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5 Great Greek Words to Pray

Posted on by Bob Hostetler

My older brothers often use words in speech or writing that I have to look up…or pretend I understand until I can find the opportunity to look it up. Their vocabularies far exceed mine. I tell myself that is not because they are more erudite than I am, but because they are much, much older (and so have had many more years to learn all those fancy words)!

There is a benefit to their frequent pedantry, however. It often drives me to the dictionary (albeit sometimes in secret), where I learn new words and their meanings, which then quickly enrich my own conversations and writing.

Something like that has happened over the years in my prayer life. I am far from a scholar, but a handful of Greek words I picked up from studying the Bible have changed my prayers and paid rich dividends in my life:

1) Agapé
“Love” is a many-splendored thing, the song says. But in English, the word “love” can be so broad in meaning that it becomes practically meaningless.

That is why I sometimes pray more specifically for myself and my loved ones to know and practice agapé, the Greek word the New Testament uses to refer to the self-sacrificing, all-encompassing love of God.

Agapé is the word Paul uses to describe “how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ…that surpasses knowledge” (Ephesians 3:18-19, NIV). So I don’t just pray for love in my life and the lives of those around me, I pray for agapé.

2) Charis
Charis is a Greek word that means, “grace,” “favor,” “blessing” or “kindness.” It is the word that gives us the English word “charisma” and is the root of the word “eucharist.”

I sometimes use charis when I pray instead of those words (especially the word “bless,” which I have used so much that it has lost much of its meaning).

I ask God to shower charis on me and those I pray for. I ask for our lives to be “Eucharistic.” I ask for a life of “charisma,” of outflowing, grace-spreading influence to those all around.

Read More: 5 Hebrew Words to Pray

3) Dunamis
When Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus referring to God’s “incomparably great power for us who believe” (Ephesians 1:19, NIV), he used a common Greek word, dunamis. It is the word from which sprang our English words, “dynamic” and “dynamite.”

So when I pray for God’s power to be shown in and through and around me, I sometimes pray for dunamis, because the “dunamis” of that word seems more “dynamic” than the oft-used English word, “power.” See what I mean?

4) Poiema
One of my favorite Greek words was used by Paul when he told the Ephesian church that “we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10, NIV).

The word, “handiwork,” is a translation of the Greek word, poiema. It is a rich word. It can mean “work of art” or “masterpiece.” The English word “poem” comes from poiema.

So, when I give praise and thanks for God’s work in me or others, or pray for His continued craftsmanship in a life or a situation, I pray for poiema, for His masterful artwork to be shown.

5) Teleios
Another word that expresses far more than any single English word is the Greek word, teleios. It means “complete,” “mature,” or “full grown.” It refers to something (or someone) that is a finished product or well-rounded outcome.

Paul used it (again in the letter to the Ephesians) when he referred to the goal of Christian discipleship, “that the body of Christ may be built up, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature [teleios], attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12-13, NIV).

So I will sometimes pray to get closer to teleios in my life and for that “completeness” and conformity to the likeness of Christ to be shown in the lives of those around me.

Just five words, like the five Hebrew words I shared in a previous post, adds depth and breadth to how I pray. In fact, I can say that each word has changed and deepened how I pray, for myself and for others. I would love it if it does something similar for you.

4 Ways to Pray With Excitement

Posted on by Bob Hostetler

Many people have a mental picture of prayer. They associate prayer with monks or nuns. When they hear the word, “prayer,” they imagine someone kneeling in a chapel or bowing quietly over folded hands. Those are certainly valid images of prayer, but not particularly exciting ones.

It is possible to pray not only in quiet and serene settings, but also with excitement. Here are a few suggestions:

1) Sing
Musicians know that tempo can both reflect and produce enthusiasm. Sure, you may sing, “Break Thou the Bread of Life” and “Holy, Holy, Holy” in your prayer time. But if you want to pray with excitement, incorporate more upbeat music into your prayers. Try praying the hymn, “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee” or Hillsong Young and Free’s “Alive” to get your heart pumping. And did you know you can sort your music (in iTunes, at least) according to beats-per-minute?

