How to pray

      Crossway Publishers regularly come up with fresh ideas to attract new readers. One of my recent favorites is their series on how to pray. Inspiration comes from a variety of deeply spiritual thinkers, and their topics range widely and bravely over issues many of us are dealing with today.

      For example: How to pray… when you hate your job … for your unborn child … when you’re fighting with your spouse … when preparing for family vacation … or when your kids go off to college. Or how to pray for true fulfillment in marriage … or in times of physical pain.

      I wish I had space to tantalize you with scoops of insight from the lips and laptops of all of the contributors. Their ideas are delivered with compassion and practical wisdom.

      But one example must suffice. Here’s how a teacher of women’s Bible studies, Jen Wilkin, answers the question “How do you pray when you’re struggling to understand the Bible?”
      Her response is rooted in her book Women of the Word: “Prayer is the means by which we implore the Holy Spirit to take up residence in our study time. Without prayer, our study is nothing but an intellectual pursuit.” 

      Wilkin says that prayer is “what changes our study from the pursuit of knowledge to the pursuit of God himself.” She suggests that her readers ask God to help them apply what they have learned—and act on it.

      She recommends that they ask God to bring to mind what they have studied as they move through their day and their week. “If your study time feels fruitless, ask God to help you trust that there is fruit you cannot yet see. Ask God to give you the desire to persevere in the learning process.”

      And if those challenges haven’t fully extended you during your study time, I’d suggest you try stretching yourself with the How-To’s in this link:
      https://www.crossway.org/articles/series/how-to-pray/.