Praying with the Scriptures can be best facilitated by following five simple “Ps”. The first was, as we saw last week, Pick a Passage. The second is Pick a Place.  Reading and praying with the Scriptures requires the right place. Find a quiet place where you can find God. Turn off the television and radio. Go to a place where you can be alone. Many people say that they can pray best out in nature. While this is wonderful, weather can be a hindrance (especially during winter). It is also critical that we read and pray the Scriptures in a   consistent place. The very place itself, when used over and over again for this purpose, can then be helpful in disposing us to quiet.

We must make sure that, if we are living with others, they know not to bother us when we are in our place of prayer. If you set a time-limit, you can always tell your family to give you 5-10-15 minutes to be alone and that you are not to be bothered unless it is an absolute emergency. You have a right to your privacy and time alone. Insist on it.

It is also important that you attempt to pick the same time of the day for being in your place of prayer. Place and time can be very conducive to helping you let go of the cares of the day and can be very beneficial helps to cultivating quiet.

The third “P” is Pick a Posture. Take a comfortable posture, one in which your body does not interfere with your prayer. For too long we have associated prayer with pain, as though suffering (e.g., kneeling with arms outstretched) would somehow make our prayer better. Remember that prayer is  supposed to be like a chat with your father/mother. I small child typically sits in his father’s/mother’s lap when he/she wants to tell them something important.

The fourth “P” stands for Presence. It is so important that if we skip it we may not be praying at all. Picking a passage, finding a place, settling into a comfortable position, all precede prayer but they are not prayer. They only set the stage. Prayer begins when we come into the Presence of God. How do we do this? Simply by starting to address God by saying: Lord, I believe you are here. I’m happy to have this time with you. Or, simply, some other greeting that indicates that it is your desire to be in His presence. He’ll do the rest if you give Him time.