BY RICHARD DAVENPORT
Prayer from a heart willing to surrender, change, learn, grow and bless others works to keep us centered on pure motives like wellness, wholeheartedness and compassion. Such prayer can help us progress spiritually.
These five forms of prayer, found in the Bible, have a universal application to any spiritual practice. Although differing in their approach, all share the purpose of creating a fuller mindfulness of our true identity and relationship to the divine, while enhancing our capacity to bless all creation. If we are not feeling the desired breakthroughs using one form, perhaps the one most familiar or comfortable to us, we might do well to explore others.
Praise – a posture of adoration, honoring and surrender to a power, vision, and authority greater than our own.
Thanksgiving – or better yet, for its consistency and permeating of our whole self, thanks-living. The garden of our spirit is enriched by embracing a gratitude attitude in all we do.
Petition – a relational posture that opens our heart as we learn to ask for help, to seek perspective beyond a limited self, beyond a smaller, ego-driven orientation.
Intercession – praying for others; blessing, honoring and cherishing them as God sees them. When we feel burdened and blocked by our own trials, expressing empathy and compassion for others can unlock our heart and mind. We can lovingly witness the true nature of those that are seemingly tangled in forces blocking or opposing their higher good.
Affirmation – release and rest in divine authority, acknowledging the uni-verse as literally one song reflecting the singular harmony that Spirit knows and is unfolding in every moment to meet our need in forms we can see and feel right now.
