STUDENT MINISTRY: Is Prayer a Priority

      While we may teach about prayer and even think about it quite often, the question we must ask is, “Are we making prayer a priority in our own spiritual lives?" I know we often think about things related specifically to student ministry in this column, so you might be thinking, “He’s about to share about praying for our students again.” While praying for our students is incredibly important, that isn’t what I want to address.

      How often do you take time to simply pray and seek the Father? Too often, we dive into the “doing” of ministry and forget to pause and connect with the Father.

      Last week, I had the opportunity to spend a few days with three other pastors for the purpose of prayer. It is something I haven’t done enough over the years of my ministry. I have talked and taught a lot about prayer, but I haven’t engaged enough in the discipline. I don’t think I’m alone either. Let me encourage you to take an honest look at your prayer engagement.

      Ask yourself the tougher questions. How often do I pray? Would others look to me as a person of prayer? Do I enjoy praying? When was the last time I spent more than five minutes in prayer? Have I prayed other times than before meal times? Ultimately, why am I not praying more?

      People give many reasons, but Donald Whitney, in his book, Praying the Bible, indicates that many are bored in their prayer life. He stated that when people do pray, “they tend to say the same old things about the same old things.” To avoid that “boredom,” find ways that give your prayer time structure, but help you still focus on biblical approaches.

         • Pray the Bible. Donald S. Whitney’s book, Praying the Bible, is a great place to start in this process. It encourages simply using the Bible as a framework to pray as you regularly go to the Lord in prayer. Among its words of encouragement, it suggests using the Psalms as a guide.

         • Use an acrostic. There are a few good ones to help you as you pray. The first is PRAY. As you pray, you step through Praise, Repent, Ask and Yield. The second is ACTS. It follows the pattern of Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication. There is another that is very similar to the second. It is ACSS. It steps through Adoration, Confession, Supplication and Submission.

         • Journal as you pray. Using a journal to record your prayers will help you avoid “saying the same old things, about the same old things.” You can track how God is working and how He is speaking to you in the process.

      As ministers and Christ-followers, we have a responsibility to make prayer a priority in our lives. We know what the Bible says about prayer, but if we don’t put it into practice, we have missed the mark. Pray for your benefit and those God allows you to influence.

      We would love to hear how you approach prayer. Join our Facebook group (Facebook.com/groups/StudentMinsitryMattersCommunity) and share how you involve yourself in this important spiritual discipline.