by Alan Langstaff

When I responded to an altar call at an Evangelistic meeting and became a Christian, I was encouraged to do four things including “a quiet time” with the Lord.

a) Read the Bible
b) Pray
c) Go to a Bible believing church
d) Share your faith with others

That still applies today, as I have been a Christian for over 70 years.

During my time as a pastor, I noticed that people, particularly men, often struggle to develop a daily prayer life. I want to share some simple suggestions that may help you. For some, this is very basic, maybe, too basic; but it doesn’t do any harm to go over the basics again.

Over the years, I have used different patterns of prayer, and I don’t encourage you to do exactly as I do now. I am sharing my own pattern that I am currently using as an example. You have to find what works for you.

Having difficulty knowing how to pray is not a modern-day problem. It was there back in the Bible days. In Luke chapter 11, we have the story concerning this issue. One day, when Jesus was praying in a certain place that one of the disciples said to Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray as John (the baptist) taught his disciples to pray.” So, this was a common problem for disciples, and they were open to acknowledging that it was. Also, it is obvious that Jesus’ disciples saw Jesus praying and wanted to be able to pray like He did. Jesus, in turn, gave them what we call “The Lord’s Prayer,” whilst in actual fact it was “The Disciples’ Prayer.” We will look at it in a moment.

READING THE WORD

Before we look at the Lord’s Prayer, let me stress the importance of reading the Word as a prelude to prayer.

Last year, I read the whole Bible using for the first time a chronological version. This year, I am concentrating on the New Testament. I read a chapter, and then I reread it a second time to get more out of it.

THE FOUNDATIONS FOR PRAYER

No matter how you organize your prayer life, there are certain foundational patterns that seem to apply.

1. A “PRIVATE” TIME

Now you can pray at any time. I indeed have prayed in the midst of a busy airport, etc. But for what we call “A Quiet Time,” it usually demands that we find a time when we are quiet and private. Jesus himself did that. For example, he got up early to pray, or he spent the whole night in prayer. In the midst of a busy life with people constantly demanding his attention, He made time for private prayer.

2. A “PERSONAL” PLACE

Besides a private time, a person generally needs a place where he is undisturbed. A place to be alone with the Lord.

Jesus seemed to have places like that, whether it be up in the mountains or in the Garden of Gethsemane.

My wife Dorothy, before we were married and she was on her way to school, would drop into a church on the way there that was open. There, she was able to have a quiet time.

3. A “PATTERN” OF PRAYER

In other words, you select a pattern for your prayer time. Now, there are lots of suggestions in this regard that you are already aware of. Even the Catholics have their “Rosary.” Of course, there is the danger that the patterns of prayer become ritualistic and lose their meaning, but that does not have to happen. That is why Jesus gave the disciples a pattern of prayer – The Lord’s prayer.

Now, at this present time, I am using the Lord’s Prayer as my pattern. It may be something different in the future, and I don’t want people to necessarily do what I do. I simply use it as an illustration of how one can pray. Prayer has to be guided by the Holy Spirit. It has to come from the heart, not a mechanical pattern. So here is my present-day pattern for prayer using the Lord’s Prayer.

Our Father
This is the time for praise and worship and also thankfulness, especially for the gift of Jesus.

Who art in Heaven
To acknowledge that the Lord rules above us all. He is in control. He is awesome. He is our Sovereign Lord.

Hallowed be Thy Name
To acknowledge that the Lord is “Holy.” Like the angels in the book of Revelation, we cry out, “Holy, Holy, Holy.”

Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will be Done on Earth as it is in Heaven.
Not only do we pray for this to happen now, but we look forward to the time when Jesus shall rule as Lord over all.

Give us this Day our Daily Bread
As we acknowledge that it is God who supplies, so we can make our requests known to him. “Ask and you shall receive.”

Forgive us our Trespasses
It is time to do some house cleaning and make sure that we have turned away from our sins.

As We Forgive those who Trespass Against Us
Make sure there is no unforgiveness in our hearts towards others. Unforgiveness is one of the greatest blockages to answered prayer.

Lead us not into Temptation
When we seek His divine provision, He gives us all that we need to resist temptations. We can also remind ourselves to put on the Armor of God.

But Deliver us from Evil
The victory is already ours on the basis of Christ’s victory on Calvary’s cross. We have the victory. We are the righteousness of God in Christ.

For Yours is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory
We end with the Doxology centering on Jesus Christ.

INTERCESSORY PRAYER
Then follows a time of praying for others. I keep a record in a small notebook with the names of people and their needs.

I remember hearing a Pastor friend say that when people ask him to pray for them, he says, “Let’s do it now” and prays. But if it is an ongoing need, then I recommend having a book; otherwise, you will forget.

This prayer list includes:

Family, friends, neighbors, and work colleagues. Your local church. The wider work of God. Your nation. Financial needs that people or ministries have in regard to a ministry. Their needs, too.

My wife Dorothy used a method of drawing a basin or a container next to a prayer request and gradually she would fill the basin as the prayer was being answered.

ANSWERED PRAYER

One could give many examples of answered prayer. Let me give you an example. Our daughter Joy was asking God for a small puppy dog that could sleep on her bed. Here is the story from Dorothy’s book Called Together:

For years, Joy had wanted a dog. …”Alright,” Alan and I finally agreed, only we couldn’t get it immediately. …So a date, September 22, was set for after Alan returned from a trip and was duly marked on the calendar—the day we were to get the puppy.

Joy knew exactly what she wanted. She’d seen it on television—a white, fluffy poodle. “Can I have one like that?” she asked.

“Well, we’ll see. We’ll pray about it,” I had said. I didn’t want to promise something we couldn’t get and have Joy be disappointed. Joy waited impatiently for that very special date to arrive. She knew nothing could

happen before then, unless God put one on the doorstep and that was impossible, or was it?

One morning during the school holidays, before Alan had left for Singapore, Joy was rather down in the dumps and was moping around the kitchen.

“Why don’t you go and feed the birds under the palm tree?” I suggested.

A few minutes later I heard gleeful shrieks from outside. “Look, Mummy, look!”

I went rushing out and there I was confronted with an excitable, very frightened ball of white fluff. The little poodle puppy had been hiding in a box under the palm tree and ran out to gobble up the bread as Joy had thrown it to the birds. It had no collar and was apparently ownerless.

There followed two weeks of agonized waiting as we made inquiries in the paper and through the local council for the owner. “If no one comes forward in two weeks, the dog is yours,” we were told.

Joy was confident. “It’s just a test of faith, the answer to my prayer,” she said happily. She was right. In fact, during the following two weeks we had several inquiries about a lost poodle, even a visit from a man who claimed it was his, but neither the mother dog he brought with him nor the newly found puppy acknowledged one another. To Joy’s delight, Cindy became ours, an important, very excitable member of the Langstaff family. … Joy had seen an answer to her prayers.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Prayer is an adventure, and we will only fully know when we get to heaven the differences prayer makes.

When we pray, let us pray in faith, believing that prayer changes things.