The classic hymn It is Well with My Soul was written by Horatio Spafford, a devout Christian who lost first his young son to pneumonia, and then his vast business holdings in the great Chicago fire of 1871. Hoping for a time of restoration, he planned a European vacation for his wife and four young daughters in the fall of 1873.
Last-minute business obligations caused him to stay behind and send his family on ahead. They were met with a great tragedy yet again when a shipwreck left only his wife alive. She cabled her husband from Europe with these words: "Saved alone". Spafford set sail immediately to join his wife. As he approached where the ship carrying his daughters had sunk, he penned these words to the hymn:
“Whatever my lot, though hast taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul.”
Even in the hardest of times there are places in our lives where something is well. Places and situations where growth, progress, and joy can be found, even as we live in the midst of a sinful and suffering world.
These days that place for me is prayer. After years of trying to figure out how to pray, I have discovered a few simple things that have deepened my time of prayer. I have a freedom of soul I’ve never known. My concerns are not different, but my prayers are.
3 WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR PRAYER LIFE
1. Reading with a New Perspective
I have begun to use a chronological Bible. It is all the books of the Bible put in the order in which the events themselves occurred. Jill Briscoe says, “The Bible is one book. The Old Testament is the new concealed; the New Testament is the old revealed—with a red thread of redemption running throughout.”
Reading God’s Word in this format reminds me of this. As I read the daily readings, I can almost see the red thread as the stories and events build one upon another. Experiencing the Bible chronologically invites me into the characters’ lives as they unfold and prompts me to pray as never before. I am reminded that there really isn’t anything new in our world. The stories I read in Scripture are the stories I read in the newspaper with a few minor adjustments—all overshadowed by the same God reaching out to bring His people back.
2. Reading Before Bed
Reading Scripture before I turn in at night has changed my prayer life. I am using Scripture along with the words of others from resources like The Book of Common Prayer (written by Thomas Cramner in 1459) and The Valley of Vision—A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions (Edited by Arthur Bennett in 1975 containing works from as far back as 1810). These prayers and devotions were used when saturating yourself in Scripture was the highest goal.
When I read Scripture at night, my dreams are different, my sleep more peaceful, and my waking thoughts pause for just a moment to recall the words of the night before.
It’s been a revelation to take a thought that comes to mind in a morning reading and let it unfold throughout the day. I meditate on it while I simply go about life. It’s almost as if God tells me who and what to pray for as I read His Word and even prompts me as to how to pray. I have said many times that my goal as a speaker is not to get women into God’s Word but to get God’s Word into them—and now it’s happening to me! The first thought and the last frame the rest of the day and begin slowly to fill the space in between.
3. Reading Prayers Out Loud
The other piece of un-puzzling my prayer life is reading prayers out loud. There is something about letting the words enter my mind and come out my mouth that takes them deeper into my heart. It’s been said “he who prays out loud, prays twice.” I am finding this to be very true.
When it is well in my prayer life, I find it is well with most of my life. Nothing has changed and yet everything has because the keeper of my soul is at the forefront of my thoughts.
What is well in your life? What is well with your soul?
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
