A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World

by Paul E. Miller

Desire, feelings, and passion are also part of who we are. If we remember that Jesus is a person and not a robot, then it makes perfect sense.

life is more than logic.

“Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king” (Daniel 3:17).

“But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods” (3:18).

asking boldly and surrendering completely.

we are not balanced.

All of Jesus’ teaching on prayer in the Gospels can be summarized with one word: ask. His greatest concern is that our failure or reluctance to ask keeps us distant from God. But that is not the only reason he tells us to ask anything. God wants to give us good gifts. He loves to give.

the first loaf is for his friend’s physical need. The second is for his relational need, for community. The third loaf is for his heart need, to be loved. We have a three-loaf God. He loves to give.

Deep down, we just don’t believe God is as generous as he keeps saying he is. That’s why Jesus added the fine print—“ask in my name.” Let me explain what that means.

Jesus isn’t just the Savior of my soul. He’s also the Savior of my prayers.

The bottom line is we don’t write down our prayer requests because we don’t take prayer seriously. We don’t think it works.

I got some three-by-five cards, and on each one wrote the name of a family member, along with a Scripture that I could use to shape my prayers for that person.

I began developing a stack of prayer cards that allowed me to pray through my life—for loved ones and friends, for non-Christians I’m building relationships with, for my church and its leaders, for missionaries, for my work and my co-workers, for character change in my own life, and for my dreams.

The card functions like a prayer snapshot of a person’s life, so I use short phrases to describe what I want.

I put the Word to work by writing a Scripture verse on the card that expresses my desire for that particular person or situation.

A prayer card has several advantages over a list. A list is often a series of scattered prayer requests, while a prayer card focuses on one person or area of your life. It allows you to look at the person or situation from multiple perspectives.

I’m praying through his friendships,

his character,

his relatio...

his h...

and hi...

Here is an outline of a sample deck of prayer cards that will allow you to pray through your entire life. Some cards I

pray through every day; others I rotate through, using one or two cards a day. How many cards you use for a particular area depends on the shape of your life. It is completely up to you.

just write out one Scripture and the names of a couple of people in suffering on a card and leave it at that.

Prayer is asking God to incarnate, to get dirty in your life.

planting, waiting, and then working again at the harvest.

works is alien from how many of us pray. First, it seldom occurs to us to plant the seed of thoughtful praying because we think people like Bob don’t change. Or, prayer just feels too easy, almost like a cop-out.

Second, if we do pray, we don’t watch and wait. We want ...

grumble right at the point when God is about to do his biggest work. When Bob suffers, we think that karma has finally kicked in. Bob is just getting what he had coming. We’d likely not admit it, but we are tempted to enj...

Finally, we don’t recognize the harvest when it comes. We are so cut off from an agrarian society that we forget that Jesus’ image of reaping is hard work.

I am like a lonely sparrow on the housetop. (verse 7) You have taken me up and thrown me down. (verse 10) My days are like an evening shadow; I wither away like grass. (verse 11) Take me not away in the midst of my days. (verse 24)

I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus. (1:9) They were . . . told to rest a little longer. (6:11) Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints. (13:10) Here is a call for the endurance of the saints. (14:12)

What happened to the nation of Israel? He created a new Israel, one that included the Gentiles as the people of God. What about the temple? He sent his only Son to be the temple.

Not so. Grafted in