2) Dance
Dance has been a way to pray with excitement since the days of Miriam and David. Even if your only dance moves are from “Sweatin’ to the Oldies,” you can infuse your prayers with excitement by coordinating the movement of your body with the passion of your prayers.

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3) Fight
The hit movie, The War Room, depicts prayer as a battle and shows the characters writing prayers and recording answers with great vigor and determination. You may even don a couple boxing gloves and play the Rocky theme as you punch off items on your prayer list.

4) March
My friend Dawn leads a ministry in Alabama. She felt inspired to lead her staff of four on a march (Joshua-around-Jericho style) seven times around a building that would have greatly expanded their ministry’s capacity. The next day, however, the building sold to someone else.

A year later, Dawn says, “God laid on my heart that it was time to move out of our present space to make it a space for the homeless. In doing so, He pushed me out of my comfort zone to ask a local church to give us use of their buildings. It was four times larger than our previous space. Not only did they say yes, but God worked it out for us to have the space rent-free in exchange for renovating the space).”

While their initial “prayer march” didn’t bring immediate results, it generated movement that eventually won a great victory.

You may choose to combine two or more of these ways of praying with excitement. You may add calisthenics or bicycling to your prayer routine. Or something else.

However you do it, remember that prayer doesn’t always have to be a placid exercise—as the song of Miriam (Exodus 15), dance of David (1 Chronicles 15), wrestling of Jacob (Genesis 32), and marching of Joshua (Joshua 6) attest.

4 Ways to Pray When You’re Angry

Posted on by Bob Hostetler

You might be one of those people who spout off when they’re angry—you know, who just let the words fly even if you end up saying things you don’t necessarily mean. On the other hand, you might be someone who holds your anger in. You might find it hard to form complete sentences—cohesive thoughts, even—when your temperature goes up.

Wherever you find yourself on that spectrum, you may find it hard to pray when you’re angry. Maybe because you’re afraid to really tell God what you’re feeling or thinking because, well, He might let loose with a lightning bolt or two. Or you may just not have the words to express your anger—and it takes words to pray, right?

If the Bible is any kind of guide—and it is—then it’s not only possible to pray when you’re angry; it’s apparently something worth doing. God’s people in the past not only did it, but they recorded some of those prayers in scripture…and saved them for future generations! So what do the Bible’s “angry” prayers teach us?

1) Let It Out
If God’s praying people of the past are any kind of model, you can just let out what’s really, truly in your heart and mind. God sees it and knows it already, so you might as well share it in prayer. Whether it’s anger at yourself, circumstances, other people or even God, who better to vent to than the sovereign, omniscient God who created you and loves you? Let it out. Vent. For as long as it takes. Follow the example of David, who prayed:

All night long I flood my bed with weeping
and drench my couch with tears.
My eyes grow weak with sorrow;
they fail because of all my foes (Psalm 6:6-7, NIV).

2) Say What You’re Afraid to Say
Judging from the psalmists’ example, God values brutal honesty. He wants us to pray what’s really in us, not what we think He wants to hear. So, go ahead and pray your anger. (It’s hard to pray through your anger if you won’t express your anger.) Maybe that’s how we can understand the kind of emotion that caused psalmists to pray about an enemy, “May his children be fatherless,” and “May a creditor seize all he has” (Psalm 109:9, 11, NIV).

Yes, those are some strong words. Emotional. Raw. And later in the psalm, the guy confesses, “I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me” (Psalm 109:22, NIV). No kidding. But trying to suppress or deny your emotions prevents you from working through them and finding compassion and forgiveness.

3) Trust the Holy Spirit to Interpret for You
The Apostle Paul wrote:

The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God (Romans 8:26-27, NIV).

