Page 17 – Guideposts Articles

Write Your Prayer Down

Posted on March 11, 2026March 13, 2026 by Rick Hamlin

One question I get asked frequently is how to pray when the words don’t come or you don’t feel like you’re in a prayerful mood or you’re not even sure God is listening.

We’ve all been there. Everyone experiences dry spells—even some of the greatest adventurers in prayer.

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First of all, I don’t think any of us should be too self-critical. If God seems silent, perhaps I just need to listen harder. Or perhaps the silence is companionable, the way silence is at home on a Saturday morning when my wife and I are each engaged in our Saturday chores. The world is such a noisy place, perhaps this silence is meant to be a blessing.

But here’s an exercise that might help in prayer: Write your prayer down. Send it as an email to yourself. Or take out a pad of paper and pencil or pen and put down the things that are on your heart. My friend John Sherrill calls this “praying with a pencil.” It’s a practice he does first thing in the morning. The tactical experience of finding the prayerful words and putting them to paper keeps him focused.

My surefire method for praying when I’m feeling prayerful is to write a thank you note or send a thank-you email. Yes, it can be to God, but it can also be to another person, someone who has done something nice for me (and oh, my goodness, the people on that list are legion—just thinking about them makes me grateful). It can be someone you’ve seen recently. Better yet, it’s someone you haven’t been in touch with for a while. A teacher, an old friend, a relative who lives across the country.

“I was thinking of you today,” I’ll say, “and remembered that thing you did years ago…” The memory is sure to soften my spirit. Just the exercise of thankfulness, thankful even when I didn’t feel thankful, puts me closer in the mood of godliness. Try it.

Here at OurPrayer, we have thousands of volunteers who will pray with you and for you. Log on and write that prayer down. “Wherever two or three are gathered in my name,” Jesus said, “I am there.” Tell us your request. Tell us about your blessings. Two or three, or thousands, in cyberspace.

Can’t pray? Write that prayer down.

Why You Should Pray for ‘God Winks’

Posted on March 11, 2026March 13, 2026 by Bob Hostetler

Recently I downloaded an app that allowed me to listen to a devotional radio program I hadn’t heard since I was a teenager. I was thrilled to once again hear the familiar voice and head to sleep with beautiful thoughts and music filling my mind and heart.

The first program I listened to ended with the story of a father and child who had lost their wife and mother, and were grieving together but drawing closer to God in the darkness. It hit home, as my mother died when I was a boy. The story was followed by a musical arrangement of a song titled “Overshadowed.” That song was my mother’s favorite. She was a gifted pianist, and I remember her playing it, though I hadn’t heard it for decades.

What are the chances that I would remember that radio program, search for and find an app for it, download it and listen to the scheduled episode for the particular date that would have such heart-filling content for me? It was as if God tiptoed into my bedroom to plant a goodnight kiss on my forehead.

Maybe you’ve experienced something similar. Whether you have or not, why not ask God for His whispers, winks, and kisses?

God Whispers
You may remember when the prophet Elijah holed up in a cave, anxious and depressed, and God spoke, not in wind or earthquake or fire, but in a whisper (see 1 Kings 19). There are moments in our lives when, whatever may be happening around us, God seems to reach us, quietly but surely, with a sense of His presence. He may not speak audibly, but if we’re listening, we can hear Him. A friend may call, seemingly “out of the blue.” A financial need is met “just in time.” Pray to hear these whispers—a small reassurance that God is there, and He is on your side.

God Winks
Some people call them coincidences. Maybe some can be attributed to “confirmation bias,” the sort of thing that happens when you buy a red car and suddenly seem to notice red cars everywhere. But often, in my life at least, things seem to occur or align in such a way that I imagine God winking at me. I see something new in my morning Bible reading, and later in the day a coworker quotes the same obscure verse…and then a letter that was mailed days earlier arrives, saying that a loved one has been praying those very words for me. What does it mean? Maybe nothing. But maybe God’s winking at me, reminding me, showing up in the tiniest details.

