Prayer Journal

Monday, December 15, 2003

Open your Bible and find Genesis 1:1 and mark it. Now find Revelation 22:21 and do the same. Estimate the middle of the pages between those verses and you'll find you're at or near the book of Psalms. You might even find that you've opened to the 119th chapter, where its 176 verses make it the longest chapter in the Bible. If that's true, verse 89 is the middle verse of the middle chapter of God's Word. To me its significant that it and the whole 119th chapter speaks of the glory of God's Word.

You may not know this, but the 119th Psalm is divided into twenty-two distinct stanzas that begin with each sequential letter of the Hebraic alphabet. You see, the 119th Psalm, along with eight other chapters, is actually a song to be sung about God's word to God. You might call it a sacred serenade; I call it worship and when you read it, that's what you'll no doubt be doing before you're finished.

No doubt, the acrostic psalms are amazing, but when you stop and think about it, they're actually a "type" of prayer to which Paul refers in Ephesians 6. There he urges us to pray on all occasions with all kinds of prayer. I call this method "block" prayer and it's an excellent way to spend time with the Lord. What is block prayer exactly?

We've all seen and probably played with colorful blocks as a kid; you know, the kind that have letters of the alphabet on each side. You can stack them or lay them on a flat surface to form words. Now, you can get on the floor and actually do this exercise, but I suggest you use the block method to build a structure of praise for God with your lips, using each successive letter of the alphabet. To get extra credit, you can use God's word to find references for your worship.

"Today, I praise you Father for your faithfulness:
You are [A]lways there [B]ecoming greater as I get smaller, [C]onstantly aware of my needs, [D]esirous of spending time with me, [E]xcited when I'm learning what you're teaching me, [F]inding ways to get my attention, [G]oing the extra mile to lead me, [H]elping me when I call on you, [I]nterested in me..."

Now you know how to build block prayer. I think you'll find it an amazingly simple way to pray profoundly. It also is a great idea for a family time. If you want a lot of extra points, you can use song titles along the way and sing it to Him. But, here's the real secret: God was pleased with David and found him to be a man after his own heart. Most people won't do block prayer; instead they'll likely consider it a silly idea. But for those who will do it, they'll find God is pleased when his children find such a unique way to praise him. Scoot over David!

Go ahead, try it. Aware of your need to worship, build your castle of dreams by escaping to a flourishing garden of heavenly incense. Just kindle those little moments with God and never oppose his power, but be quiet, ready to submit, thanking him for understanding you, giving you victory and leading you to worship him in xtra ways. just you wait and zee! Sorry - I didn't say I was good at it!

Just Thinkin'... WebServant

Scripture comes from the Holy Bible, New International Version; (c)1978 by New York International Bible Society

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I'll pray today for...
* My spouse
* My children
* Their friends
* My friends
* My employer
* My city
* My country
* Civic leaders
* Schools
* Teachers

* The sick
* The lost
* Those in despair
* The hospitalized
* The grieving
* Widows
* Orphans

* My church
* My pastor
* Church leaders
* Other churches
* Persecuted church
* Missionaries
* Myself