Sometimes, when I haven’t been able to articulate my feelings to God, I’ve consciously called on the Holy Spirit to pray what I can’t pray. And I believe He does. And He interprets those thoughts and emotions that are too deep—or convoluted—to find expression. So, trust Him to make sense of even your deepest pain.

4) Return to What You Know After Expressing What You Feel
We are thinking creatures and feeling creatures. And sometimes feelings short-circuit thoughts. In that case, we may need to express the emotions, giving voice to the feeling side of our brains in order to remember and express truth from the thinking side of our brains. I think we can see that happening over and over in the “angry psalms” of the Bible. For example, in Psalm 70, David is clearly angry and hurting:

Hasten, O God, to save me;
come quickly, Lord, to help me.
May those who want to take my life
be put to shame and confusion;
may all who desire my ruin
be turned back in disgrace.
May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”
turn back because of their shame (Psalm 70:1-3, NIV).

Because a psalm is a song, I wonder if David sang those verses more than once—many times, perhaps—before he finished his prayer:

But may all who seek You
rejoice and be glad in You;
may those who long for Your saving help always say,
“The Lord is great!”
But as for me, I am poor and needy;
come quickly to me, O God.
You are my help and my deliverer;
Lord, do not delay (Psalm 70:4-5, NIV).

It’s okay to pray about your anger. Like David and other psalmists, you might even sing it (using a loud electric guitar, perhaps). And you’ll probably find, when you’ve thoroughly expressed what you’re feeling, you’ll be in a better place to pray the things you know to be true.

4 Ways to Pray the Psalms

Posted on by Rick Hamlin

I remember getting my first Bible in Sunday School and discovering that when you opened it up, the Psalms were smack dab in the middle. I think that says a lot about the importance of them to our faith—they’re central. Prayer Central.

I make a practice of reading three of them every morning at the breakfast table (as I chew my oatmeal), but I have to remind myself: Rick, pray them! They’re prayers. Not only that, they’re songs. (Imagine what my wife, Carol, would say if I started singing them first thing!)

Here are some tools to using them in your prayer life.

1) Take just a phrase. I’m not that great at memorizing long biblical passages but there’s a lot of power in holding just a line, even half a verse, in your head and praying that.

The other day I found myself waiting in front of the ticking microwave. Don’t be so impatient, I told myself. Use this time to pray. After all, wasn’t that one of my Lenten promises?

I turned to my Bible, glanced down at Psalm 16 and fixed on the phrase “You will show me the path of life…” I closed my eyes and kept running that line through my head. How powerful, how helpful, how much better than staring at my watch or rolling my eyes. “Ding” went the microwave. “Ding” went my heart.

2) Let the words address your needs. Sometimes I’ll read the language of a psalm and wonder what it has to do with me. There’ll be all this talk of “a rod of iron” or “my enemies,” and I’ll think, I don’t have any enemies, do I, Lord?

Okay, maybe I’m not in armor getting ready for war, but there are indeed enemies I face: self-righteousness, self-doubts, times of despair, unaddressed rage. I use the Psalmist’s words to help me do battle with them.

3) Share a verse. Twitter is a landscape of competing political viewpoints and punditry. An odd place to put a psalm. But then I think, wouldn’t the Psalmist have wanted to speak to all listeners, especially those needing prayer?

I often tweet a verse in the morning, one that speaks to me. Truth to tell, not too many people read them—no matter. I do it for myself. Sharing a verse helps me hold it in my head.

One morning when I was typing “Keep me as the apple of your eye…” (Psalm 17:8) autocorrect kept on wanting to make it “Apple.” Uppercase, a brand name. Goes to show where our contemporary priorities lie. May mine rise higher!

4) Sing it to yourself. I was listening to a podcast where they were talking about Jesus on the cross and one of the guests pointed out that when He prayed “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” He might well have sung it, as was the tradition.

All sorts of snippets of Psalms stick in my head because of having sung them. You know the old expression: “The one who sings prays twice.” Whether Jesus sung it from the cross or said it, how poignant that He turned to a Psalm for prayer.

Can we do any less?