God Kisses
Like my bedtime “God kiss,” there are times when God seems to draw so close, with such love and gentleness, that it’s like being wrapped in a mother’s hug or favored with a father’s kiss. Similar to whispers and winks, but more intimate, “God kisses” warm and comfort us in a loving embrace that may last seconds or hours—sometimes even days.

Whether or not you’ve experienced a whisper, wink or kiss from God lately, why not ask Him to favor you with one or more of these special reminders of His love? Ask Him now, and watch and wait to see how He loves you.

Why Self-Righteousness Is a Big Spiritual Problem

Posted on March 11, 2026March 13, 2026 by Pablo Diaz

Even people of faith, who have the best spiritual intentions and habits, can get caught up in self-righteousness. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, self-righteousness is defined as: “convinced of one’s own righteousness especially in contrast with the actions and beliefs of others…” When we think of ourselves as being more spiritual and more righteous than others because of our beliefs and religious practices, we must remember that God see us as all the same.

I like to believe that most people’s desires and intentions are good, that they want to draw closer to God and practice their spiritual disciplines to grow in their faith. But even people of faith with good intentions get into trouble when comparing their spiritual health with that of someone else.

This can cause us to think less of people whose lifestyle and faith traditions are different from our own. The late author Rachel Held Evans wrote, “The easiest way to make oneself righteous is to make someone else a sinner.” Whether we admit it or not, this is something with which we all struggle.

When we look down spiritually on others because we think more highly of ourselves. We forget “There for the grace of God go I.” Jesus addresses the problem of self-righteousness through the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. Jesus told this parable to those who were “confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else.”

The Pharisees were devoted to following the law and traditions. The tax collectors were viewed as unclean traitors who worked for the oppressive Roman Empire. In the parable, two men went to the temple to pray. “The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’”

We are told that it was the tax collector who went home justified. Jesus added, “For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Religious and spiritual disciplines are great practices that can draw us closer to God, but when they distance us from others and lead us to believe in our self-righteousness, we have gotten it wrong. It is by grace alone that we are made righteous; a gift granted to each and every one of us.

Why a Pilgrimage Can be a Powerful Spiritual Experience

Posted on March 11, 2026March 13, 2026 by Alikay Wood

Therese Borchard began walking The Camino de Santiago in May. She wrote this article before she left.

For many people El Camino represents a passage from pain to peace. The ancient pilgrimage is associated with miracles and self-transformation. In a few days, I will join the ranks of those who have walked before—Charlemagne, Saint Francis of Assisi and King Phillip II—to traverse this medieval path that spans 778 kilometers from the French town of Saint Jean Pied de Port across the Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostela, where the remains of Saint James the Apostle are held in the cathedral.

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What Camino means to me

I became familiar with the pilgrimage my sophomore year in college when I spent a semester in Angers, France. The Way of St. James intrigued me then, but my coursework didn’t allow the time for such a long journey. I told myself I’d eventually get there. However, two decades went by and my passport expired.

A few months ago, when I heard the word Camino again, the timing seemed right. In every area of my life, I felt stuck: in my career, in my marriage and in my faith. My vitality had evaporated in my responsibilities as a mother, wife and full-time employee. I yearned for the days when I would feed the starving children in Calcutta alongside Mother Teresa or sing the words Ubi caritas et amor with thousands of believers in Prague. I was missing the zest that propels me out of bed in the morning.

As I prepared for the trip, the very word Camino began to represent my journey to self-empowerment. In anticipation of the walk, I worked more diligently with my therapist to open those parts of myself that had been closed off, to speak my truth and ask for what I need in all of my relationships and to chase my dream of inspiring others to health and wellness through writing and speaking.

The purpose of a pilgrimage

“We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time,” writes T.S. Eliot in Four Quartets.

Such is the purpose of a pilgrimage.

