Greetings In Jesus Name!
MENTAL HEALTH… May happens to be Mental Health Awareness month. Let’s face it, there are many unfortunate stigmas associated with mental health, and more times than not, these become excuses for not seeking help. Our pride tends to be our undoing! I thank God for the godly psychologist, psychiatrists, and Christian counselors who have dedicated their lives to serving Jesus and helping people.
GOD CARES… Know this, my friend; no one knows you better than your Creator. You are fearfully & wonderfully made, and He cares about your health. As tripartite beings, we have a physical body, soul (mind, will & emotions), and spirit. Each is tethered together and contributes to our wellbeing. We’ve been talking about soul training the last several weeks, and this couldn’t be timelier.
MY MENTAL HEALTH... Last week, I introduced one specific soul exercise. Whether I’m navigating depression, grief, loss, stress, anxiety, or all of the above, there is one soul exercise that has been key to my longevity, joy, and peace. It’s simply choosing to have a vision, time, and place to pray each day. Click here for last week’s blog.
HANDS-ON… The Hands-On Prayer model has been crucial in my spiritual and emotional development. It helped me have a vision for what prayer is and helped me practically constructively converse with God. Each finger on your hand can represent a different component of your prayer. Here are the Five Fingers of Prayer.
1. PRAISE. “I will praise the Lord at all times. I will constantly speak his praises. I will boast only in the Lord; let all who are helpless take heart. Come, let us tell of the Lord’s greatness; let us exalt his name together.” Psalm 34:1-3
Begin your time in prayer by worshiping God for who He is. Call out His attributes and voice your adoration to Him. If it helps, put on some worship music and affirm who He is in your own words.
I like to recall His character and attributes. King David had to coach his soul into praising God. “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!” (Psalms 103:1) In other words, I will not allow my emotions or thoughts to keep me from praising God. Learn to coach yourself in your prayer time by declaring how amazing God is.
When you’ve praised God for several minutes, move into…
2. INTERCESSION. “Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.” Colossians 4:12 (ESV)
Intercession is where you ask God to meet the needs of others and ask for His will to be carried out in their life. Between your family, church family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, community, nation, and the world, there are a ton of needs.
In the ancient world of the Bible, they had walls that surrounded the cities to protect them from their enemies. If there ever were a breach in the wall or a gap in the wall, someone would have to stand in the gap and protect that place of vulnerability from the enemy getting inside their city. If they were being attacked, people would shield the city with their bodies. They would stand in the gap and wage hand-to-hand combat for the protection of their community. At all cost, not one enemy was to get through that breach or that gap. Intercession is us standing in the gap.
Don’t try to pray for everyone at once, and be open to the Holy Spirit bringing someone to your attention while you’re interceding. It may be helpful to choose a specific group of people to intercede for each day of the week. For example, on Monday, I may intercede for our nation and our elected officials. On Tuesday, I pray for members of our church family and so on.
When you’ve prayed through on several people’s behalf, move onto…
3. PETITION. “Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.” Psalm 5:3 (NLT)
By this time in your prayer, it’s not only appropriate but necessary for you to bring your own needs before God. This is where you learn to unpack some of the things that are weighing on you. It’s not unusual for intercession and petition to be intertwined. For example, you may feel deeply about a child far from God or a close friend who is going through a dark time. Prayers of petition help you learn how to detangle your emotions by putting words to what you’re feeling. This is not necessarily easy, but it is freeing.
The apostle Peter encouraged believers to “cast all their cares upon Him, for He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7) The apostle Paul said, “Be anxious in nothing but in all things with prayer and supplication let your requests be known to God.” Then comes the promise, “and the peace of God which blows all logic away will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:16)
After sharing your requests to God, spend a few minutes in…
4. CONFESSION. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
This is where you agree with God about your own sin. Confession is acknowledging inconsistencies and contradictions as a Christ Follower and repenting, and asking God for His forgiveness.
Often, I find myself repeating King David’s prayer, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.” (Psalms 139:23) Following my request, I fall silent and listen for God to reveal anything that separates me from His likeness. It’s astonishing how oblivious I can be to the things in my own heart that is self-destructive.
After a few minutes lingering and listening during confession, move on to the final component of prayer…
5. THANKSGIVING. “And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 5:20
No better way to close out your time in prayer than giving God thanks for what He has done, is doing, and will do. Start by rehearsing out loud the specific blessings in your life and then thank Him for each one.
You will find your perspective in life being right-sized when you give Him your gratitude. “Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.” (James 1:17) It’s crazy cool how this one exercise can transform our whole outlook on life in prayer.
Sometimes I change up the order or sequence of these five components but rarely do I not pray through each of these at some level. Interestingly, you will find all five of these in the Lord’s Prayer. Check out christplace.church/pray for more resources on prayer.
Here’s one last thought, when you least feel like talking to God, talk to God about it. Not only will your emotional health improve but so will your contribution to the work of God in your life and our world.
You are not alone!!!
Rick Lorimer
Lead Pastor
Christ Place Church
“So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” Hebrews 4:16 (NLT)
“God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge! ” Psalm 46:1-3 (NLT)
