Praying with Vijay - Personal daily devotional time - part 1 of series

How should we pray? Where should we begin? In this first part of a series, Vijay Menon, a converted Hindu who works closely with St. Helen's, Bishopsgate, gives some advice for our personal devotions.

First: our daily devotional time with Jesus Christ, spending time with Christ before we spend time for him.
I found it impossible to spend a few minutes every day, first thing in the morning, until I realised that in my 27 years at Lloyds Register, I never came to my office in my pyjamas; I made time to do what I wanted. If I miss my daily reading one day, I won't try to catch up, just as if I miss to brush my teeth one day, I won't brush twice the next day. Get a loud alarm clock, don't hit the bed once you get up, don't leave the house until you spend a few minutes with Jesus and his Word. Daily Reading by J.C. Ryle has helped me.
'It means to keep up a habit of constant close communication with him, to be always leaning on him, resting on him, pouring out our hearts to him and using him as fountain of life and strength, as our chief companion and best friend. To have his words abiding in us is to keep his sayings and precepts continually before our memories and minds and to make them the guide of our actions and the rule of our daily conduct and behaviour. Christians of this stamp, we are told, shall not pray in vain.'
Quiet time is not our god. It gives us a passion for the person of Christ, as distinct from the loyalty to his cause (Philippians 1.21). Then 'quiet time' becomes a pleasure not pressure, devotion not duty, delight not dreary, quality not quantity, relationship not ritual. This is where we begin our prayer life.
The second important area is 'the prayer triplets': three or so Christians meeting together once a week, for about 35 minutes, to meet with the Lord to praise and thank him, to support one another in prayer, encourage and be accountable and also pray for non-Christians.
Every Christian should be in a prayer triplet. Ideally, the first ten minutes for praising God, using a Psalm or other Scripture, thanking him for answered prayers (no asking at this time), preparing ourselves to be in his presence, remembering how weak we are and how great God is. In the next five minutes, share our prayer concerns, be very strict even if you have to write them in advance. Then the last 20 minutes of praying together. Our concern is God's glory, our confidence is in God's promises and our commitment is to support one another's needs including those which we cannot share in a big prayer gathering. Are you burdened for those who are lost around us? Ask God to give you that burden so that we can pray with God's burden (Luke 19.10).

Next month we will be carrying a further article by Vijay which particularly deals with praying at the church prayer meeting.