4 Ways to Pray Like a Monk

Posted on by Bob Hostetler

About 16 years ago, in a time of great spiritual need, I journeyed to the Abbey of Gethsemani, near Louisville, Kentucky, and spent four days and three nights at that famous monastery. It changed my life.

I learned things from the Trappist monks there that I had not learned in my own tradition, things about prayer, and much more. Here are just four ways I learned to pray like a monk:

1. Listen
I talk too much. Not just in meetings, but in my conversations with God. And for decades, I didn't quite grasp what other people meant when they talked about "listening to God." But the monks helped me with that.

I have learned in more than a dozen visits to Gethsemani that silence really does foster an internal, two-way conversation with God. I have learned what it means to hear from God.

I have learned that God, always a gentleman, seldom interrupts me. He will wait for me to stop talking and listen. So I have to shut up. For a while. And then he speaks. Not audibly (not yet, anyway). But unmistakeably.

2. Read Slowly
I've read my Bible my whole life. I've read through it many times. But the practice of prayerfully chanting psalms taught me to slow down and let the Word seep into my heart and mind and life.

That opened up to me a whole new world of prayer and intimacy with God. It turned my “Bible reading time” into “waiting and listening and praying time.”

3. Rest
The psalmist sang, “Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you” (Psalm 116:7, ESV). Sometimes rest is a form of prayer. It can be a tremendous blessing to close your eyes or lay down your head as if reposing in the arms of God.

Though I've always had trouble sleeping, even at night, I learned from my sojourns at the monastery to pursue moments of repose as a form of prayer.

4. Be
Perhaps most of all, I learned to “be” from the monks. I have always been a "doer." Even, at times, a workaholic.

My temperament and my upbringing combined to make me a hard worker…and long laborer. And day after day, month after month, year after year, that had become my life: doing, not being.

But on one of my early retreats at Gethsemani, I was intrigued to see the lives of several dozen monks ordered, not by frantic efforts to “do” and to “accomplish” things–though they do accomplish much–but by the priority of “being,” putting themselves in God’s path, so to speak, and waiting on him, in patient prayer, devotion, silence and solitude.

Being, not doing. It wasn't an easy discipline to learn. The first time or two, I arrived at the monastery with a stack of books to read, an agenda of items to pray through, and more.

But little by little, I learned to be still. To stop my incessant "doing." To surrender my need to accomplish things. To spend time in God’s presence, not “accomplishing” stuff, not chattering or checking off items on a list, but being with him. Being still. Being present. Being.

I still can’t say I’m good at any of these ways of praying, but I’ve enjoyed–and benefited immensely from–getting better, little by little.

How about you? Do you practice any of these “ways to pray?”

4 Ways to Pray in a Labyrinth

Posted on by Bob Hostetler

Many Christians and churches are rediscovering an ancient prayer practice: a labyrinth. A labyrinth is a geometrically designed walking path leading to and from a central point. It is not a maze; you cannot get lost. There are no dead ends. The point is not disorientation, but orientation.

Some Christians, preachers and churches think labyrinths are weird, even pagan. It is true that labyrinths have been used in pagan rituals (for example, the Hopi people of North America used labyrinths as symbols of Mother Earth, and the numerous stone labyrinths along the Scandinavian shoreline were used as magic “traps” for trolls, etc.), but the form itself is no more pagan or Christian than a book or a musical note. It is the content in it and purpose of it that makes a labyrinth either pagan or Christian–or neither.

Labyrinths have been used for centuries to facilitate prayer and meditation. The most famous prayer labyrinth today is probably the one in the Chartres Cathedral. There are several typical designs: the “classical” design of seven rings, and the “medieval” design of 11 circuits in four quadrants.

There may be a labyrinth in a church garden or retreat center near you (a quick internet search may show your options). Some churches (particularly during the Lenten Season) create indoor labyrinths for a set period of time, and sometimes include “stations” or stopping points along the way to guide a worshiper. But anyone can pray in a labyrinth. Here are four ways to get you started:

1) Ask God a question as you enter the path. Then, as you walk slowly through the twists and turns, listen for an answer. Let your steps and your silence invite the presence and guidance of God.

