OVERVIEW

Also called the 9:38 Prayer, this prayer takes to heart Jesus’ command to, “Ask the Lord of the harvest… to send out workers into his harvest field” (Luke 10.2; Matt. 9.38). We want to see God raise people up and go into the places we live on mission, proclaim the gospel, and disciple. Whether it is to a specific people, geolocation, or our everyday life, disciples do not have to leave the confines of their city, or even neighborhood, to be sent out into the harvest. This is good to pray for God to send someone to join you in the mission you are engaging in or have a desire to engage in.

CONTEXT

Jesus sends out the Twelve (Luke 9.1-9), then sends out the Seventy-Two (Luke 10.1-24) to prepare the way and proclaim the kingdom of God drawing near. Jesus observes, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.” He acknowledges the need for more people to prepare and proclaim, so he commands his disciples to “Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” Twelve was not enough in Luke 9 and Seventy-Two are not enough in Luke 10—pray for more to enter the harvest!

In Matt. 9:38, the disciples become the answer to their own prayer. As Jesus teaches them to pray, they themselves are the ones sent out (Matt. 10:1).

THE PRAYER

• Set an alarm to go off at 10:02 or 9:38 every day.
• Simply pray: “Lord of the harvest, send out workers into the harvest field. Amen.”
• Invite others to join with you in this prayer.

TIPS

Although this is a simple prayer, it is a significant one. It is ultimately praying scripture and following a command of Jesus which in no way is weak!

Try to focus on simple geographic areas, especially areas that you are close to: where you live, work, or play. That way you can see the answer to this prayer.

This is not a one-time prayer! Keep praying it on a daily basis.

OVERVIEW

The ACTS Prayer is a simple tool to learn to pray. If you are having a difficult time knowing how to pray, where to begin, or what to cover, this can be helpful to keep you focused and centered on the heart of prayer. This is a great way to pray alone or in a group setting.

Jesus’ disciples approached him and requested, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples” (Luke 11.1b). John probably taught his disciples differently and used a different approach, but Jesus taught what has come to be called The Lord’s Prayer. The ACTS Prayer is only one tool to learn to pray.

ACTS is a simple acronym to remember the four steps in this prayer: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication.

ADORATION

Begin by adoring God. Take a few minutes to simply praise God for who He is. It is not that God has forgotten who He is and needs reminding, it reminds us of who God says He is and of His faithfulness. Praise Him for…

1. His Person (i.e. as Father, King, Provider)
2. His Character (i.e. holy, powerful, all-knowing)
3. His Mighty Works (i.e. in the story of Israel, through the work of Jesus, in our own lives)

Oftentimes, we want to praise God in relation to the pains or blessings that we are experiencing at the moment. If we are struggling with needing guidance about a difficult decision, we can adore God for His infinite wisdom. If we receive a promotion, we can adore Him for His provision.

(Read through the Names of God)

CONFESSION

Next, move into a time of confession. Confession simply means ‘to agree’. It is when we come before God and acknowledge our sin, agreeing with Him that sin is not the way He has made us to live.

Spend a moment thinking about your previous day, let the Spirit reveal anything that needs to be brought to light,  and confess to Him those things.

This is not a time to beat yourself up, nor is it a rote agreement. The hope is for confession to lead to repentance—the turning away from sin and to the truth of God.

(Read the Confession of Sin below)

THANKSGIVING

After acknowledging sin, move into a time of thankfulness. Gratitude is the heart of faith in God because thankfulness moves us beyond ourselves to another—in this case God. Thank God for things like blessings and trials (Jam. 1.2-4, Rom. 5.3-5); gifts and losses; kindness and persecution (Acts 5.40-41; 2 Tim. 3.12); Jesus and the Spirit. We have so much to be thankful for!

(Read a Thanksgiving Psalm—i.e. 34, 95, 100, 136)

SUPPLICATION

Finally, enter a time of praying for your needs and those around you. Supplication means to humbly come before God and make requests. Spend time thinking through your relationships where you church, live, work, and recreate—who do you know in those spaces that have needs?

It can be good to take time to write down prayer requests—both yours and others. As you, or your group, pray, cross the ones off that are answered!

There are multiple prayer apps that can help you grow in daily prayer formation and engage in missional prayer.

BLESS EVERY HOME

The mission of Bless Every Home is to equip Bible believing churches and Great Commission ministries throughout America as missionary sending organizations, where every constituent home is a mission outpost for Jesus Christ. Our vision is that every home in America will be adopted by neighboring Christians who are committed to ministering to them through long-term, pray-care-share lifestyles.

Features

If you are drawn to reach your neighbors, Bless Every Home is a great prayer app to help engage in prayer for your neighborhood or complex and connect with your neighbors.

Missional Prayer: Neighborhood-focused

Set reminders: Choose a time of day and how many days a week to pray

Pray for neighbors by name: Even the neighbors you may not know yet, you are able to pray for them by name.

