WEEKLY PRAYER GUIDE
Zion seeks to keep not only those able to worship with us in person, but those who may only have contact with us through our website to have opportunities to stay connected with their faith.
Prayer for the week of June 18
God, my loving parent, thank you for designing
creation with the plan of earthly parents or those in our lives
like parents, to watch over and mentor us on our earthly
journey.
Amen.
Ways of Praying
When praying, some people find the following helpful.
Breath prayers: While inhaling recited one meaningful phrase, and while exhaling, recite a different phrase. For example, one of my favorites is from the Faith We Sing Hymnal . As I inhale I pray: “Come and fill my heart with your peace”. As I exhale I pray: “For you alone O Lord are holy.” By repeating that same process/phrase, one begins to feel more and more relaxed and the mind begins to clear. It allows one to hear God more clearly as well as share what one wants to share with God.
Involve all of the senses: Hold a cross or another physical reminder of faith. Light candles. Pray in the moonlight or at sunrise. Focus on a particular object or picture allowing the object or picture to speak and guide the prayer. There are often many pictures posted on Facebook that lend themselves to inspiration for prayer.
Walk and pray: Breathe in the fresh air. Take time to just look around at in God’s surroundings. Pray for neighbors and community. Pray for strangers seen along the way. Pray for children as you wait in line to pick up yours. Pray for businesses when passing their storefronts. Count your blessings as you walk through a park.
Pray through the alphabet: Think of a name for God or characteristic of God that begins with each letter. Or use each letter as a prompt for a certain person or groups of people for whom pray might be needed.
Read and pray prayers others have written: There are many wonderful books of collections of prayers available. Sometimes when the words just will not come, the words that others have written prove to be just what one needs themselves to say to God. Allow God to use the prayers of others to speak to us also.
Personalize Scripture in prayer: Substitute a name or the words "I" or "me" where appropriate.
Read Scripture as you pray: Read a verse or two, then stop to pray what comes to mind. Continue the process several times throughout a passage of Scripture.
Become a prayer partner with someone: Partners make special efforts to talk during the week to check-up on each other and to share prayer needs. Each partner promises to keep confident the shared prayer request and to pray each day for the partner.