2) Start your journey to the center with confession (you may want to visualize your sins being left behind with every step you take). When you reach the center, journey out with affirmation (perhaps visualizing yourself picking things up or putting things on–like the righteousness of Christ, the smile of the Father, the purity of the Holy Spirit, etc.). Pause at the exit and give thanks for your cleansing journey.

3) Recite a breath prayer as you navigate the labyrinth, perhaps praying a different prayer on each leg or quadrant of your journey.

4) Lay down your burdens as you walk to the center of the labyrinth (perhaps laying down pebbles along the way as symbols of your worries or cares). In the center, pause to thank God for taking your burdens on himself (1 Peter 5:7). Then count your blessings and give thanks on the journey to the exit.

There are, of course, many more ways to pray in a labyrinth, but these are offered to get you started.

Are there any prayer labyrinths near you? Have you prayed in a labyrinth before? What was the experience like? Please leave a comment and let me know.

4 Ways to Pray for Healing

Posted on by Rick Hamlin

Whenever I answer one of those surveys about my health, I always check the box that says, “Excellent.”

Then I’ll stop and reconsider how I spent two weeks in the hospital last summer for a lung infection and went back a month later for heart surgery.

Excellent? Really? Yes, I think so. Not a day goes by that I don’t talk to God about my health, asking for His care. I eat carefully and get plenty of exercise, especially after two months of cardiac rehab. But I never stop praying for healing. Like this.

1) Put your body in God’s care. At night as I lie in bed with my eyes closed, I picture God’s care. That little ache, this fear, that concern, this worry, I put them in God’s hands.

Thanks to the miracle of modern medicine, I am alive and well. But those good doctors and nurses and aides, and health professionals, I think of them as God’s co-workers. Healing starts with the Highest.

2) Tell God what is wrong. Reading Jesus’s stories of healing, I’m struck by how often He asks people what’s wrong. Take the man lying there by the pool of Bethsaida who had been ill for 36 years. “Do you want to be made well?” Jesus asks. (John 5:6)

Wouldn’t that have been painfully obvious? The sick man goes on to complain that he has no one to put him into the pool when the water is stirred up. By the time he gets there someone else has stepped in front of him.

Jesus doesn’t have time for his excuses. “Stand up, take your mat and walk,” Jesus tells the man. He does just that. He didn’t need the healing water. Just needed to be frank with the Lord.

God knows what’s bothering us. No need to make excuses. Be honest in your prayers.

3) Step out in faith. Think of the centurion who approached Jesus, asking for healing for his paralyzed servant lying at home in terrible distress. “Only speak the word, and my servant will be healed,” the centurion says (Matthew 8:8).

This is a Roman centurion, not even a practicing Jew, and yet he trusts in Jesus’s healing power, begging in humility. That’s what seems to impress the Lord.

“Let it be done according to your faith,” Jesus says. And it is.

4) Speak up. Take the woman who was healed of hemorrhages she’d suffered from for 12 years. She sneaks up in a crowd and just touches the fringe of Jesus’s clothes and is healed instantly.

“Who touched me?” Jesus wants to know (Luke 8:45). The woman hoped to remain hidden and disappear; after all, in that era, as a woman with hemorrhages, she should not have been anywhere close to a man like Jesus.

Forced to step forward and speak up, she is told, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”

Be honest in your prayers. Speak up. Acknowledge your needs. Then trust in God’s provisions and be healed.

4 Ways to Let Your Hands Do the Praying

Posted on by Bob Hostetler

Remember the yellow pages, those once-indispensable phone book pages that listed business numbers and addresses? I was recently reminded of the commercials that urged, “let your fingers do the walking through the yellow pages.”

I’ve been spending more time than usual in the dentist’s chair—even blogging about how to pray in that situation. This visit, however, was longer and more involved than ever. After praying through my usual mental list, my brain—and jaw—was pretty tired. That’s when I thought I felt or heard the Spirit of God’s invitation to let my hands do the praying. So I did.

1) Palms Open
I began by simply extending my arms, opening my hands and turning my palms up as a gesture of openness and receptivity to the “still small voice” of God. It was a physical and spiritual relief; I had been gripping the armrest like a passenger on the Titanic. It gave my muscles a respite and my soul a much-needed signal to relax. I didn’t pray anything in particular (that I remember, anyway) but simply let my open hands do the “talking.”

2) Palms Flat
Next, I turned my palms over and held them flat while envisioning my worries and fears—how much will this procedure cost, will more work be necessary, what if the insurance company balks, etc.—dropping them all into God’s hands. I breathed easier and felt my muscles relax further and my pulse slow.

3) Hands Folded
After a while in that position, I pressed my hands together, like the famous “Praying Hands” painting. I half expected the dentist and dental assistant to remark on my prayerful posture, but they never did. So again, I let my hands do the praying. I asked the Holy Spirit, on the basis of Romans 8:26, to intercede for me—to translate my praying hands into all the petitions I could or should be praying.

4) Hands Lifted
Finally, when most of the work was finished, and the dentist and assistant left the room for a few moments, I lifted my hands in the air, like that Bible verse about “lifting holy hands.” Holy or not, the gesture was, for me, one of gratitude and praise, anticipating the end of a successful procedure and my coming deliverance from the ordeal.

Letting your hands do the praying can be a helpful practice in other places besides the dentist’s chair. On an airplane, perhaps, or on a train. In a long line at the bank. Or anywhere, really, where you’ve run out of words or find it difficult to focus. In such situations, a simple gesture or two can be as good or better prayer than any your lips can express.

4 Ways to Enrich Your Gift-Giving through Prayer

Posted on by Bob Hostetler

In our culture, a sizeable part of celebrating Christmas involves sorting out who you’re going to buy presents for, how much money you’ll spend, how to accomplish the whole process of shopping and wrapping and giving and receiving all sorts of gifts. It can be so overwhelming and it comes at such a stressful time of year, and it all has to be done by December 25th (or, for Orthodox Christians, January 6), and we might just feel like calling a big fat “TIME OUT” to say, “Do I have to do it this way?”

Of course, some of us decide to opt out of the whole gift-giving practice altogether. And that solves some problems, but it also runs the risk of taking some of the joy out of the annual celebration of Jesus’ birth, especially for the children in our lives.

But there is another way. It is possible to transform your gift-giving this Christmas into something more. All it takes is a little prayer. Specifically:

1) Pray before you buy.
The Bible describes the “magi” who visited the baby Jesus and gave the first recorded Christmas gifts. It says, “On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh” (Matthew 2:11, NIV).

We may infer that they didn’t pick up their gifts at the last minute from the 7-11 down the street. They probably planned those gifts well in advance. So maybe take a hint from the magi: pray and plan before you buy. Ask God to help you give what you can afford and what the recipients will appreciate.

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2) Pray as you shop.
People have written whole books about the appropriateness of the magi’s gifts—gold for a newborn king, incense for a priest after the order of Melchizedek, and myrrh, a spice used in burial for the one sent to suffer and die for the sins of the world. It is unlikely that the magi knew such things, but whether on purpose or by divine intervention, they gave very personalized gifts to the Christ child.

So, whether you go to a store or click “purchase” on a website, remember that—and remember, too, that the best gifts are often more creative than expensive, and more thoughtful than material. In fact, your best gift may not be a purchase at all, but the prayer you offer for the person for whom the gift is intended.

3) Pray as you wrap.
The time you spend wrapping your gifts is another opportunity to pray for each person on your Christmas list—especially if, as you wrap, you envision God’s presence and power surrounding and enclosing that person. You may even want to do more than just write the recipient’s name on the gift tag; you may wish to inscribe a short prayer, or a Scripture reference such as Numbers 6:24-26 or Ephesians 3:14-21, that expresses your prayer for him or her.

