Rachel Larkin - Simple Prayer: The Guide for Ordinary People Seeking the Extraordinary

To my wonderful husband and to my three awesome sons

You are my passion and delight. I will love you always.

To my amazing parents

Who taught me by their example to love the Lord with all my heart.

To my Heavenly Father

May your Name be given all the glory through this message

Introduction

P rayer is good for us. We all know this, dont we? But when it comes down to the moments in our day, do we pray? It seems that over time we have put prayer up on a pedestal and have made it more difficult than it really is. Praying to God is simple. Maintaining a prayer lifestyle is the test. How can you have a fresh and growing relationship with God amid your normal everyday life?

This book will take you on a journey to discover that prayer is not only good, but essential. You will uncover how prayer is foundational to your personal growth and how to develop your own prayer growth plan. We will explore three ways of talking with God, or what I like to call, prayer languages. These three prayer languages will unlock the secret of having a fresh and growing relationship with God whether your relationship is flourishing or failing. I have tested this approach of talking and listening to God in my own life, experiencing a deeper, richer intimacy with God. You can discover this rich relationship starting today.

I am not there yet

Here is my confession: I am not there yet. I dont know all the answers about prayer. I am always learning and growing. This is a good place to be, a lifelong learner. We are all on this journey of growing in our faith, and it is good to share with each other how God is working in our lives. The older I get the more I learn about praying, talking and listening to God.

I am just an ordinary believer who has a desire to see God turn up in the midst of her real daily life. This desire to see God turn up is what has led me down a path of discovery in prayer. I have read many books on prayer and I have found it easy to become discouraged. It seems that only famous preachers or speakers and former missionaries have written books on prayer. How could I, an ordinary believer relate to their experiences? They dont have a normal nine to five job like me. They dont all have the struggles of being a mum to a family of sons.

Many of the books I have read on prayer, focus on warfare and battles. Yes, we are in a battle against spiritual forces, but a solider isnt in battle constantly. There are times in our lives that will require prayer warfare. Thankfully they are for a certain time period. Otherwise, we would be constantly on a stressful battle front alert. I wanted to learn, from everyday people, how they talk and listen to God. How do they practically grow in prayer in their normal Christian lives?

What you will find in this book

In Part One, you will discover how amazing prayer is. How effective it can be. How God desires it. How you can see God turn up in your normal everyday life. Having an amazing prayer life is not for the famous Christians; its for you and me, ordinary people who are seeking the extraordinary. You will be challenged to review your prayer life asking, what role does prayer have in your life? We will explore how you can move from wishy-washy praying to something more intentional and full of power. I will share how you can pray when life is tough so that you keep going and not give up.

In Part Two, you will discover the steps to create your personal prayer growth plan. We will look at how prayer journaling can transform your relationship with God and you will learn how to get from fig tree praying to mountain moving praying!

Part Three is the secret sauce of prayer. You will discover three prayer languages or ways of talking with God. Learning how to pray using these three languages will bring your prayer life alive. You will have a fresh and growing relationship with God in the midst of your normal everyday living.

Who is this book for?

This book is for the ordinary Christian believer who desires to see God turn up in their everyday life. Its for those who are seeking the extraordinary and long to see Gods fingerprints in your circumstances. Christians who have known the Lord for some time will discover a breath of fresh air in their prayer life, and new Christians who are wanting to discover how to pray will find this guide helpful.

Free Downloads

T o help you on your prayer journey, I would like to offer your three free downloads. These are found on my website at rachellarkin.com/simpleprayerbonus

1. A Personal Prayer Growth Plan worksheet
2. The 3 Prayer Languages Approach - a handy one page reminder of the three prayer languages that you can print out and place in your journal or on the fridge.
3. My 12 Most Useful Books on Prayer List
4. A short ebook The Untold Story: 7 Steps to Experiencing God in the Midst of your Real Messy Life

Part One: HOW TO DEEPEN YOUR PRAYER LIFE

Seeking the Extraordinary

I want to see God turn up in my day. That is the main reason I pray. I dont want to be a Sunday Christian. I dont want to go through life never seeing Gods fingerprints, missing how He is working out everything for good. I want to be amazed every day by Gods provision, love, humor and wisdom. I want a real relationship with God through His indwelling Spirit. I want to know God for real. I dont want to live a fake Christian life.

I have come across many Christians who believe that God doesnt speak to them, that God only speaks to special people. This is so wrong. Its a lie from Satan himself. Satan is not just a liar, but the father of lies. Dont believe the lie that God doesnt speak to you for one moment. God desires to have conversations with all His children. He has no favorites. He works with His children in different ways because we are all different, right? His promises are for everyone who believes.

Every day is special and can be filled with God moments. Do you believe that? The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies are new each morning. (Lamentations 3:22-23 NLT). God wants to fill our days with Himself.