teach me to pray

Written By Carrie Liakos

Saturday, April 9, 2016

I am humbled by all the positive feedback from yesterday and request for various forms of content. I had a planned schedule to share, but as "a man's mind plans his way, the Lord directs his steps" (Proverbs 16:9) and it feels more appropriate to provide ideas around a question asked yesterday:

TEACH US TO PRAY.


A couple of years ago, I was asking the same question. Thanks to many spiritual leaders and mentors I have had, my entire life looks different now and it is crystal clear to me that it is the result of intentional prayer. I won't do anything now without praying to God to keep me in alignment with his assignment for my life, but that is not who I was. That is who I transformed to through God's word and prayer.

There have been occasions when one of my children will see something they shouldn't see on a commercial between a G rated movie on TV or on an on-demand preview of R rated movies while I am quickly searching for a Bearenstein Bears episode or other kid approved show (who is with me??); Unfortunately, as most of us know, when we see things, or hear things, or do things- we can't unsee, unhear, or undo....we know this right? It is true, we can't just remove the darker things that we would rather not think about- BUT...we can REPLACE THEM through prayer. One of the biggest benefits of praying is purification of our hearts and minds so that we can live our lives restored and renewed in Christ.

I share this story as only one positive aspect of prayer and the ability to be in communion with our creator at all times, to co-create our lives with Him according to His will. This is always available to us. Certainly, there are many ways to do this. But you have to start somewhere- so I will share how I started. For context, I didn't grow up being taught how to pray. Because of this I feel stuck at times leading my children in prayer. I trust that as I focus on and model my prayer life, they will join me. There are ways that I strategically make it more visible to them that will be shared in this and future posts so stay tuned!

So, Where to Begin???
Wake Up earlier than you have to: As a self described night owl, this one was tough for me and took me about 30 days to master, like any new habit would. I used to justify my evening energy by saying my prayers and meditating right before bed. While its better than nothing, there is just nothing like waking up with purpose and intention set early and it can't help but positively impact the people I love the most because I get centered and clear at the start of my day.

Write a Prayer Request letter to God for your children and spouse: Whether or not you are a "writer", just taking the time to clarify what it is you want for those you love the most, and what it is you are worrying about or fearful for so you can give it to God. I love that phrase, Let Go and Let God... I received this saving grace message in one of my bible studies a few years ago. God loves my children and my spouse more than I ever will, and He knows them more too. What can I possibly do for them that He can't? This message saved me. It freed me up to be able to just love on my family.

If you are more of a visual person, the activity I will suggest today is a VISUAL PRAYER BOARD. I had a lot of fun making mine at the beginning of the year, and on days that I struggle for the words to pray, I am reminded what I need God's loving grace and mercy for:




Prayer Journal: Are you struggling to verbalize prayer because you are still developing a new relationship with God? A prayer journal could be the right answer to get you started "giving it to God". I will write in my prayer journal every morning after I have read the morning devotions and corresponding scripture as a way to reflect on what I have read to better understand how it applies to my life. One of my daughters saw me doing this and wanted to join me as well. This made my heart sing:



Look to Jesus for answers on how to pray:


  • Prayer is not for show: We don't need to show off our spirituality to others, but we are called to encourage and bring others to Christ.

  • Pray in private to draw near to God: "When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." Matthew 6: 6

  • Keep it simple: "Do not keep on babbling like the pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him." Matthew 6:7-8

  • Pray to the Father: Directly to the Father. Period. Jesus taught us that we could ask the Father for anything in Christ's name, but we should pray to the Father. (John 14:13-14)

  • Pray from the heart: Seek an intimate and personal relationship with God; Sometimes reciting the same prayers over and over can feel dry and lifeless to me; there is a huge difference when we are all in.

  • Use Christ's Outline: The Lord's Prayer teaches us to humbly ask for forgiveness and an ability to forgive others. It teaches us to be thankful and acknowledge our Father for the blessings in our life and request that He help us walk in His Will for us and give us that which we need to sustain life.

The Five Finger Prayer: For Children (and adults :))






Carrie Liakos
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