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4) Pray as you give.
The magi got their presentation right. The Bible says, very specifically, that before they presented their gifts to Jesus, “They bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts” (Matthew 2:11, NIV). They didn’t just send their gifts Camel Express or leave them on the doorstep. They intensified the effect of their gifts by how they presented them.

Wouldn’t it be something to imitate the magi in that respect this year? Wouldn’t it be something if we didn’t just toss our gifts at one another but took care to lovingly and thoughtfully present them, telling each other, “I pray you like it; I chose it just for you, because I want nothing more than for you to feel loved and valued this Christmas.” Or something like that.

Praying as you give may transform your Christmas celebration, not only for you but also for everyone on your list. It may help you honor the best gift you’ve ever received—the Incarnate One Himself. And your prayers for those you love may turn out to be the best gifts you have ever given.

4 Ways I Pray When in a Dark Place

Posted on by Bob Hostetler

Ever feel so low that you don’t know how—or what—to pray? Sure, we may need prayer most at such moments, but that’s also when we find it hardest to form a cohesive thought, let alone a prayer. Sometimes when that happens to me, I think of Jonah.

Jonah was the ancient prophet who ran from God, got thrown off a sinking ship and was swallowed by “a great fish”—where, the Bible says, he prayed.

I always remember Jonah when I think, “How could God let this happen?” or “How can I recover from this?” or “How can it possibly get any worse?” Because Jonah’s prayer from inside a fish helps me to pray in my darkest places. Here’s how his example can help you:

1) Pray Where You Are

The Bible says, “From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God” (Jonah 2:1, NIV).

Wow. He prayed there. As dark as it was. He said:

In my distress I called to the Lord,
and he answered me.
From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help,
and you listened to my cry. (Jonah 2:2, NIV)

He prayed the facts. He didn’t sugar-coat his situation. He expressed how he felt, how things truly seemed.

God already knows where you are, of course; you’re not telling Him anything new. But it helps you to pray where you are, as you are.

2) Give Thanks
It’s incredible that Jonah prayed where he was, but it’s even more amazing what he prayed. He looked forward in hope and gave thanks:

To the roots of the mountains I sank down;
the earth beneath barred me in forever.
But you, Lord my God,
brought my life up from the pit. (Jonah 2:6-7, NIV)

It seems unbelievable that anyone would say, from inside a fish, “You brought my life up from the pit.” Though there have been times when I’ve been thoroughly down, crushed by circumstances, feeling alone and bereft, when I’ve started giving thanks, not even really meaning it much when I start, but thanking God that I’m alive, that I’m healthy, that I have the wife I have, the family I have, the friends I have…the depression starts to lift. It’s as if depression cannot coexist in the human heart with gratitude, as if one will drive out the other.

3) Affirm What You Know Is True
As Jonah’s prayer continues, he says:

Those who cling to worthless idols
forfeit the grace that could be theirs. (Jonah 2:8, NIV)

It seems out of place…until you notice that virtually every line of his prayer echoes a psalm—at least 13 different psalms, in fact. So, clearly this wasn’t the first time Jonah prayed. The psalms were a part of his prayer language.

Sometimes we wait until we’re in the belly of a fish, figuratively speaking, before we cry out to God. But that’s like waiting to take piano lessons until you’re booked to play Carnegie Hall. Not Jonah. The school of prayer had prepared him for the school of hard knocks. It can be the same for us. Daily prayer is both performance (for an audience of one) and practice (for a performance yet to come).

When you cry out to God from a dark place, remember what you’ve heard and read and prayed in the past. Repeat those things. Affirm them. Hold onto them.

4) Await Your Deliverance
Jonah’s prayer from inside the fish concludes:

But I, with shouts of grateful praise,
will sacrifice to you.
What I have vowed I will make good.
I will say, “Salvation comes from the Lord.” (Jonah 2:9, NIV)

Amazing. Doesn’t he know he’s in an impossible situation? Obviously not. He’s praying like it’s just a matter of time before he is delivered. And it was.

