In looking at the Lord’s Prayer this past Sunday we referenced several resources to help us learn to pray.

Some of the mentioned resources we referenced previously in a post called: Prayer Weapons for the Warfare: 3 Books, a PDF (Martin Luther), & Blog Post (Tim Keller).

Some New Resources

  Learning to Pray from Others

    The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers

Puritans wrote down their prayers as a way of keeping a record of God’s dealings with the soul. Included here are prayers of Bunyan, Watts, Spurgeon, and others. Arranged by theme — from the awesomeness of God to the awfulness of sin — you’ll find promptings for your own heart’s dialogue with your heavenly Father.

  Learning to Pray Scripture Itself

    Face to Face: Praying the Scriptures

Face to Face helps break prayer down in specific categories helping to make sure our prayers are biblically proportioned. 

Face to Face helps by adapting the very words of Scripture into prayers.

  Learning to Pray Kingdom Prayers

    Operation World: The Definitive Prayer Guide to Every

Operation World is the definitive global prayer handbook that will help focus your heart and life towards God’s passion for His glory.

     Window on the Word: Prayer Atlas for All 

An excellent illustrated resource for families to help encourage children to pray “Your Kingdom Come” as they learn the needs of the people of the world. 

THREE BOOKS…

1. A Call to Spiritual Reformation: Priorities from Paul and His Prayers.

If you only read one book on prayer in your life, this is it. 

Jesus encourages us to let his words abide in us. This book teaches how to do that when it comes to prayer. From the writings of Paul, Carson demonstrates how the words of Scripture should inform our words in prayer. He also addresses age-old struggles when it comes to prayer, like reconciling prayer with God’s sovereignty. It’s simple enough to take a new Christian through, thorough enough to warrant several readings, and important enough not to ignore. (Click on the link above to see the Table of Contents.)

2. Prayer: The Cry for the Kingdom.

The book begins looking at the prayer acrostic of A-C-T-S and then focuses chiefly on Supplication. The author’s point is this: “Like Jesus’ own prayer, Christian prayer is ultimately a cry for the kingdom” (23). The rest of the book unpacks what that means for the individual and for the church. The final chapter includes practical suggestions and encouragements to those praying in public, praying alone, and praying together as Christians. The weakness of the book is that it’s a bit philosophical in places, and it’s not as helpful in reconciling prayer with God’s sovereignty.

3. A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World.

It’s sure to change the way you think about prayer and the gospel. It’s an easy read, but a thought provoking read. You’ll probably even learn more about applying the gospel to every area of your life than you will about prayer.

A PDF…

A Simple Way to Pray by Martin Luther

 When Martin Luther’s barber asked him how to pray, Luther responded by writing this letter. It’s short. And it’s a classic. Read it slowly and repeatedly. 

AND A BLOG POST…

Scraps of Thought on Daily Prayer by Tim Keller

(From C. H. Spurgeon via our own George Collins)

July 7 - Morning

“Brethren, pray for us.” 1 Thessalonians 5:25

This one morning in the year we reserved to refresh the reader’s memory upon the subject of prayer for ministers, and we do most earnestly implore every Christian household to grant the fervent request of the text first uttered by an apostle and now repeated by us.

Brethren, our work is solemnly momentous, involving weal or woe to thousands; we treat with souls for God on eternal business, and our word is either a savour of life unto life, or of death unto death. A very heavy responsibility rests upon us, and it will be no small mercy if at the last we be found clear of the blood of all men. As officers in Christ’s army, we are the especial mark of the enmity of men and devils; they watch for our halting, and labour to take us by the heels. Our sacred calling involves us in temptations from which you are exempt, above all it too often draws us away from our personal enjoyment of truth into a ministerial and official consideration of it. We meet with many knotty cases, and our wits are at a non plus; we observe very sad backslidings, and our hearts are wounded; we see millions perishing, and our spirits sink.

We wish to profit you by our preaching; we desire to be blest to your children; we long to be useful both to saints and sinners; therefore, dear friends, intercede for us with our God. Miserable men are we if we miss the aid of your prayers, but happy are we if we live in your supplications. You do not look to us but to our Master for spiritual blessings, and yet how many times has He given those blessings through His ministers; ask then, again and again, that we may be the earthen vessels into which the Lord may put the treasure of the gospel.

We, the whole company of missionaries, ministers, city missionaries, and students, do in the name of Jesus beseech you “BRETHREN, PRAY FOR US.”

~from Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening