Daily Prayer Guide

Daily Prayer Guide is a resource for students of the Spiritual Formation course to use in their own private times of prayer. It teaches students how to pray scripture and learn communion and fellowship with God in prayer. 

Praying Scripture

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever” (Matthew 6:9-13).

Many godly people throughout history have used written prayers in their daily time with the Lord. The prayers in this particular prayer guide follow the sequence Jesus gave us in his model prayer. They are offered as examples of how to take God’s Word and use it for personal prayer.

I think we can safely say that no prayer more accurately reflects the will of God than those which use the language which God himself gives us. No request is more sure to be granted than that which expresses what God himself has promised to fulfill. No petition is more sure to be answered than that which pleads for what God already commands.

“The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times” (Psalm 12:6). Learn to use his words in your prayers. Pray the promises and commands of scripture. God assures us that when we pray according to his will, he hears us and will answer our prayers (1 John 5:14-15).[1]

Using This Prayer Guide

This book is organized by the seven days of each week. Each day’s prayer guide is divided into six major sections with nine subcategories based on the Lord’s Prayer:

1.    Worship/Adoration

• “Our Father” - Our Relationship with God
• “In Heaven” - God’s Royalty
• “Hallowed Be Your Name” - God’s Reputation

2.    Intercession

• “Your Kingdom Come” - God’s Reign
• “Your Will Be Done, on Earth as It Is in Heaven” - God’s Rule

3.    Supplication

• “Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread” - God’s Resources for Us

4.    Confession/Reconciliation

• • “And Forgive Us Our Debts, as We Also Have Forgiven Our Debtors” - Reconciliation with God

5.    Spiritual Warfare

• “And Lead Us Not into Temptation, but Deliver Us from Evil” - God’s Protection

6.    Praise and Thanksgiving

• “For Yours Is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory, Forever” - Praise to God

Spending Time with the Lord

How much time would you like to spend with the Lord? If you meditate and pray for 1 minute from each of the nine sub-categories, that would be 9 minutes. 2 minutes from each category would be 18 minutes. 3 minutes spent on each category would be 27 minutes. Depending on the amount of time you have available, it is easy to spend a refreshing, profitable, and enjoyable 15-30 minutes or more nurturing your relationship with God each day.

How much time you spend in prayer is up to you and the Holy Spirit. The more you learn to enjoy prayer the more time you will want to spend with God. What has impressed me most by using this prayer guide is how much more meaningful, enjoyable, and scriptural my prayer time has become. I hope that will be your experience too.

Do Not Rush through the Prayer Guide

This prayer guide is designed to help you learn how to use scripture as a guide for your prayer time—time spent talking with God. As you pray through this book, think about what the scripture passages are teaching about God, about us, and about loving and forgiving our fellow man. Meditate on the promises. Do not allow your prayer time to become mechanical or routine.

Fully engage your mind and heart as you pray. Ask God to help you to focus on each word with heartfelt sincerity and earnestness. Feel free to pause any time in a prayer and add your own thoughts. Learn how to pour out your heart to God (Psalm 62:8). Make it personal. Let your prayer time be a time of humbling yourself and drawing near to God (James 4:6-8). Remember, “true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him” (John 4:23). Ask God to help you to learn how to be a true worshiper.

Develop Your Own Prayer Guide

As you learn how to use the Lord’s Prayer as your pattern for prayer, you may desire to develop your own prayer guide. As you read through the Bible each year, you will find verses that speak to your heart in a special way. Take those verses and turn them into prayer and praise to God.

Cultivate Your Relationship with God

View your prayer time as a means of cultivating your relationship with God. If you use scripture to shape your prayers, you will find that it will change both the way you experience God when you pray and the way you think about him. Most people do not develop a consistent, meaningful prayer life unless they have a structure. Let the Lord’s Prayer provide the structure.