Encouraging Prayer During Lent

Prayer is an act of worship and an expression of our faith.

We communicate with God, through Jesus Christ, his Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Throughout his life, Jesus modelled many ways to pray, but still, the disciples asked him how to do it. Jesus gave them, and us, the Lord’s Prayer. He is not teaching us what to say but how to pray.

‘When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation’ (Luke 11:2–4).

It is through prayer that we come close to God, and God comes close to us. We can bring to God anything we want to talk about, and we can pray with and for others. This Lent, we would like to encourage you to pray each day for people in your family, your community and those near and far. Use the Grow Ministries Prayer Cross as a guide. Download your copy here.

May your home prayer life be encouraged by knowing that:

• Jesus modelled for us how to pray and gave us the words to say in the Lord’s Prayer.
• Simple thank-you prayers for each other are an easy way to begin. Thank God for the small and large moments, the ordinary and the sacred times.
• There are many ways to pray: bedtime prayers, mealtime prayers, prayers of thanks and praise to God.
• A simple blessing can create a special time and bond within families. As family members leave for school or go off to work, simply say the words ‘God bless you’ as they go.
• God is always ready to listen to everything we have to say.