Do you have any advice about how to pray? I am stuck in a rut.
Great question--and by no means unique! This is an especially important question, since we all seem to take it for granted that we should pray the way we have been taught, whether by personal example or in classes.
One book I read this year suggested that we examine the prayers of the apostle Paul for insight into how to pray. The things he focused on, the way his prayers centered on Christ, and his posture before God are all discernible if we will take the time to study his prayers. The book is by D. A. Carson, and it is A Call to Spiritual Reformation (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1992). A lot of the prayers the author studies are prayer-wishes Paul expresses on behalf of the churches he writes to; the material constitutes real prayer, though we might not always recognize it as such. The book is very well done.
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