Prayer, Regurgitation, Mimicking, or Relationship?
The bedtime prayer “Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep" has
been taught to children across the globe for centuries. In all probability the
version, many of us learned as children were inspired by the poem entitled "The Black Paternoster." A German
version of the poem was popular, and it ultimately spread to England and the
New World. The poem had a negative connotation. Fortunately, the poem escaped anti-witchcraft
and anti-Catholic sentiments of the 17th century to become a favorite
children’s rhyme in England. Perhaps this may be credited to an Anglican
priest, scholar, and hymn-writer, Sabine Baring-Gould, 1834-1924. The rhyme came
to be called "The Four
Corners Prayer," first published in English by author Thomas Ady
in the 1600s.
Mathew,
Mark, Luke, John
Bless the bed that I lie on;
And blessed guardian angel keep
Me safe from danger while I sleep.
The prayer I first learned was from my mother, and I
prayed it each night from 2 years old to 12 years old with very few changes. Now,
56 years have passed since I first said this bedtime prayer along with my
loving mother. The lessons learned and fond memories shared provide me comfort,
strength, and joy.
Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep,
If I should die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take.
Angels watch me through the night,
and wake me with the morning light.
GOD Bless Mommy, Daddy, Phillis Noreen,
Pamela Jean, John Wesley,
and our family and friends.
If I should live for other days,
I pray the LORD to guide my ways.
Amen
The disciples, ask JESUS
to teach them to pray. Prayer takes commitment. Since people learn by example,
we all need to remain conscience how we pray publically, because we may be
teaching those listening how to pray. Moses is one of the prominent characters
of the Bible. Moses was a man of prayer. Consider how his name is found some
seven hundred fifty times in the Old Testament and approximately eighty times
in the New Testament. Moses constantly prayed as an intercessor.
Lifting up a prayer on behalf of others provides
benefits to the Body of CHRIST.
So, though the "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep"
prayer may be short and simple, it can minister in
wonderful ways teaching our children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews GOD
is listening and HE truly cares!
1. Prayer focuses our minds on GOD. Fixing our attention on HIS "ability" to protect and watch
over us takes away fear.
2. Prayer realigns our spirits with GOD. Looking to HIM for our deliverance releases us from the pressure of trying to control everything.
3. Prayer leads our hearts to worship GOD. Asking for HIS care reminds us how deeply we are loved,
and praising HIM is a natural response.
Essentially, there are seven forms of prayer:
Adoration:Prayers
of adoration simply means we exalt, esteem, bless, and honor the LORD. We
reflect upon His character—holiness, goodness, love, mercy, power, grace, and
dominion.Adoration is an essential element of prayer and
should always be included in our conversation with GOD.
It involves praise and worship. We should always acknowledge GOD
is worthy to be adored. Adoration is always appropriate whether our specific
prayer requests have been answered or not. GOD
deserves our adoration because He is GOD!
Petition:
Of all the forms of prayer in the Christian life, the petition is often the most
common. Whether we are crying out, pleading, sending a quick thought up, or in
a group assembling requests our prayers
tend to lean toward us asking the LORD to grant what
we want or need, and to conclude we close in JESUS name
as if that will grant our petition. Our heart needs to align with GOD’s will in
supplication.
Romans 12:12
“May the God
who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among
yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may
glorify the GOD and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Supplication:
Prayers of supplication are prayers from our hearts
in humility to GOD. Humility is
crucial to answered prayers. Every time JESUS
encountered humble, despairing people, He immediately met their needs. In the
Gospel of Mark chapter 5 JESUS heals the
demoniac, raises Jairus’ daughter from the dead, and eradicates a woman’s
12-year hemorrhage.Supplication provides us with the strength
and courage to suffer and wait while we ask for liberation. Hezekiah asked
for GOD to prolong his life.
2 Kings 20:1-6
In those days
Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of
Amos went to him and said, “This is what the Lord says: Put your
house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover. Hezekiah
turned his face to the wall and prayed to
the Lord, Remember, Lord, how I have walked before you
faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in
your eyes. And Hezekiah wept bitterly. Before Isaiah had left the middle court,
the word of the Lord came to him: Go back and tell Hezekiah, the
ruler of my people, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David,
says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you.
On the third day from now, you will go up to the temple of the Lord. I
will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from
the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my sake and
for the sake of my servant David.”
Imprecatory:
You won’t find this word in the Bible, but it is a type of prayer often
associated with King David. To imprecate means to curse or speak evil toward
someone. When David used this type of praying it wasn’t as a form of exacting
revenge. Rather,David used it as a way to show agreement with GOD’s judgment and
sovereignty over evil.David asked for the punishment of his enemies.
