Don DeWelt's Sweet Hour of Prayer

From the April 2005 Ladies’ Retreat – *Called to Worship, Called to Prayer* Prayer Walk – by Debbie Holbert Sweet Hour of Prayer – by Don DeWelt – College Press Publishing, Joplin Prayer is NOT: • Prayer on the run • A quick fix • A duty Prayer IS: • Fellowship time with God • Unceasing The Hour of Prayer includes twelve areas of prayer. You will soon find that five minutes is not enough time to be in prayer for each area. Begin with one area at a time.
1. Praise for God A time of Praise and Awe for who our Lord God is. A time to adore Him for who He is. Choose a characteristic of God from the scriptures and Praise Him! Scriptures: Psalm 103:1,2, Rev. 1:8, Rev 4:8, 11, 5:12, 13 Qualities of God – Love, power, wisdom, grace, mercy, kindness, patience, presence, Lord, Beautiful, Forgiver, Creator, Sovereign, Majestic, Righteous, Light-giver, Protector, Peace, Truth, Goodness, Reigning, Faithful, Healer and Hope (find more!)	2. Praise to God Praise to God is a time of adoration, wonder and awe to God for all He means to us in our daily lives. It is praising God for the way He has impacted our lives. Scriptures: Isaiah 63:7a, II Peter 3:9, Psalm 89:15, II Corinthians 6:18, Acts 17:28, Isaiah 26:4, Romans 9:32, Romans 5:8, Romans 1:16
3. Confession of My Sin A time we admit freely, openly, and honestly our specific sin against God, our loved ones and our fellow men. Call the sin by name and ask forgiveness. See where you have fallen short of the glory of God. Scriptures: I John 1:7-9, Psalm 40:1-3, Psalm 103:12, Psalm 139:23, 24, Psalm 51, Isaiah 59:2, Matthew 5:21-26, Luke 19:11-27 Some Specific Sins: Stealing, Gossip, Filthy language, Hatred, Greed, Hypocrisy, Envy, Fits of Rage, Idolatry Covetousness, Bitterness, Greed, Disobedience, Impatience, Grumbling, Slander, Lack of Self-control, Denying our Lord, Judgment of others.	4. Sing a Prayer to God God loves to hear from His children. Sing with feelings that overflow from your heart how you feel about your Father. Try singing from your heart without using someone else’s song. Scriptures – Psalm 95:1-2, Psalm 5:11, Song List to begin (add your own) – Higher Ground, Have Thine Own Way Lord, In My Life-Lord- Be Glorified, I Surrender All, It is Well with My Soul, Near the Cross, Living for Jesus, Near the Cross, Revive Us – O Lord, Just a Closer Walk with Thee, Jesus Paid it All, Count Your Blessings, Change My Heart – Oh God, Whispering Hope, Wonderful Words of Life, Take Time to be Holy, Shine, Jesus, Shine, Seek Ye First, Search Me – O God, Sweet Hour of Prayer, Take Time to Be Holy, The Lord is My Shepherd, The Lord’s Prayer.
5. Read (Pray) the Word to Him Reading the Word of God in the attitude and expression of thankful-ness helps you focus on what God is trying to tell you. It helps you to think about what you are reading bringing about a closeness between you and God. This is a good time to journal and write prayers to Him from the scriptures. Scriptures: Zephaniah 3:17, Matthew 6:19-24 Process: Think of reading TO God, which helps to focus on what the passage is telling you, meditate on childlikeness and that affects your relationship with God, be aware of a sense of God’s closeness and love for you as you share His Word together.	6. Read the Word for Myself Ask God to open your mind and heart to receive what He wants to teach you from His word before you read. Reading from the words of Jesus in the Sermon n the Mount is a good place to start. (Matt 5-7) Let the Word penetrate and change your life daily. Scriptures: Hebrews 4:12, James 1:23-25, Jeremiah 15:16, II Timothy 3:16, James 1:24. Process: Ask God to prepare heart for receiving message, read with a listening heart, write down thoughts, write verse and what God is teaching and then act upon it.
7. Thanksgiving We feel a tremendous, inexpressible gratitude toward our God who loves us so much that we cannot comprehend His love. It is a time of outpouring of our heart for all God has done for us and is doing for us now. Scriptures: Psalm 100:4, Hebrews 12:28, Colossians 2:7, II Corinthians 9:15 List to get started: Hope of Heaven, Peace of mind, justification from sin, creation, Angels who minister, purpose in life, children, solitude, loving those who hate me, the Beatitude promises, desire to repent, His Word, Baptism and its meaning, the saving power of my Lord.	8. Petitions or Requests Praying for our spouse, children, family, church and leaders, country and you. God is interested in every aspect of our lives. Everything! Write out your prayers, and can see visually what you are working on and what is a priority to you. Scriptures: Philippians 4:6, James 5, Psalm 37:4-6, Deuteronomy 11:18-19, I Samuel 12:23 Petitions/Requests: parents, daily bread, grace, mercy, peace, wisdom, love, forgiveness, love – in spite of sin, fruit of the spirit – Jesus’ kind of peace, goodness, kindness, patience, self-control, love, gentleness, safety of travel, prayer for those who preach, hospitality, using gifts for God
9. Intercession Intercession involves praying for the lost world. That means your neighbor, family, people you work with everyday, missionaries and the people they witness to, as well as other people who are on your heart. Pray for souls to be saved! Scriptures: II Chronicles 7:14 List: Leaders of our country, state, city, missionaries, law enforcement people, service men, other countries who do not provide needs for their people.	10. Meditation Now is the time to clarify all of what God is trying to show you. Meditation is letting God direct our thinking into His pattern of thinking. It means reading the scripture again and thinking about what God is saying to you. Scriptures: Psalm 19:14, Psalm 119:97, Matthew 6:19-24, Philippians 4:8-9. Devotional Books – Guideposts, Living with God, Longing for God, A Miracle Named Jesus, Expect the Light, are a few.
11. Listening Listen to God. It is a privilege to be able to go before the throne of God and sit before His feet and listen to the things He directing to understand or do. Be still and wait for His voice. Our attitudes are the first and foremost concern of God. Scriptures: Ecclesiastes 5:1, Hebrews 4:16, Luke 10:39, 41	12. Praise God in Song After almost a whole hour of time in prayer with God, it is natural to burst out in song of praise for Him. Scriptures: Psalm 40:3, Psalm 69:30-31a List of Songs to begin: Because He Lives, Behold the Lamb, Blessed Assurance, All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name, Joy to the World, Jesus Loves Me, God Is So Good, Great is the Lord, Great Is Thy Faithfulness, Fairest Lord Jesus, Doxology, Blessed Be the Name, Wonderful Grace of Jesus, Rejoice in the Lord Always, Surely the Presence of the Lord Is in This Place.