Think PASTA As You Wrestle In Prayer
Think PASTA - wrestle in prayer.
The phrase wrestling in prayer popped out to me as I read Colossians 4.
Colossians 4:12 says that Epaphradites wrestled in prayer for the Colossians.
‘Do I ever wrestle in prayer?’ I asked myself. Noting down the question in my journal I went about my day.
Benedictine monks say this about prayer - Keep it short, honest and on going.
short
honest
on going
Have you ever had trouble starting your prayer or organizing your prayer points? I know I have and today I will share something that has helped me immensely. So this article is going to be concise.
Here we go.
PASTA helps you remember!
P for Position yourself to meet God
A for Adore God for who he is
S for Say sorry for what you regret not doing or a wrong you have done
T for Thank God specifically
A for Anything that is on your heart and mind
1.POSITION YOURSELF TO MEET GOD
Very often, prayer can become rushed and a to do list to get through. When I was a child a teacher once told me that when I wake up Jesus is waiting to hear my voice. That is a lovely picture to carry with us. The creator of the Universe is waiting to hear us! Allowing ourselves a few minutes to feel and experience God with us is a good posture of prayer. Sometimes I light a candle. There was a particular time when my boys were young, I felt comfortable to sit on the cold floor to pray. Bible teacher and author Courtney Doctor says she kneels to pray, while author Melissa Kruger prefers coffee on the deck as she talks to God.
2. ADORE GOD FOR WHO HE IS
Adore means to love deeply with admiration and respect. Prayer is all about God and not about us. When I stop to adore God I am reminded of this.
“The Lord says ‘I am Alpha and Omega, the one who is, the one who was and the one who is to come.’”
-Revelation 1:8
When we adore God we name what we admire about God - who he is. Deuteronomy 10:17& 18 and Daniel 2:20-22 are two more of the many verses which speak of God's character. As we read the Bible we get to know more about God, a day at a time. This morning I read Psalm 104:2 and was struck by this verse which says of God- God stretches out the heavens like a tent.
3. SAY SORRY
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
-1 John 1:9
This verse assures us of God's cleansing and forgiveness if we confess our sins.
Psalm 103:12 tells us what God does when we fear him.
As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
This assurance of God's forgiveness helps us live in total freedom. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free says Galatians 5:1.
4. THANKING GOD FOR SPECIFIC THINGS
I like to journal this part of my prayer. Today, I thank God for my chat with Neena, my cousin who lives in Cleveland Ohio. Neena is busy but made time to connect with me. We caught up on each other's lives and the goodness of God. I also thank God for the warm sun on my face, the colours of Autumn, a photo which lifted my spirit and the card in the mail box!
“My heart will sing and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever.”
-Psalm 30:12
“I will sing to the Lord all my life. I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.”
-Psalm 104:33
Finding many reasons to thank God daily keeps us grateful and helps us focus on God and stay positive.
5. ANYTHING ON YOUR HEART
With your parents or close friends you don't have an agenda to talk through, you talk to them about anything on your heart. You and I are God's children (1 John 3:1) and we are friends of Jesus (John 15:15) so we can tell him, ask him, laugh with him, cry with him. So this is a time to open your heart to God.
What a friend we have in Jesus
Take it to the Lord in prayer
And we can be sure of his love for us and that he will give us the best.
“He who did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all - how will he not also along with him graciously give us all things.”
-Romans 8:32
Think PASTA - and love your time with God!
Let’s wrestle in prayer and storm heaven today and everyday.
https://youtu.be/eyzxyVGlcLo?si=VKHhST5u8Sqnzfbx
Here is a choir performance in English from South India, a song on prayer which I listen to and sing along with often.