The spiritual tradition started as journeys to the Holy Land made by people who wanted to visit the significant places along the Via Dolorosa, the Way of Sorrows, as a means of meditating on the pain and suffering of Jesus before his death. By the fourth century shrines were erected at these holy places, and pilgrimages to Jerusalem became popular as a devotional practice.

People make pilgrimages for different reasons. Some embark on a spiritual mission to grow in their faith, to seek penance for past “sins,” or to ask God for a special request. Others voyage to a significant destination as a kind of ascetic practice or voluntary exile from home, an experiment to see what happens to their soul without an iPad, Netflix and two pillows at night. Many pilgrims carve out a quiet space to commemorate a milestone in their life or as an exercise of self-examination.

As a college religion major, I studied the tradition of pilgrimage with fascination because it combined my two loves: faith and international travel. I made two pilgrimages my sophomore year while studying abroad in France. First, I traveled to Lourdes, France, where I witnessed hundreds of crutches hanging over the Grotto of Massabielle and bathed in the waters of the miraculous spring discovered by Saint Bernadette Soubirous in the 19th century. Later I journeyed to Lisieux, France, the birthplace of my patron saint, “The Little Flower,” and acquired a relic (the remains of a canonized saint). Just before graduation, I visited the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City that holds the icon of Juan Diego’s cloak from an apparition of the Virgin Mary at Tepeyac Hill dating back to 1531. Each pilgrimage fed my soul in a way that a ski trip to the Alps couldn’t.

Although most of us connect the concept of a pilgrimage with an excursion to a geographically remote location, it can happen in your living room or in a minivan. The great mystics of Christian spirituality—Saint Bonaventure, Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross—wrote about interior ascents and descents within the soul. I will embark on my Camino pilgrimage shortly after the seeds of my adventure were planted. I’m hoping that my spiritual transformation will continue once I arrive at St. Jean.

A community of hope

It is said that each Camino pilgrim has a story. Some are grieving the loss of a family member. Others hope to reconcile with a spouse or find answers to a life dilemma. Seekers and explorers begin their steps at St. Jean mired in grief or addiction or disillusionment and reach Santiago empowered and restored. Although each narrative is unique, the pilgrims walk together as part of a community of hope.

I will join them, wearing the symbol of the scallop shell, associated with comradeship, spiritual direction and renewal. That is my hope for my pilgrimage—to arrive in Santiago a little lighter, with a clearer view of God’s grace in my life.

When You Don’t Want to Go to Church

Posted on March 11, 2026March 13, 2026 by Julia Attaway

I knew church would be a challenge on Sunday because I was angry. I was so angry that when it came time for the confession of sins I thought, My anger might be bigger than my faith right now.

But I said mea culpa anyway because sometimes the words soften my heart a bit. It’s not the same as having my words reflect true contrition, but I figure God wants me to muster whatever I can in the way of repentance. It’s better to reluctantly confess and scowl than just sit there scowling.

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When you are awesomely angry, anger is all encompassing. Tempting as it is to avoid church then, I find it important to put my feet on autopilot and take me where my heart doesn’t want to go. Once I’m in the building it’s a lot harder to rationalize my venomous mood and to pretend it’s okay with God. Sure, He’s okay with strong emotion and justified anger. But that festering, petulant, willful, snippy-snarky stuff? Yeah, not so much.

So I sat in the pew wishing I hadn’t come, yearning to stomp out. I wasn’t in the mood for hymns and praise. But I sat there anyway for a bad reason (it would be embarrassing to skulk out) and a good one (I know any desire to leave is 150% a desire of the flesh).

What’s more, God knew exactly what was going on in my heart. So even though I didn’t want to admit that my anger was almost entirely about my heart (though it was triggered by someone else’s behavior), I kind of had to face facts. Which stunk. But I’m pretty sure it stunk with an odor pleasing to the Lord.

I made it through the service, unmoved by the music or the sermon, preoccupied with the letting-go of my snarliness. You could say—if you look at worship as a matter of receiving something from God—that I got nothing out of my hour at church. Then again, if you look at worship as giving your heart to God, it was a great day. I didn’t feel full of lovey-dovey devotion, but I walked out of there without the hard heart I came in with. As Sundays go, that’s pretty good.

