TRANSFORM YOUR PRAYER LIFE WITH THIS SIMPLE PRAYER
SOURCES
My Upmost for His Highest. Oswald Chambers. Oswald Chambers Publications, 1992.
With Christ in the School of Prayer. Andrew Murray. Whitaker House, 1981.
The 7 Keys to the Lord’s Prayer. Jennell Houts. Faithworks Centre, 2015. https://faithisland.org/faith/the-7-keys-to-the-lords-prayer
A Simple Acrostic for Prayer: A.C.T.S. R.C. Sproul. Ligonier Ministries, 2018. https://www.ligonier.org/blog/simple-acrostic-prayer
F-A-C-T-S: The 5 Elements of Prayer. Peter Sarkis. Preeminence of Christ Ministries. http://www.preeminenceofchrist.org/the_five_elements_of_prayer.pdf
TRANSFORM YOUR PRAYER LIFE WITH THIS SIMPLE PRAYER
TRANSCRIPT
Oswald Chambers, author of My Upmost for His Highest, once said, “Prayer doesn’t fit us for the greater work; prayer is the greater work.” Friends, if you get nothing else out of this video, I implore you to spend personal time with God in sweet, intimate prayer.
Hello, my name is David Erhart and welcome to another Christianity Engaged video. Today I’m going to share a simple prayer that has radically transformed my prayer life, and it can do the same for you.
Prayer is simply talking with God. But more profoundly, it’s also listening to Him. Christian author and pastor, Andrew Murray, once said, “Prayer isn’t a monologue, but dialogue. God’s voice in response to mine is the most essential part.”
You’re probably familiar with the Lord’s Prayer, which Jesus used as a wonderful model to teach us the importance of praise, confession and forgiveness, submission to the Father’s will, and childlike dependence on our Heavenly Father for daily provision and protection.
The prayer I’m going to share today can be used by beginners and veteran prayer warriors alike. It’s similar to the Lord’s Prayer in its content, but unlike the Lord’s Prayer, it isn’t spoken word-for-word. In fact, what I love about this prayer is you can pray it every day and it can still be different every time depending on what’s on your heart and mind, and as the Spirit leads.
It’s called the Five Finger Prayer and it utilizes your five fingers in a unique way to remind you to pray for things that you may not always pray for on your own, and in a very specific order.
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The 5 Finger Prayer all starts with your thumb. It is the first digit on your hand and in this prayer, “thumbs up” reminds us to praise God first. The Bible says, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.” You can praise Him for who He is, naming qualities of His character. You can praise Him for what He’s done, not only in all of creation but for you personally. And you can praise Him for the precious promises of what He’s going to do, which can be an anchor for your soul.
We all use our next finger to point to things and in this prayer, our index finger reminds us to point to all the things we’re thankful for. The Bible says, “always give thanks to God the Father for everything.” So, let God know just how grateful you are for all the people and blessings in your life, and don’t take anything for granted. According to the Apostle Paul, if we have food and clothing, we should be content with these.
Our next finger is our middle finger, which unfortunately is used by so many people in this world to convey anger and frustration towards others in a disrespectful way. Well, let’s turn that around and in this prayer, our middle finger reminds us not of other people’s sin and how they have offended us, but of our own sin, and how we have offended God. Our middle finger prompts us to confess our sins, repent of them, and receive His amazing grace. The Bible says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Our 4th finger is our ring finger, which on our left hand, is the finger we put a wedding ring on as a symbol of a lifelong commitment to our spouse. So, in this prayer, our ring finger reminds us to pray for others. Start with those you love the most, your closest family and friends. And then, work your way outwards praying for anyone the Lord brings to mind, even those difficult people in your life. Intercessory prayer is a beautiful and selfless expression of love that conveys God’s heart. In fact, the Bible tells us that Jesus and the Holy Spirit regularly intercede for you and me. Isn’t that amazing? It also encourages us to be persistent in our prayers for all believers everywhere.
The smallest (and the last) finger on your hand is your pinky finger, which represents you. Our pinky finger reminds us to present our own personal requests to God. So, talk to God about everything going on in your life right now and ask Him for what you want and what think you need. Remember, we have a Good Father who wants to give good gifts to his children. Amen? I love what the author of Hebrews says, “anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Friends, there’s nothing you can ask for that’s too big for Him to handle or too small for Him to care about. Ultimately, our highest goal in every prayer should be for God to be glorified in and through us.
Let’s recap: praise, thanksgiving, confession, intercession, and petition. The Five Finger Prayer is incredibly simple, yet powerful and effective. There is something inherently special about these five topics of prayer and the order they are in.
From my personal experience, I have found that praising God at the beginning of my prayers helps me remember who I’m talking to, it reinforces my understanding of who God is, and I’ve found that it shifts my thoughts and priorities and opens me up more to hear his voice throughout the prayer.
I promise you, the more you express how grateful you are for the people and the blessings in your life, the more genuine contentment you will experience. We truly are happier people when we focus our minds on what we have rather than what we don’t.
Confession humbles us by pointing out areas where our speech and conduct don’t necessarily align with God’s Word. But it also empowers us by inviting God into the situation, not only for forgiveness, but for strength to overcome in our weaknesses.
I truly believe that intercessory prayer is one of the most important things you can do today. You don’t have to be a pastor, teacher, or Bible scholar… anyone can enter the presence of God through Jesus Christ his Son and partner with the Creator of Heaven and Earth to be a blessing to the people within their sphere of influence.
After praying this prayer for an extended period of time, I have found that at the end of the prayer, especially during the intercession and petition, my prayers seem like less of me telling God what I want and more of a true partnership between us. And the more I learn to listen, the more He guides and directs each of my prayer requests and the final result is this beautiful combination of both of our hearts.
I hope this video is a blessing to you and your prayer life, and as a result, all of the people within your sphere of influence. Thanks for watching and God bless you all.
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