INNER ROOM

Inner Room is an app from 24-7 Prayer that turns one of our biggest distractions—our mobile phones—into a portable prayer tool. Jesus said, “When you pray, go into your inner room…” (Matt:6:6). Inner Room is a prayer list app that equips, enables and inspires you to pray, each day.

Features

Make prayer prompts, specific or general people groups (microchurch, neighbors, friends, family, etc.) and spend time praying for them. Add reminders for times to pray—add 10:02 Prayer as a reminder!

Create “Prayer Play Lists” and set a length of time to pray. The app will change prompts during the time so you can pray for each person, request, petition, etc. in the time you have to pray.

Resources to help you establish a prayer rhythm, ideas to pray for, and also how to pray.

LECTIO 365

Lectio 365 is an audio devotional resource that helps you pray the Bible every day. Listen for 10 minutes each morning to meditate on the word and pray. End each day with God using peaceful, seasonal night prayers.

Features

Prayer Formation: Get into a rhythm of praying and meditating around Scripture.

Morning & Evening Prayer Prompts

Listen or Read through the prompts

LECTIO For Families

Lectio for Families is a free app for families to do together. It features daily Bible readings, a weekly memory verse, engaging questions to pause and talk about, and prompts for reflection and prayer.

The app can be downloaded by parents and carers onto a mobile device. Families can then choose to either listen to the audio content together, wherever and whenever they are together, or they can read it as they pass the device to each other.

Features

Prayer Formation: Set a family habit of praying and reading the Bible together.

Memorize Scripture as a family.

Learn to pray and teach your children to pray.

OVERVIEW

Abiding Prayer combines the Lord’s Prayer alongside abiding as a branch in the vine of Christ. It breaks the Lord’s Prayer down into four sections: Abide, Mission, Intercession and Doxology. As you go through each section, pray along the Lord’s Prayer and listen. There are two parts of abiding in John 15; (1) Disciples praying, (2) Jesus’ commands brought to remembrance through Scripture or by the Spirit. Allow the section of the Lord’s Prayer to lead you into further prayer.

THE LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are
yours, now and for ever. Amen.

ABIDE

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.”

Abiding is resting in who God is, knowing that you are connected to the Vine (Jesus) who is your source, and that energy flows into you through the sap of the Holy Spirit. Announcing God as Father is to say, “I am God’s beloved child and He is my loving, gracious Father.”

Proclaiming God’s holiness—His otherness—is to acknowledge your need to abide in Him. You exist within a fallen,  broken world shattered by the power of sin, evil, and death. You need to be connected to something other than this world to form it into what God wants.

As you abide, realize who you are in light of God, listen for what the Spirit is prompting in you:

• What is the Spirit highlighting about God?
• What commands is the Spirit highlighting?

MISSION

“Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as in heaven.”

We want to see God’s reign (His kingdom) over the earth as He reigns in heaven. God’s rule looks like “justice, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 14.17). This is where the church comes in: God wants to use His children to bring His kingdom to light. Reflect on…

• Justice: Is there inequality in my context?
• Peace: Are there broken relationships in and around me?
• Joy: Is there a lack of hope in or around me?

Pray for these areas: “Lord, I pray Your kingdom to come into __(Name, place)__; give me strength through the Spirit to embody, share, and bring your kingdom to light.”

INTERCESSION

“Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.”

Notice the “us” and “our” in this section. Pray…

• For the physical needs of those around you (neighbors, friends, church, family, etc.) and yourself.
• Confess sins and forgive those who have wronged you—ask the Spirit to highlight sins and forgiveness.
• Protection against the enemy.

DOXOLOGY

“For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and for ever.”

Doxology simply means ‘to praise God’. Spend some time acknowledging God’s greatness:

• What are you thankful for?
• What do you want to praise God for?
• Speak God’s names to Him.

OVERVIEW

Lectio Divina is a way of praying Scripture. It literally means “Divine Reading” and allows an individual or group to listen, meditate, and pray their way through short passages of the Bible. It slows down our typically rushed readings, allowing us to chew and savor it in a personal and applicable way. Lectio is not to be confused with Bible study, nor is it intended to replace Bible study. It is about our heart, not our head; formation, not instruction.

As we practice Lectio, our desire is to conform ourselves to the likeness of Jesus―the Living Word of God. It stresses the belief that Christ is truly present in Scripture, so it can act as a conduit for God to speak to us. The Bible is understood to be incarnational. As Jesus is inseparably man and God; the Bible is inseparably human thought and divine inspiration. It is in this incarnate state that the Bible speaks to us in our humanity and calls us to be conformed to Jesus’ likeness.

When Lectio is done within a narrative passage, it can be beneficial during reading to connect to one of the characters in the story. If you are in a group setting, and not the reader, close your eyes and imagine you are in the scene. Who do you most connect with? What happens or is said to the character which connects you to them?