When We Pray for Our Daily Bread

Posted on March 11, 2026March 13, 2026 by Bob Hostetler

When Jesus taught His first followers to pray, He gave them a framework of fewer than five dozen words.

He started with three requests that draw the person praying into the mission and priorities of Jesus Himself: “May Your name be kept holy, may Your kingdom come and may Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Or, put another way, “Glorify Your name, spread Your kingdom, accomplish Your will.”

But His next words took a surprising turn. From the sublime to the mundane, you might say. He said to pray “give us today our daily bread.”

Really, Jesus? Bread? After instructing us to pray about the holiness of God’s name, the coming of His reign and the accomplishment of His sovereign will…”give us today our daily bread”?

“Yes,” He would say. In a word, “bread.”

Those few words make it clear that praying for the most basic, practical, ordinary needs of daily life is perfectly consistent with praying also for such high and lofty things as God’s reputation, kingdom and will. In other words, when you pray, Jesus says, pray for your mundane, daily needs.

We pray most fervently about desperate needs. A diagnosis. A layoff. A crisis. And our loving Lord wants us to pray at such times. But He also tells us to pray for daily needs. He urged on His followers a day-by-day dependence on God for the most basic, elemental human needs. It wasn’t figurative. It wasn’t symbolic of “what we’re going to need today” as we generally understand it when we pray. It was literally a prayer for bread. And literally a prayer for today.

I think it still is.

I think we pray best when we exhibit a day-by-day dependence on God for the most basic, elemental human needs. Jesus didn’t say to pray “give us this day our daily bread” only when we are in need. He said, “When you pray, say…give us this day our daily bread.”

It is a prayer for all seasons, and a prayer even for people who have three different kinds of bread in their cupboard. It is a daily prayer because it is a prayer of dependence.

Do you pray for the mundane? Do you ask for the most basic, elemental things? If not, why not?

Praying “give us this day our daily bread” reminds us that all good things come from God. It reminds us to be grateful. It places us in a posture of submission and sensitivity. It is a prayer that can quickly transform our prayers:

“Give us this day our daily breath.”

“Give us this day our daily break.”

“Give us this day our daily coffee.”

“Give us this day our daily discovery.”

“Give us this day our daily strength.”

“Give us this day our daily fun.”

“Give us this day our daily work.”

“Give us this day our daily health.”

“Give us this day our daily oxygen.”

“Give us this day our daily creativity.”

“Give us this day our daily hope.”

You get the idea. Each prayer is a reminder that, as the children of Israel had to depend on God for a daily delivery of manna to their doorstep, so praying “give us this day our daily bread” teaches me to pray for the things I need—even those things I would otherwise take for granted. Maybe especially those things I take for granted.

Adapted from The Red Letter Prayer Life by Bob Hostetler (Barbour Books 2015)

When Prayers Go Unanswered

Posted on March 11, 2026March 13, 2026 by Rick Hamlin

“I am so tired of unanswered prayers!” the person wrote to us. “One was almost a yes, we were SO excited, then at the very last minute it was a crushing NO! More tears and heartache! I give up on praying! Thanks for trying!”

My heart goes out to her or him, whoever it is. All those exclamation points. All that misery. All that heartache. Crushing despair hovers around that NO! in all caps.

It would be nice to say, “It’s going to be okay. God’s going to answer those prayers. I’m sure of it. Hold on a bit longer. Don’t give up. It’s always darkest before the dawn.”

But when you’re in such pain it’s very hard to hear any reassuring promises; you’re deaf to advice; you’re blind to help; you can’t see anything beyond the misery in front of you, blocking your way.

I can only reply with a prayer of my own: God, don’t let her stop asking. Keep her typing those emails. Let her be angry. Let her rage at you, as I have raged at you at times. But give her hope. Restore her faith. Give her the reassurance and comfort she deserves. Please.

