34 Days of Favorites: Prayer Books

I believe in prayer being simple and accessible. Anyone can do it.

There is no right or wrong way.

I go to my Father, and I talk with Him. He loves me, and He hears me – every single word which comes out of my mouth or that I think in my head.

I believe in keeping praying simple.

So, if I believe there is no right or wrong way to pray, what’s the deal with prayer books?

I have to confess, for many years I avoided books which told me how to pray. I didn’t think I needed to read prayers, and considered myself able to come up with something good enough to say on my own.

Which was true. It worked fine without a book.

But my dear friend and mentor gave me a little book by Germaine Copeland called Prayers That Avail Much, and I have completely loved using it this last year.

One of the biggest reasons why I love using it is because sometimes, I don’t know exactly what to say. I have this heart full of stuff that I want to talk over to God, but I don’t always know how to put it into words.

And sometimes I don’t have to. Sometimes I’ve imagined myself lifting up that whole jumbled mess to God, and just giving it to Him without clarifying in words exactly what it all is, because I don’t even know myself.

But other times, I need words. I need to process it and communicate with my Father in a way which helps me to understand what’s all there.

The other reason why I love using this little book is because it is loaded with Scripture. Each prayer is basically a whole bunch of different verses grouped together by topics, and formed into a prayer.

I love praying Scripture. It’s God-breathed, which means Scripture is guaranteed to be the best choice of words, in every situation.

Something amazing happens when we pray Scripture. I feel it in my heart, although it’s difficult to discribe. It’s combining the power of prayer, with the power of God’s Word. Amazing, hey?

The Bible is full of God’s promises for us, so when we start praying Scripture, chances are good that we will pray for the very things God wants us to ask for.

You could randomly flip open your Bible to any spot, and quickly find something in Scripture to pray for.

Germaine Copland’s book makes it even easier, because it’s a quick reference for exactly which Scripture could apply to certain topics you want to pray about.

This book teaches me about new things I can pray for that I wouldn’t have thought of on my own. It broadens my thoughts and my prayers. I love that.

It gives me God’s words for what I am wanting to express from my heart.

I read it aloud, and then I move on to my own thoughts and words, or other passages of Scripture that come to mind as I’m reading the prayer from the book.

So like I said, I don’t believe there is a right or wrong way to pray, but I believe there are tools we can use to grow in our communication skills. Prayers That Avail Much is an excellent tool.

And I’ve realized my need for tools. As much as I would love to say I  get up at the crack of dawn to pray fervently each and every morning, I must confess that I’m just not quite there yet! I try to make time for a structured prayer time each day, but on some days, I pray as I go. Which is good, too, but I think both are necessary. My current strategy is to leave this book lying around the house as a reminder to make time for it each day.

What tools do you like to use for prayer or Bible reading? Do you like getting ideas for what to pray, or would you rather go with whatever is on your mind and heart?