Praying through the Alphabet

If you're anything like me, you have a hard time concentrating in prayer for any lenght of time. For me, I've had to use a couple of tools in staying focused. Mind you, it's not to be legalistic or formulaic, but this helps me in my effort to commune with God for greater lenghts. It's my hope and goal this year to be able to pray like a friend of mine does for 2 hours at a time. As of today ,I prayed for 25 minutes straight, which fuels me for a half-hour tomorrow! My intention in writing this is not to brag. Not at all. It's to give you as much hope in your prayer life as God has given me. (I remember the days of thinking I would never stay committed to reading the Bible through in a year because four chapters a day was too much. Well, God faithfully showed me in 2006 that it was altogether possible, and not only that, necessary and enjoyable. Seriously enjoyable!)

So here are the tools I've been using:

1) ACTS (borrowed this, heard about it years ago and then again recently)
Adoration (of God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit)
Confession (of my sins and only MY sins!)
Thanksgiving (self-explanatory)
Supplication (making requests)

2) Set the timer. Maybe this sounds rigid to set the timer, but believe me, the timer is my friend. I use it to stay focused on many tasks--cleaning up the kitchen, moving the laundry, boiling water without forgetting about it. I use it to remind me how many minutes before I need to walk out the door for carpool. Or when the youngest among us can get up from his time-out chair. So for the sake of motivation and memory, the timer is my friend.
On the first day of my prayer "extension," I set it for 5 minutes. I didn't know if I would be distracted, but if I could talk to a human friend for 2 hours, I was sure hoping I could take five undistracted, very focused ones with the Lord.
Day 2, 10 minutes. Day 3, 15 minutes. Today I got up to 25 minutes which SPED by!

3) Pray your adoration through the alphabet. Since I started in the Bible study at church with a group of ladies praying around the circle, we got up to "O" and I continued at home with "P" and now, today, I was at "Y." I had to refer to my concordance for help. Came up with "yoke" and began to praise Jesus for being my yoke-bearer. When you are equally yoked in marriage, the burden is much lighter than if you are unequally yoked (one a Christian, one not). I pictured the heavy mantel that's placed across the shoulders of two oxen. Jesus, of course, bears our burdens, but we are still linked! What an honor to be yoked to the One who has already carried the yoke of sin in His own body. What a joy to know that our side of the yoke is light and easy. Your yoke may be a strained relationship. Or a chronically sick child. Or a rude and demanding boss. Or a seemingly unbearable loss. Nevertheless it is light by comparison to what He carries.

3) Confess the sin you're aware of specifically. I don't have the humility to confess through the alphabet yet! Ask me tomorrow. My faith might have grown by then!

This morning I was halfway through my confession when Joel woke up and came down. He knelt beside me as I was on my knees, put his little arm around me while I was saying, "And Father, I confess that I am sometimes a grouchy mom--." Joel interrupted with a soft voice, "you're a grouchy mom all the time." And I said, "No, I'm not!" and he said, "yes, you are. Remember I said that funny thing about wanting to buy a new mom from eBay?"

4) Pray your thanks through the alphabet. I started with "A," thanking God for the alphabet itself. Then I asked Joel, while he was still engaged, to thank God for something that starts with "B." He said "Ben." A great way to make supplication for my firstborn as well. (Baby pictures here of my boy who turned 19 last Wednesday.) I asked him for "C" and he said, "Cartoon network." Short thanks or no thanks? I'm wondering. "D" for "Dad" and then my timer rang!

Time to switch the laundry over. I guess I can pray through the laundry pile now. Thank God for Stephen when I hang up his school uniform, Paul when I iron his work shirts, for hot showers when I roll the towels, etc. I love how God gives us a pile of letters and clothes to help us worship Him in the everyday repetitions of life.