Of course I have had prayers that have gone unanswered. When you commit yourself to praying, you are sure to wind up in some cul-de-sacs of loss and confusion, asking yourself, Are you there, God?

Jesus’ last prayer in his earthly life seemed to have gone horribly unanswered. Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani, he prayed on the cross, a phrase so important it is quoted in the original Aramaic in the Bible and translated, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46).

Maybe the point of that desperate moment is that Jesus did speak. He didn’t stop praying until the breath went out of him and he died.

People who are cleverer than I will say that yes, God answers all prayer. He says either Yes, No or Wait. Or I’ve even heard a New York version of this: His answers are Yes, No and Fuhgeddaboutit!

Some will take a theological high road and tell you, “God is not answering your prayer because he wants to teach you something.” Maybe. Maybe not. But the pain of an unanswered prayer is still there.

I tend to just bury the unanswered prayers, trying to forget about them until the pain goes away.

And yet, the people I admire most, my spiritual models and mentors, keep on praying through it all, persevering, hoping against hope, arming themselves with words that seem impossible.

And so for this person who has given up, I would like to be that person who hasn’t given up. Thank you for writing. Sorry. We are going to keep trying. And trying. And trying. And trying. And trying. And praying for you. Until we greet the sunrise of an Easter morning and an empty tomb.

That’s what praying people do.

When Prayers Are Like Oil, Incense and Tears

Posted on March 11, 2026March 13, 2026 by Bob Hostetler

To some people, prayer is an esoteric exercise, not unlike the word “esoteric” itself. It is something mysterious and elusive, far removed from daily life. But that’s not at all the way prayer is pictured in the Bible. In fact, we can profit a lot from a little attention to the Bible’s metaphors for prayer:

1. Like Oil
In the ancient world, various oils like olive oil were some of the cleanest, purest substances to which they had access. Their water sources were often cloudy. They had no Ivory soap or anti-bacterial hand wash. But they had various kinds of oils, which were used for cleaning and healing and smelling nice. So, when Jacob awoke from a dream of angels ascending and descending between earth and heaven, the Bible says:

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Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it (Genesis 28:18, NIV).

Both pillar and oil were tangible prayers. Prayers to say, “thank you,” perhaps. Maybe a “let me never forget.” Or simply, “Wow.”

2. Like Incense
In a world where people bathed infrequently and animals occupied the same living space as people, any event at which more than a handful of people gathered could be a real stinkfest. No wonder, then, that part of the prescribed order of worship for God’s people was the offering of strong, sweet-smelling incense. Thus, David sang, “Let my prayer be set before you as incense” (Psalm 141:2, NIV). In other words, let it rise all the way to God’s throne, let it please Him, let it remove the stink I carry with me. And that symbol of prayer appeared again in the last book of the Bible, the Revelation recorded by John:

Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people, on the golden altar in front of the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand (Revelation 8:3-4, NIV).

3. Like Tears
Job, who lost fortune, family, health and happiness for no good reason he could see, said, “My eyes pour out tears to God” (Job 16:20, NIV). And David, in a similarly low point of his life, said, “You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book” (Psalm 56:8, NLT). What is more honest than a tear? More vulnerable? More emotional? Prayers are like tears when they are poured out without art, without guile, without pretense.

So pray like oil. Picture pure and fragrant oil flowing from your hands as you say, “thank you,” or “let me never forget.” Or simply, “Wow.”

Pray like incense. Imagine your prayers burning, smoking and rising to God’s throne. Imagine God closing His eyes and inhaling as your prayers arrive. Imagine His unmitigated pleasure at their aroma.

And pray like tears. Pour out your true, honest, heartfelt thoughts and feelings to God, without art, without guile, without pretense. Let them flow and flow until none are left. And then imagine Him saving each one in a bottle, like the precious substance that they are.

Praying like oil, incense and tears can and should change how you pray. Maybe that’s why the Bible pictures them that way.

