Writing it Down
Scripture Reading: Luke 11:1-4
There is a difference between the yellow warning signs and the black and white signs posted along the highway. Sometimes you will see the yellow warning signs as you approach a bend in the road. They will post a number that suggests a safe speed at which you can navigate the curve. It’s not a law per se. I’ve never known anyone to get a ticket for driving 60 around a curve where a warning sign said 55. The black and white signs, on the other hand, are the law. Whatever the limit is, if you exceed that, you run the risk of being stopped and fined for going over the speed limit.
What I am giving you today is not a law. It isn’t even a warning, but it is like the yellow signs in the sense that it is a suggestion about how to traverse this journey of prayer. What I am giving you is not law. You won’t be condemned for ignoring it. So, let’s take that off the table. These are things you can do that may be helpful when you find yourself struggling with praying.
As we have been considering the disciples’ request for Jesus to teach them how to pray and Jesus’ response, I am exploring ideas that other saints have found helpful to their prayer life. Maybe you will too. Yesterday, I suggested praying the prayers of other saints. Pray the Psalms, the prayers we find scattered throughout the Bible, and the prayers of various saints that have been preserved for us in their writings.
Today, I want to suggest another practice you might find helpful. Write your prayers out. I don’t do this all of the time, but sometimes I find that I can clarify my thoughts and sharpen what it is I am getting at in my prayers if I take the time to write it out.
Is this biblical? Not in the sense that we are commanded to do so, or that we will be condemned for not doing so. But in the sense that we have a multitude of examples of written prayers in the Bible, yes, it is biblical. The pages of the Bible are filled with the prayers of the saints. They are written out for us to read. I’m not saying you need to publish a book of written prayers, although if you are gifted in that way it wouldn’t be a bad thing. I am just suggesting that when you find your prayer life languishing, one way you might give it a jump start is by writing your prayers out.
“Lord, teach us to pray.”
