This “Running on Prayer” letter is the second installment of four parts.  The first dealt with “Preparation” or how to get ready for a serious attempt at the spiritual discipline of prayer.  This second part looks at "Getting Started."  The next two will be "Avoiding injuries and other pitfalls" and “Enjoying the Adventure.”

This month we are doing a message series at New Horizon called "in tune."  In it we are looking at some of the spiritual disciplines that will help us draw closer to God.  But of all the spiritual disciplines, the discipline of prayer is primary because it allows us into the presence of God and it can be practiced throughout all the other disciplines.  A good resource to read during this time is Richard J. Foster's classic book, Celebration of Discipline.  When commenting on developing a prayer life, Foster makes a comparison to developing as a runner.  "Occasional joggers do not suddenly enter an Olympic marathon.  They prepare and train themselves over a period of time, and so should we.  When such a progression is followed, we can expect to pray a year from now with greater authority and spiritual success than at present." 

So how do we get started in our "Running on Prayer?"

“You got to begin in order to win.”   Nike says, “Just Do it.” In prayer it is like putting one foot in front of the other.  Just start talking to God--even if you don’t know what to say.  The first thing to do is to simply seek time with God without any real agenda except a desire to be in His presence.  God is always with you and you can talk with Him at anytime.  This should be a time that you can avoid other distractions. 

Through preparation, you have already scheduled the time to pray, you have a designated place to meet God in prayer, you have your Bible and possibly a short devotional to help get you started.  Now you simply allow God to have your undivided attention.  You may want to begin by saying something like, "Okay God, here I am and I want you give to you all my attention.  I don't know how this will work, but I truly do have a desire to draw closer to you.  In James 4:8, Your word promises that if come near to You that You will come near to me.  So thank You for meeting with me today."  You may want to just spend the next few minutes allowing God the opportunity to speak into your heart. 

One thing that helps me is to take a notebook with me to write down the things that I sense God is saying to me.  (I also keep another page ready to write down anything that comes to mind that I need to do later.  I write it down and then get back to being with God). 

“Go slow at first.” Understand that prayer is a learning process.  Jesus' disciples asked Him, "Lord, teach us to pray" (Luke 11:1).  It is in many ways freeing to know that prayer is a learning process because you are freed to try different things to see what works well and what doesn't.  So you will need to start out slowly in prayer.  You’ll need to walk before you can run.  Don’t expect your prayer life to develop overnight.  Start out slow and then begin to increase your time and depth of prayer knowing that it may seem like a lot of work.  You may want to start with just five or ten minutes and work up from there. 

"Consider working with a personal trainer."  There are those in your life that would be willing to pray with you and help you along just as there are better runners who are willing to help a novice runner to succeed.  Praying with someone who has the spiritual gift of intercession or someone who has developed the spiritual discipline of prayer over a long period of time can be very advantageous in helping you to become effective in prayer. 

“Build endurance, speed and strength over a reasonable period of time.” Relationship building with anyone always takes time.  The same is true between you and God.  Seek to learn God’s agenda for your life.  Seek to listen to what He is saying to you.  This will strengthen your prayer life and will help you to become more confident. 

Many treat prayer as a way to give God a wish list.  However, a much higher goal of prayer is to get to the point where you can walk with God in such a way that you know His will and direction for your life in any given situation. 

Prayer can be a very exciting part of being a Christ Follower.  It is the opportunity that we have to spend time with the God of the universe—to have His attention and to know that He knows our needs.  We can “run” to God just because we want to spend time with Him and He wants to spend that time with us.