When Is the Best Time to Pray?

Posted on March 11, 2026March 13, 2026 by Julia Attaway

My house is empty today. The kids are at work or at school, and my husband is at a meeting at church. Here is a truth: it is a lot easier to think—and pray—when the house is quiet.

After a bit of time alone, I rediscover another truth: a quiet house is a different kind of work.

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When life is busy, I have to concentrate on seeing God in and through the people I’m with. The work lies in the momentary pauses, the silent five-second prayers for the Holy Spirit to guide my words, and attentiveness to whether I’m reacting to a situation with emotion or responding in love. If I fail to do any of these, it’s easy to point to circumstances as part of the cause.

Quiet brings me to the sad reality that a different set of distractions are of my own making. Wandering thoughts, restlessness and this-life priorities have a way of popping up in my mind like toddlers in want of attention. Talking to God in silence forces me to admit that my soul is sometimes noisier than my surroundings.

All of which leads me to a third truth: no matter whether we are in chaos or quiet, we need to find ways to communicate with God. Sure, we may prefer one type of prayer, or note that a specific environment is generally more conducive to feeling at peace. But as soon as we start to rely on optimal circumstances to pray our relationship with God is already starting to slip. It is not possible for us to “rejoice always, pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-17) if we wait for just the right situation to begin. We need to meet God where we are… because He is always there.

What’s Your Prayer Style?

Posted on March 11, 2026March 13, 2026 by Bob Hostetler

Some people struggle to pray regularly and rewardingly because they think of prayer in an unnecessarily narrow way.

For example, for many years, when I thought or said something like, “I really need to pray more,” the picture in my mind was of kneeling beside my bed with my hands folded and head bowed, reverently silent. No wonder I always needed to pray more. That image bears no resemblance to my personality.

Only when I began to explore prayer according to my personality—and especially my particular learning style—did my prayer life begin to expand and deepen. What do I mean by “learning style?” There are many different theories and categories related to how people learn, but one of the simplest says that most people learn best in one of three primary ways:

1) Auditory
A person with a dominant auditory learning style can pick up information by listening and repeating that information orally—or by taking notes and reading them back. This learning style also responds well to musical formats.

2) Visual
Someone with a visual learning style absorbs new information best when it is presented in the form of graphs, charts, pictures, models, etc. This person flourishes in visually stimulating environments and activities.

3) Kinesthetic or Tactile
A kinesthetic learning style expresses itself in a basic attitude of “Don’t tell me or show me—let me touch it or try it!” A person with this learning style would rather try something repeatedly than have someone attempt to verbally explain something to them.

These learning styles translate into prayer styles. In my case, I am an auditory learner, but with an emphasis on words: words I read, words I hear, words I speak, and all of them in the proper order and with a compelling emphasis. Therefore, praying the Bible aloud is a rewarding prayer practice for me, as are liturgical prayers, prayers set to music and journaling my prayers.

Someone with a visual learning style, however, will connect best to God while watching an online video, interacting with a photo or a piece of art, or witnessing a sunrise or sunset (though I tend to think that connecting with God via nature crosses all learning styles).

People with kinesthetic or tactile learning styles will probably be energized in prayer by coloring, drawing or painting; by tracing or walking a labyrinth; by praying with beads; by pacing or dancing or even cooking as a form of prayer.

You probably have a dominant learning style, with a secondary learning style, so you may find great benefit in mixing and matching and experimenting with those learning styles. But if you haven’t done so already, consider learning to pray according to your dominant learning style. It may well ignite a new passion and purpose in your prayers and in your life.

What’s Your Prayer Pattern?

Posted on March 11, 2026March 13, 2026 by Bob Hostetler

If you have ever prayed The Lord’s Prayer, which Jesus taught in Luke 11:2-4, you have used a prayer pattern. The prayer Jesus taught His disciples is more than a helpful prayer to memorize and repeat; it also suggests a pattern our prayers can follow (in my book, The Red Letter Prayer Life, I explore how Jesus’ prayer helps us to pray communally, relationally, confidently, cooperatively, practically, specifically, contritely, graciously, submissively, purposefully and worshipfully).

