How to Pray

This devotional is written by Charlotte Anderson. Charlotte is the Venue manager for St Mary's and is the lady for all things prayer!

Matthew 6:6 (The Passion Translation)

6 But whenever you pray, go into your innermost chamber and be alone with Father God, praying to him in secret. And your Father, who sees all you do, will reward you openly.
Welcome to part 2 of my series on how to pray! My dream is to see everyone in St Mary's experiencing the richest prayer life and my hope is that these devotionals will help equip you. Last time we thought about how the disciples had to ask Jesus how to pray. That there is always more for us and the best first step is simply asking Jesus to teach us how to pray and being open to the Spirit's lead.


Today, I want to consider the line ‘whenever you pray, go into your innermost chamber and be alone with Father God'. Where is the private place that you go to be alone with God? Is it a particular chair or room or garden? For me it is my bed and I won't get up until I have spent time with God. But it isn't always somewhere where you have to be still – for some of us, prayer may be easiest when we are on our commute or exercising. Experiment and find out what works best for you.


When establishing habits, one of the number one things that you can do to help yourself is having a visual cue to remind you to do the habit! Today I would like to invite you to invest in creating yourself an ‘inner chamber', space away from all the distractions of everyday life. What does that space need to look like for you? Is the chair hard or soft? Is it bright or cosy? Is there a mug for a hot drink or a journal and pen?


Secondly, have a consistent routine. What is the first thing you do? Is it waking up? Making lunch? Getting ready for bed? Silencing an alarm? Do you turn your phone to aeroplane mode? Make a hot drink?


Lastly, reward yourself for carrying out the habit. Maybe the reward is simply that you feel more refreshed after spending time with God or maybe it is a sweet treat or little gift. Make your prayer time as enjoyable as possible!


Let's pray: God, thank you that you promise to guide us. Please would you teach me how to pray like you taught the disciples. Help me form lasting habits in my life that draw me closer to you. Amen.

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