A PATH for Prayer

Praying is not always an easy thing. We worry about what we should say. We worry that we are in proper stance. Are we being selfish in our requests? Bothering God with minor issues? What exactly do you say to the most powerful entity in existence? Do you recite a prayer written by someone else that has received acclaim? Do you just speak your mind? What if you start to babel? Should you just cut and run – a quick amen? If you don’t say amen, is the prayer over? If you get interrupted, by the phone or the kids are you in essence putting God on hold?

One of my favorite hints for praying, which I came across when I was teaching Sunday school, is the word PATH.

P – Praise
A - Apologize
T – Thank
H - Ask for Help

In the BibleQuest curriculum that we were using, this idea was presented in a game. I don’t remember the whole game, but I remember putting out pieces of paper on the floor. Each piece was marked with one of the PATH letters. When a contestant rolled the die and ended up on one of the letters they had to give a prayer line that would be applicable to the letter. I thought that this was a great idea to help children become comfortable praying and useful for adults too.

How do you decide what to say to God? Do you have a favorite prayer? Have you come across a prayer that has touched you? Share with us and let us know.