KEY FEATURES

1. Recognition that the text is a gift given, not a problem to solve.
2. In order to receive what the text has, it must be read slowly. 
3. It is a way of prayer…

• • Before reading―pray.
  • During reading―allow the reading to move you from meditation into prayer.
  • After reading―keep a phrase in mind so that prayerful reading becomes prayerful living.

PERSONAL LECTIO

1. Find someplace comfortable to sit. Remove all distractions―put on soft, quiet music if needed.
2. Take three slow, deep breaths. This (scientifically) releases endorphins which reduce anxiety, can lower blood pressure, and help focus.
3. Pray: “God, speak to me through this passage of your divine word.” This is a prayer of silence. Oftentimes our prayers are ‘speaking to God’, but we want to listen to his word composed in the Bible and spoken by the Holy Spirit.
4. Slowly begin reading: Take time reading, do not ‘focus’ on each word, but read and listen to each word. Take a slight pause between verses to let the words soak into your heart and mind.

• • First Reading: Listen. As you read the passage, be attentive to a word or phrase that stands out to you. Meditate on this word or phrase for a minute, then, if able, say it out loud.
    • (Pause)
  • Second Reading: Ponder. As you begin reading a second time, ask what connects you to this word or phrase. Think about it for a few minutes (this is not about getting lost in your thoughts, but discerning what the Spirit is communicating to you). Do not worry if you get distracted and your mind wanders off. Frame a sentence around your word or phrase.
    • (Pause)
  • Third Reading: Pray. As you begin to read the passage a final time, ask Jesus what he is calling you to. What is it that you need to do, consider, relinquish, or take on as a result of what God is saying to you in this word or phrase? In the silence that follows the reading, pray for the grace of the Spirit to plant this word in your heart.

GROUP LECTIO

1. One person reads the passage slowly.
2. Each person identifies a word, phrase, or character that sticks out―write it down.
3. Anyone who desires to can share the word or phrase around the group (no discussion).
4. Another person reads the passage slowly (From a different translation, if possible).
5. Each person identifies where this passage impacts their life today―write it down.
6. Anyone who desires to can share (no discussion).
7. The passage is read a third time slowly (Another reader and translation if possible).
8. Each person names or writes: “From what I’ve heard and shared, what do I believe God wants me to do or believe? Is God inviting me to change in any way?”
9. Each shares their answer.
10. Each prays for the person on their right, naming what was shared in other steps

OVERVIEW

The early Christians did not waste a lot of energy looking back and wishing they had been born a hundred years earlier so they could have walked with Jesus. Instead they focused on coming to know Christ in three powerful ways: practicing the Sacraments; reading Scripture; and the Spirit’s presence in gathering together as God’s people.

St. Ignatius invited people to pray to come to know Christ so that one may love him in a more real way and, following from this knowledge and love, become a more faithful disciple.

In order to grow in this ‘faith knowledge’, Ignatius taught a prayer method called contemplation. This is not some strange,  mystical prayer but a form of prayer in which one uses his or her senses in an imaginative way to reflect on a Gospel passage. One uses seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, and smelling to make the Gospel scene real and alive.

This is a prayer that emphasizes listening to God’s Word, learning Christ, so as to become more like Him.

KEY FEATURES

1. Gospels emphasis—choose a Gospel story.
2. Recognition that God is present in Scripture.
3. The passage should be read thoughtfully—not too fast or too slow, but to be understood and experienced.
4. Use of imagination and creativity

CONTEMPLATION

Although best done in a group setting, solo contemplation can be done.

1. Find a quiet, relaxing place
2. Choose a passage (story) from the Gospels.
3. Recall that you are engaging with God’s Word and God is present in His Word.
4. Read (or listen to) the passage—soak in the details of the scene: Where does it take place? Who is present? What happens?
5. Read (or listen to) the passage again—soak in the words and emotions of the scene: What is said? What emotions run beneath, between characters?
6. (If needed, read it again to familiarize yourself further with the scene)
7. Close your eyes and reconstruct the scene in your imagination: See what is going on and watch the men and women in the scene. As one enters into the scene, sometimes there is the desire to be there. Place yourself in the scene, perhaps as an observer, as one lining up for healing, or as one helping others to Jesus.
   • What does Jesus look like? How do the others react to him?
   • What are the people saying to one another? What emotions fill their words?
   • Is Jesus touching someone?
8. Some people’s imaginations are very active so they construct a movie-like scenario with a Gospel passage. Others will enter the scene with verbal imagination, reflecting on the scene and mulling over the actions. Vividness is not a criteria for the effectiveness of this kind of prayer. Engagement is and the result is a more interior knowledge of Jesus.
9. Respond: one should take a moment to speak person to person with Christ saying what comes from the heart.
   • What is your response to Jesus?
   • Is Jesus drawing you to change in some way?
   • What do you need the Spirit’s help with?