Page 57 – Guideposts Articles

4 Ways to Pray in a Labyrinth

Posted on March 11, 2026March 13, 2026 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 March 11, 2026March 13, 2026 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 March 11, 2026March 13, 2026 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.

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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 March 11, 2026March 13, 2026 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.

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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 March 11, 2026March 13, 2026 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.

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4 Tips to Help You Remember to Pray

Posted on March 11, 2026March 13, 2026 by Sabra Ciancanelli

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:

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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!
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.
Turn off the vacuum of social media.
Restrict your access to certain sites and use some of that “saved” time for prayer.
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 March 11, 2026March 13, 2026 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.

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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.

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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.

4 Reasons You Should Pray Like Jabez

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

It is rare enough that a book about prayer becomes a bestseller, but when Bruce Wilkinson’s little 96-page book, The Prayer of Jabez, sold millions of copies some years ago, it surprised everyone. The book (and the prayer on which it was based) spawned numerous spin-offs, send-ups and sequels. Not to mention controversy.

The book focused on a short prayer tucked away in 1 Chronicles 4:10:

Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request. (NIV)

Not exactly the Lord’s Prayer, is it? Short—just 29 words in that translation. Yet it appealed to millions, possibly because it works. Not because it’s a magic mantra, some miracle cure, a biblical good luck charm. But for four reasons:

1) It’s daily.
If you haven’t been in the habit of praying daily, then starting that habit will bring about some wonderful changes—whether you pray the prayer of Jabez, the Lord’s Prayer or “Now I lay me down to sleep.” Try it; start praying every day, and watch what happens.

2) It’s simple.
Many people don’t pray because they don’t think they can. They’re shy. They feel self-conscious. They think they have to use “thee” and “thou” and make it sound like the Gettysburg Address. But the prayer of Jabez is simple enough to make many of us—even people like me—believe that prayer is something even we can do.

3) It’s specific.
The prayer of Jabez gives a person something specific to say when they pray. Very often—even when we want to pray—we have trouble expressing our thoughts. The Jabez prayer helps a person do that.

For the same reason, I frequently use a hymn (“Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise,” “I have no claim on grace,” etc.) or other words of Scripture (Psalm 5, for example, or Paul’s prayer for the Christians at Ephesus in Ephesians 3:14-21) to help me express the things I want to say in prayer. I also use lists of Scripture phrases to help me praise God or pray for my children as aids to prayer.

4) It’s a start.
The prayer of Jabez succeeds insofar as it opens the lines of communication between the person praying and the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. That’s a good thing. And, like most prayer, regularly praying the Jabez prayer is likely to whet a person’s appetite for more prayer.

Sure, some people might pray those 29 words day after day and be done with it. But a good number of people, while they’ve “got God’s attention,” so to speak, might feel encouraged to ask for forgiveness or guidance or healing for a friend. And that’s a good thing. A very good thing.

4 Prayers to Keep You Healthy

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

We pray for the sick. We pray for ourselves when we’re sick too. But how many of us pray for health when we’re healthy? For continued health? For increasing health?

One of my favorite prayers is the “Lorica” (or “breastplate”) attributed to Saint Patrick. It’s a wonderful prayer of power and protection and a great guide for how we might pray for health even when we’re not ill. He prayed “against every cruel and merciless power that may oppose my body and my soul,” including “against poison, against burning, against drowning, against wounding.”

So, why don’t we follow his example and pray for ourselves and others when we’re healthy? Here are a few suggested prayers for the healthy. Each will be phrased for oneself but can easily be revised or adapted into a prayer for someone else:

1) Thanks for Health

Heavenly Father, thank You for the health and vitality I enjoy today.
Thank you for functioning organs, working joints, strong muscles and sharp senses.
Let Your vitality flow into every cell in my body,
driving far from me all sickness and disease,
and remind me to give You praise and thanks for the health I enjoy. Amen.

2) Protection for Continued Health

God, grant that I may continue in health today.
Wherever I go, protect me from germs and viruses and bacteria.
Keep me safe from injury of body, mind or soul,
and bring me to this day’s end filled with health and energy,
that I may enjoy good health and that all may go well with me (3 John 2). Amen.

3) Petition for Increase in Health

Holy Spirit, my body is Your temple (1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19)
and my desire is to keep it healthy
and to increase in health and strength.
Help me to be a good steward of the health and strength you give,
in what I eat and drink and how I conduct myself each day.
Protect me from sickness, disease and injury,
granting me mobility, flexibility and strength. Amen.

4) Appeal for Healthy Functions

Gracious God, You knit me together in my mother’s womb;
I am fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:13-14).
My body is a wonder—and at times a mystery—to me.
Please keep it functioning well.
Keep my heart strong and my lungs healthy.
Keep my blood pressure and cholesterol in a healthy range.
Protect my memory and preserve my senses.
Oversee all the functions of my body that promote health and well-being. Amen.

I offer the above in the hope that these prayers will suggest others, and that regularly giving thanks and offering petitions for health and strength—for ourselves and for others.

