One hour of prayer guide

THE PRAYER CYCLE
This is a guided pattern for spending an hour in prayer. It is helpful to enable people to understand various aspects of prayer and to increase their capacity for prayer. The intention is to spend five minutes on each segment.

1. Praise: Start your prayer hour by praising the Lord. Praise Him for things that are on your mind right now. Praise Him for one special thing He has done in your life in the past week. Praise Him for His goodness to your family.

2. Wait: Spend this time waiting on the Lord. Be silent and let Him pull together reflections for you.

3. Confess: Ask the Holy Spirit to show you anything in your life that might be displeasing to Him.
Ask Him to point out attitudes that are wrong, as well as specific acts for which you have not yet
made a prayer of confession. Now confess that to the Lord so that you might be cleansed.

4. Read the Word: Spend time reading in the Psalms, in the prophets, and passages on prayer
located in the New Testament.

5. Ask: Make general requests on behalf of yourself and others.

6. Intercession: Make specific requests on behalf of yourself and others.

7. Pray the Word: Pray specific passages. Scriptural prayers as well as a number of psalms lend
themselves well to this purpose.

8. Thank: Give thanks to the Lord for the things in your life, on behalf of your family, and on behalf
of your church.

9. Sing: Sing songs of praise or worship or a hymn or spiritual song.

10. Meditate: Ask the Lord to speak to you. Have a pen and paper ready to record impressions He
gives you.

11. Listen: Spend time merging the things you have read, things you have prayed and things you
have sung and see how the Lord brings them all together to speak to you.

12. Praise: Praise the Lord for the time you have had to spend with Him and the impressions He has
given you. Praise Him for His glorious attributes.

As you establish a rhythm of prayer consider doing this each week.  You set the frequency. This outline gives you an, all of life perspective. It also helps you learn to hear from God and obey. 

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