledge and experience to decide whether to keep it up after that or not. I challenge anyone reading this also: try this prayer method 30 days.
Wonderful! Keep me posted on your 30 days. I like that. Trying it for 30 days straight. 💙💙
Update: I have now used this prayer method for 17 days in a row and here is my experience thus far. 1) I am more focused in my prayer and meditation time.
2) I feel a stronger connection with myself, with family, friends, humanity, and with the spirit/will of God.
3) My prayer time is more alive. It is new and creative and inspired and evolving each day.
Love this!! Thanks for sharing Aunt Michelle!
Wooho! I completed 30 days with using this prayer technique and I just want to share that the blessings continue and I plan to keep on using it.
Yay!! Love this and thanks for sharing! Happy to hear you want to keep using it. I sat down and did mine first thing this morning. And what a peace that comes when you start your morning with God in prayer💙