4 Prayers of Hope for the New Year

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

For many of us, these past few years have been a year like no other—so much has been disruptive, stressful, disturbing and even traumatic. It seems as though we’ve been through one disappointment, derailment and disaster after another. We never asked for such a stormy year, but we weathered it. Now we turn a page, a corner. We may even turn over a new leaf.

So, what should we pray as we say goodbye—perhaps good riddance—to the old year? Here are four suggestions. You can fill in your own petitions and names to tailor these prayers to your life and needs.

1) Pray to Process the Past
For many of us, these past 12 months came at us so fast that we had no time to think or recover before the next crisis hit. So, it may be wise here, at year’s end, to breathe a bit more deeply and think reflectively. A prayer such as the following may help:

God, clear my mind and help me to process all I’ve been through in 2020.
Give me wisdom. Enlighten me.
Help me, especially, to see Your hand in _______.
What were the moments when I drew closer to You?
When I strayed from You?
When I forgot that You were there, that You are always there?
What did I learn? What do I still need to learn in order to move on from 2020?

2) Pray to Remember…and Forget
There are, of course, many things about this past year that we would like to forget. But let’s not be too hasty. Perhaps a prayer like the following may help make peace with regrets and nurture hope for a fresh start:

God, this has been a year filled with loss and pain.
Hold my hand as I grieve the losses and bear the pain, especially _______.
Hear my prayer as I confess my sins and surrender my regrets, especially _______.
Wipe from my memory the things that aren’t worth carrying into 2021, especially _______.
Help me to hold onto 2020’s lessons, blessings and victories, especially _______.

3) Pray to Look Ahead in Newness, Hope, Faith and Love
Many of us saw our plans for the year demolished as 2020 got underway. But that doesn’t mean we can’t create new dreams for 2021:

God, I’m sure You understand my trepidation as I anticipate the new year. So little in 2020 went according to plan.
But those were my plans, I admit, and a new year unfolds before me.
Let this new year mark the beginning of newness of life for me and mine.
Let this year dawn in hope and proceed in hope; let the “deferred” hope of 2020 blossom into fruitful fulfillment in 2021 (see Proverbs 13:12). Give me hope especially for _______.
Let this year deepen and strengthen my faith in You, especially as concerns _______.
And let 2021 be a year in which Your love is shed abroad in my heart and the hearts of those around me, especially _______.

4) Pray to Begin Anew
And with new plans and dreams on the horizon, here’s a prayer to open your heart to receiving God’s love and guidance as you begin to put them in place:

God, let this new year mark a new beginning for me and those I love.
Grant us, and especially _______, a new sense of Your closeness and care.
Give new strength and vitality, especially for _______.
Send a new level of hopeful trust to me, a new sense of your closeness and care, especially when _______.
Fill 2021 with new love, new joy and new peace;
with new outpourings of patience, kindness, goodness and faithfulness;
with new infillings of gentleness and self-control (see Galatians 5:22).
Let this coming year be ruled by whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and worthy of praise (see Philippians 4:8).

Let those prayers be only a starting point for the end of 2020 and the year to come. Pray that 365 days from now, you’ll look back with praise and thanksgiving on all of the ways God answered, even beyond what you thought to ask (see Ephesians 3:20).

4 Keys to Guilt-Free Praying

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

I’ve always known I “should” pray more. Determined to follow Jesus as a teenager, I tried to imitate such men as English missionary Hudson Taylor and Salvation Army Commissioner Samuel Logan Brengle, both who prayed long and hard and effectively. My efforts to be like them soon fizzled, however, and all I had to show for my labors was a healthy dose of guilt.

Later, as I trained for ministry, many of my instructors and some of my classmates displayed the fruits of strong, healthy prayer lives. I enjoyed occasional spurts of prayer myself, but again the greater harvest was feelings of guilt and inadequacy.

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Even over years of ministry in the church, my prayers usually felt too far and few between. I prayed often–in the hospital, funeral home or church service. But I never felt like I had arrived where I wanted to be in my prayer journey.

I am not a lazy person. I get things done. But for many reasons, my prayer efforts for many years produced mostly disappointment and guilt. Maybe you can identify. Maybe, like me, you’ve been tempted to conclude that you’re just not cut from the same cloth as so-called “prayer warriors.” Maybe you’ve resigned yourself to an ineffectual and unrewarding prayer life. Maybe you have given up altogether. Don’t.

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You can enjoy the benefits and blessings of a rich prayer life while escaping feelings of guilt and inadequacy.

Here are a few keys I have discovered in recent years that have opened the door to guilt-free praying for me:

1) Pray according to your rhythms, not someone else’s.
You’ve heard or read the stories of people throughout history who rose at 4 a.m. and prayed for hours before breakfast, just as I have. But I had to learn that forcing myself to imitate someone else’s rhythms hurt far more than it helped.

