Praying the Lord’s Prayer

In this initial phase of prayer, we contemplate or behold God as our loving Father and embrace our identity as His cherished child. Find a comfortable yet alert position, and take a moment to center your attention by focusing on your breath.

As you arrive at a place of silence and stillness, pair each inhale and exhale with a simple prayer. You can use Jesus' words in the Lord's Prayer: "Our Father" (inhale) and "in Heaven" (exhale). Or you might try "Abba" (inhale) and "I belong to you" (exhale), or create your own. The goal of a contemplative breath prayer is to deepen your connection with God using synchronized breath and a repetitive phrase to focus your mind and heart on His presence. This practice echoes the story of Genesis 2, where God breathed life into man, illustrating that we come alive through His breath/Spirit.

While maintaining this breath-centered prayer, you can choose different paths. For the visual, imagine God, envision His compassionate face, and feel His embrace. The emotive may open their hearts to experience the Father's love, manifesting as a gentle smile, laughter, or tears of joy. For those inclined toward the intellectual, shape the prayer by highlighting different aspects of God's Fatherhood, like inhaling "Loving Father" or "Patient Father" and exhaling "I belong to you" or "thank you."

Contemplative prayer can take various forms, but the goal of this practice is to silently rest in the reality that God calls us His beloved child, in whom He is well pleased. While contemplative breath prayer is a time-honored way to achieve this, remember that the ultimate aim is intimacy with God. So, try it out and adapt it to your personality and life stage.

Movement 02: Adoration

In the second movement, we transition from contemplating God as our loving Father to adoring his name and character. There are many ways to do this, but you may find it helpful to try one of these three.

Say: As you finish your set time for contemplation, begin voicing your praise for who you have contemplated God to be in the preceding movement.

Psalms: Read a Psalm of praise out loud (you could rotate through some daily or seasonally, look online for Psalms of Praise). As you do, make its words your own and even adapt it to become your own.

Sing: Create a playlist of worship songs and hymns on Spotify or Apple Music which are specifically focused on the praise of the character and work of God. Pick songs you know well enough to sing along with. When you reach this time of prayer, shuffle the playlist and sing a long with as many songs fit within your allotted time.

Movement 03: Intercession

"Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

Jesus teaches us to intercede in two parts: releasing and asking.

Your will be done: We initiate intercessory prayer by relinquishing control and freeing ourselves from the constraints of our wills, agendas, and desires. As you contemplate the day ahead, consider anything over which you may be struggling for control. When something comes to mind, simply name it and surrender it to God, requesting the Spirit to replace anxiety with peace and fear with trust. One helpful approach to this process can be through journaling on a piece of paper: "I Want..." and listing the first few desires that come to mind, followed by "I fear..." and noting the immediate anxieties that arise. After reviewing the lists and recognizing any connections, write "I surrender..." and compose a prayer of surrender to God.

Your kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven: Having relinquished control and surrendered our own will, we are now free to view our lives, relationships, community, city, and world through God's perspective and His will. Now, from this vantage point, we can ask and intercede with faith, hope, love, and joy.

Simply and clearly request that God's kingdom would manifest where it is absent—no need to be overly verbose. One useful practice may be to maintain a small journal of situations for which you regularly pray. This way, you don't have to come up with something on the spot each day and can even dedicate certain days to specific matters. This practice also allows you to have a tangible representation of God's answered prayers over time.

Movement 04: Petition

Spend some time asking God for things you need. Remembering that God is your Father, bring to him the provision, healing, and understanding you need, asking him to intervene. Your daily bread may be physical, relational, financial, emotional, or spiritual. Think of all the places you need him, inviting him to arrive there. This kind of prayer is referred to as petition.

Movement 05: Confession

Knowing that God sees you and longs to heal every part of you, spend a few minutes now in quiet asking God for forgiveness in specific areas in your life. You can do that by speaking out loud the specific areas of sin and shame in your life, or by asking the Spirit to search your heart and reveal them to you. Once you’re done, ask the same for those who have sinned against you, asking the Spirit to help you to continue to forgive them, releasing them to God.

Ask for God’s strength and resolve to resist temptation in the three enemies of your soul: the World, the Flesh, and the Devil. The World: its ideologies, consumerism and materialism, promiscuity, escapism, addiction, and greed. The Flesh: its pride, self-gratification, lust, and prejudice. The Devil: his lies, shaming, hatred, violence, and accusing. Ask for the Spirit to save you from giving into the temptation of all three, even from what you’re unable to see in your life. Ask for God’s positive blessings in these spaces, inviting his goodness to lead the way and make itself evident in your every moment.