Deliverance from your dark place may come sooner…or later. It may come after three days, as it did for Jonah, or after 40 years, like the deliverance of Israel from the Sinai. It may be a deliverance from your trial, like Peter’s rescue from prison, or a deliverance through your trial, like the three Hebrews in the fiery furnace.

But sooner or later, “from” or “through,” “Salvation comes from the Lord” (Jonah 2:9-10, NIV). Until then, keep praying—even in your darkest place.

—Need a Lift? Try Our Gratitude Challenge

4 Tips to Help You Remember to Pray

Posted on by Julia Attaway

I was in a friend’s kitchen the other day and noticed a Bible propped open in a stand on the counter. “That seems like a good idea,” I commented, “having the Bible there, open and inviting.”

“I never actually read while I’m cooking,” she admitted, “though it does remind me to pray.” She went on to describe how she uses meal prep as a time to stir up her heart and remember those she’s cooked with or for. It got me thinking about the many ways to prompt our forgetful souls to talk with God. Here are some of my favorites:

  1. Link prayer to a regular activity.
    Find a Bible verse to get you started while you get dressed (Isaiah 61:10), drive to work (Psalm 77:12) or do laundry (Psalm 26:6). God should—and can—be part of our daily routines!
  2. Let your schedule do the work.
    Use a date book with scripture and/or devotionals or enter pray as an event in your daily calendar.
  3. Turn off the vacuum of social media.
    Restrict your access to certain sites and use some of that “saved” time for prayer.
  4. Connect the old-fashioned way.
    Link up with a prayer partner you call or visit with regularly, or join a group. Having others to whom you’re accountable is a great motivation to get things done!

And what about you? What’s your most effective way of reminding yourself to pray?

4 Steps to Turn Earworms into Prayers

Posted on by Bob Hostetler

They can attack at any time. They bore into your brain. They can make you crazy. And they are frustratingly hard to eradicate.

No, they’re not exotic insects or strange viruses. “Earworms” is the term that has come to be applied to catchy songs that get stuck in your head. You may be going about your day, when suddenly you’re thinking “All About That Base.” Or you’re trying to concentrate on something but “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” just keeps pounding in your brain.

Earworms can be annoying. Distracting. They can even lie dormant for a period and reassert themselves at inconvenient times. But you don’t have to be their victim. You can take a proactive approach to earworms. You can even use earworms to turn your heart and mind to God throughout your day.

1. Identify hymns or worship songs that most often stick in your mind.
Do some songs you sing in church stick with you longer than others? “Great Is Thy Faithfulness,” maybe? “Good, Good Father?” “It Is Well With My Soul?” Note when that happens. Write them down, even.

Read More: How to Inspire Yourself!

2. Remember your favorites.
You may not love every hymn or worship that sticks in your brain, but the chances are good that you are moved and blessed by a few of them. So compile a short list of five or more of your favorite “earworm” worship songs, and note which of them are actually prayers (for example, “Amazing Grace” is a testimony but not a prayer, whereas the words of “How Great Thou Art” are directed to God).

3. Purchase or download your favorites and copy them to a CD or playlist.
Depending on how computer (or smartphone) savvy you are, the next step is to acquire your favorites—especially those that are prayers. If you need help, enlist someone who knows how to do this and give them your list.

4. Play one each day soon after you awake, before you leave the house or before finishing your commute.
Your prayer routine may already include music, but I suggest selecting one of your “holy earworms” as the final music you hear before launching into the day’s activities. And choosing a different tune each day will give your brain enough variety to avoid earworm fatigue (a clinical condition I just made up).

By purposefully “planting” meaningful hymns and worship songs as earworms, you can preempt “Who Let the Dogs Out” and (better yet) turn your heart and mind toward God throughout the course of the day as your intentional earworm repeats.