So I spent some time experimenting, and figured out that (to quote the hymn) “When morning gilds the skies, my heart awakening cries, I just want to sleep for five more minutes, okay?” I do pray in the morning, usually, but not until I’m on my second (or third) cup of coffee.

2) You don’t have to pray for a long time.
I used to measure the “quality” of my prayer time according to “quantity.” I wanted to discipline myself to pray for a half hour or an hour, because that’s what “good” pray-ers do, right?

But then I noticed that some of the most effective prayers in the Bible were pretty brief. Even the prayer Jesus taught His disciples takes no more than a half-minute to pray. So it’s not how long you pray that matters most, but simply that you pray.

3) Your prayer doesn’t have to be fancy.
I was inspired at an early age by numerous people who prayed powerful, eloquent prayers. Turns out, it messed me up a little bit. I wanted to pray like that. And then I realized that Jesus depicted prayer as something like a child approaching a loving parent (or grandparent).

My prayers can be as primitive as one of my grandkids writing a birthday card for me; the words may be simple, even painfully so. But God treasures every one. As theologian Richard Foster wrote, “In the same way that a child cannot draw a bad picture so a child of God cannot offer a bad prayer.”

4) Always remember that God loves you before or beyond anything you can do or say.
I used to obsess over “praying well.” I kept track of my prayers and answers to my prayers, wanting to pray in such a way that God would answer more and more. I wanted to become “a man of prayer,” so it felt important that I get it right, so to speak.

But one day something clicked, and I realized that God loves me, not my prayers. And He wants me to want Him more than answers to my prayers. And it has since been enough for me to enjoy my status as a “child of God” without fretting over becoming “a man of God.”

The point of my prayers ever since has not been accomplishment or answers, but relationship—intimacy with the God who loves me and invites me to love Him back!

Guilt and prayer are like oil and water. One will always repel the other. So try these keys to guilt-free praying and see if they do for you what they did for me.

4 Good Reasons to Pray Aloud

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

It’s happened to you. Please say it has. Please tell me I’m not the only one.

You’re spending a few moments in prayer. You close your eyes. Scrunch down a little in your seat. Fold your hands. You start praying, silently. And then, before long, without even realizing it, you’re thinking about the comment your coworker made yesterday.

What was that about? Did she realize how it sounded? Does she think I’m stupid? You remember, you’re supposed to be praying. You shake your head. Where was I? Oh yes… You get back on track, but your head sure is heavy. Moments later you open your eyes. Did I just fall asleep?

Maybe it’s just me. Maybe I’m the only one who is often distracted, even somnolent, in times of private prayer. If that’s the case, then…well, never mind. But if you’re anything like me, please accept my sympathies–and also consider praying aloud.

That’s right, aloud. In times of personal prayer, when it’s just you and God.

Why would you do that? I can think of four good reasons to pray aloud:

1. Praying aloud helps you focus.
Sure, God hears your silent prayers. He examines your heart; He knows your thoughts no matter where you are (see Psalm 139:1-2). Praying aloud doesn’t affect His hearing, one way or the other. But it does affect your thinking.

It is much easier to stay focused when you pray aloud; the act of speaking aloud helps you stay on track. And, while it is still possible to fall asleep while you’re speaking (my wife does it all the time), it is less likely.

2. Praying aloud helps you express yourself
I don’t know about you, but most of my silent thoughts and prayers have only one volume: Silence. But when I pray aloud, my prayers express my emotions and hopes and dreams with much more passion and variety.

I can’t imagine the prophet Jeremiah praying silently in the prayer session that inspired these words:

I called on your name, Lord,

from deep within the pit.

You heard me when I cried, “Listen to my pleading!

Hear my cry for help!”

Yes, you came when I called;

you told me, “Do not fear.” (Lamentations 3:55-57, NLT)

Sometimes, like the prophet, I call and cry my prayers. Sometimes I whisper, sometimes I “shout unto God with the voice of triumph” (Psalm 47:1, KJV). Sometimes my voice trembles. Sometimes it whines.

3. Praying aloud reinforces your memory.
Why do teachers and preachers often make people say things aloud? Why do we remember songs we sing better than songs we merely hear? Because vocalization reinforces memory. It aids retention.

So it is with praying aloud. I find it much easier to remember things I have prayed aloud–whether confession, thanks, petition or praise–than to remember my silent prayers.

4. Praying aloud combines heart, soul, mind, and body
The greatest commandment, Jesus said, is “love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength” (Mark 12:30, NLT).

Praying aloud is an act that engages the heart, soul, mind and body. It involves motion and action, if only of the tongue (though if you’re like me, you can’t speak without also moving your arms and hands).

There is nothing wrong with praying silently, of course. Abraham’s servant did it (Genesis 24:45). So did Hannah (1 Samuel 1:12-13). And their prayers were answered.

But there are also good reasons to pray aloud. In fact, I’m sure I’ve just scratched the surface. If you’ve been helped by praying aloud please leave a comment that will encourage others. Feel free to add your reasons to the list, as well as any tips you wish to share.