Many people have found deep and abiding rewards in adopting a pattern to guide their praying. One such pattern forms an acrostic from the word “PRAY”:

Praise. Start with a focus on God—His attributes and actions. Praise Him for who He is and what He has done.

Repent. Search your heart. Review your recent actions. Identify any sins you have committed. Confess them, express your sorrow for them and intention to turn from them, and claim God’s forgiveness.

Ask. As Paul, the great leader in the early church, once wrote, “In every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6, NIV).

Yield. Bask in God’s presence. Make a fresh surrender of yourself to Him. Surrender your own plans for the coming day and enlist in His agenda.

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Perhaps the most common and popular prayer pattern uses the “ACTS” acrostic:

Adoration. Focus on God. Meditate on His beauty and greatness. Praise Him for who He is and what He means to you.

Confession. As in the “PRAY” pattern, search your heart and review your actions. Pray like David, “Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin….Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51:2, 10, NIV).

Thanksgiving. Express your gratitude for all God has done, from the beauties of nature to the blessings of your present circumstances. Thank Him for answered prayer and for His promises.

Supplication. Cast all your cares on Him who cares for you (see 1 Peter 5:7). Bring to God all the concerns of the present and hopes for the future. Present to Him your needs and the needs of your family, church, community, nation and world.

One more prayer pattern is described by Daniel Henderson, in his book, Transforming Prayer: How Everything Changes When You Seek God’s Face (Bethany House Publishers). He follows a “4/4” prayer pattern, based on a musical conductor’s motions in 4/4 time:

Reverence (upward). The starting point of a prayer maestro is focusing on God and His greatness and glory and kingdom and will.

Response (downward). Like a conductor giving the downbeat, the next step is response—yielding to God, submitting to His purposes, surrendering anew to His good plans for you and those you love.

Requests (inward). A conductor leading in 4/4 time will next move his or her baton up and to the left. So the rhythm of prayer moves next to petitions for ourselves—for cleansing, healing, provision and peace.

Readiness (outward). As a conductor shifts the baton horizontally, to his or her right, our prayers then move outward, into intercession, presenting the needs of our families, friends, community, church, nation and world to God.

Reverence (upward). An upward stroke completes the 4/4 measure, returning our hearts to God and His praiseworthiness. A doxology is always a fitting conclusion to prayer, an expression of awe and wonder that focuses on God’s kingdom, power, and glory.

These are just a few examples, of course. You may want to try something different, or even come up with a pattern of your own. It is just another way to pray, after all—and a helpful structure can make your prayers both more frequent and more focused.

What’s Your Favorite Prayer?

Posted on March 11, 2026March 13, 2026 by Rick Hamlin

Picking your favorite prayer is like picking your favorite child—they’re all favorites. But here are eight that I treasure. What about you? What is your favorite prayer?

Bless this food to our use, us to your service and bless the hands that prepared it.
—My dad’s grace at dinner

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.
—Thomas Merton

Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner. Make haste to help me. Rescue me and save me. Let thy will be done in my life.
—The Jesus Prayer

If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there thy hand shall lead me,
and thy right hand shall hold me fast.
—Psalm 139 (9-10)

Our Father, who has set a restlessness in our hearts and made us all seekers after that which we can never fully find, forbid us to be satisfied with what we make of life. Draw us from base content and set our eyes on far-off goals. Keep us at tasks too hard for us that we may be driven to thee for strength.
—A prayer Eleanor Roosevelt often said

Drop Thy still dews of quietness,
Till all our strivings cease;
Take from our souls the strain and stress,
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of Thy peace.
—From a poem by John Greenleaf Whittier

O Lord, thou knowest how busy I must be this day. If I forget thee, do not thou forget me.
—Jacob Astley before going into battle, 1642

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
—Paul in his letter to the Philippians (4:8)