Psalm 83
“…As fire
consumes the forest or a flame sets the mountains ablaze, so pursue them
with your tempest and terrify them with your storm…”
Intersession:The
role of intercession in prayer was prevalent in the Old Testament, in the cases
of Abraham, Moses, David, Samuel, Hezekiah, Elijah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and
Daniel to name a few patriarchs. Take time to read chapter 9 of Daniel
examining a good example of intercessory pray, below is a portion of Daniel’s
prayer.
Daniel Chapter 9
…“O
Lord, according to all your righteous acts, let your anger and your wrath
turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy hill because for our
sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your
people have become a byword among all who are around us. 17 Now, therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for
mercy, and for your own sake, O Lord, make your face to shine
upon your sanctuary, which is desolate. 18 O my God, incline
your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations and the
city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you
because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy…”
Thanksgiving:
We are to pray with thanksgiving, not just when we
feel like it, but as an act of our submission and obedience. Regardless of
what’s happening in our lives, we’re to thank GOD
for the good, for the bad, for the unknown, for the big decision, we’re facing,
and even for the difficult/ugly. Prayers of thanksgiving are proclaimed
throughout the Bible is comprised of four elements
in true thanksgiving:
v Remembering what
GOD has done for us
v Telling other
about GOD’s Blessings
v Presenting GOD’s Glory
to others
v Offering gifts
of ourselves, our time, and our resources to the Glory
of GOD
Philippians 1:3-6
“I thank my God every time I remember you.
In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your
partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of
this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until
the day of Christ Jesus.”
Corporate:
The book of Acts teaches much about corporate prayer. The disciples and the
early church were involved in public prayer. In the first couple chapters of
Acts it seems that the church services were mainly made up of prayer. Decisions
in the early church were accompanied by prayer. One example recorded is when
they sent out the first missionaries.
Acts 13: 3
“So after they had fasted and prayed, they
placed their hands on them and sent them off.”
I
can well remember my first place. The year was 1981 and I rented a small
fixer-upper in Greensboro North Carolina. I do not know if you fell into the
trap I did, but I became more preoccupied with the outside than I did with the
inside. I was so concerned with what people thought as they drove by that consequently I neglected the inside. I was 19 and all I needed was a place to
rest my head, no one would see the inside. I believe far too often we become
preoccupied with the outside of our lives/the peripheral than we do with the
inside where JESUS lives. We try to keep up with the “Jones’s”, rather
than as Zacchaeus did invite JESUS into our home/heart. In
today’s digital world, many are consumed by social status, materialistic items, and luxuries. This is because we are constantly being bombarded with images of
perfection on a Facebook post, edited Instagram images, TikTok videos, and
reality TV shows highlighting the elite.
In the reality, however, status, designer products, and expensive items are worth
nothing; they won’t make your happy nor healthy, or content. Therefore,
regardless of where you are in your walk with CHRIST
our priority must become cleaning up the inside of our life…our heart so JESUS
will be at home and come dwell within our
life. We can have the experiential dwelling of CHRIST
in our hearts by faith. Faith is what makes CHRIST’s
dwelling in us experientially acceptable to GOD. Prayer
is the first step toward developing our walk with CHRIST
by practicing our faith daily.
Be
courageous in asking for what your heart longs for, and be patient enough to
listen for the answer. When JESUS taught the
disciples to pray, "Our Father, who art in heaven," JESUS
was teaching prayer summarizes all human need. Say it to GOD
as often as you can. Remain in a spirit of prayer and offer petitions and
questions to GOD. Share your
heart, and then wait. Listening is easy when we understand GOD
hears our prayers. We grow in our faith by becoming okay with the waiting. Listening
requires patience, and accepting sometimes the answer to our prayers is "no," or "wait." When you are going
through truly deep waters encompassing the sickness or death of a spouse or
child, when you hear the dreaded word cancer, when you lose your job, when you
stumble and fall look up, and reach up, … JESUS
will always be there He will not
forsake HIS own!
There is so much uncertainty in the world today. I like many Americans are concerned as we draw near to inaugurating our 46 President of the United States. We need to pray for our family, our country, our community, and our new President. This is the time, now is the place, and none other should satisfy us. The poem below has sundry versions by many authors. I like the one by Coltman, for I believe regardless of our political prowess, or cultural diversity peace in our country will not come until we learn to trust.
UNTIL I LEARNED TO TRUST
Until I learned to trust,
I never learned to pray;
And I did not learn to fully trust
Till sorrows came my way.
Until I felt my weakness,
His strength I never knew;
Nor dreamed till I was stricken,
That He could see me through.
Who deepest drinks of sorrow,
Drinks deepest too of grace;
He sends the storm so He Himself
Can be our hiding place.
His heart, that seeks our highest good,
Knows well when things annoy;
We would not long for heaven,
If earth held only joy.
William Coltman
Your friend and Brother from Inman
Jay Adam Pearson
