Thoughtful Prayers for Serious Believers: Forty Daily Prayers and Scripture Reflections for Personal Spiritual Challenge and Growth

By Harold L. Bussell

As one who knows the struggles with prayer and even teaches others how to pray, Thoughtful Prayers gives more insight into how to pray than most other methods or how-to books. As much as you can teach others how to pray, they will never know how to pray until they experience praying for themselves. But, reading someone elses prayers are even a greater tool than you know.

By reading each of Harold Bussells prayers, you gain insight into a mans daily struggles with God about life, the church and with his own spiritual life. Harold opens up courageously as he pours out his heart and soul to God. This kind of courage gives the reader encouragement that its alright to pray to a sovereign God and ask for guidance for the struggles we face daily.

In taking us through The Lords Prayer and breaking it down into 6 weeks of personal prayers, you can see that one mans prayers are struggles we can all relate to. We can adopt these prayers and over time transform them to fit our prayer life. We can be courageous, yet reverent to our Holy God, bold, and yet humble to a loving, gracious God that cares for us.

What is interesting to me personally is how these prayers become deeper and deeper as the weeks progress. By day 31 I am humbled by how much I am missing in my prayer life, maybe thinking too much of myself or not bearing my soul as much as Harold Bussell has in his prayers. It really creates in me a wanting to do better even in my prayer life. Not to emulate Harolds but just noticing where I might fall short in not being humble or reverent enough in my prayers. Harolds prayers are truly a guide to help you reflect on where you are in your own personal prayer life with God. And then maybe adopt some of his prayers to move you to a closer friendship with Jesus. Steve Wiersum

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: May 20, 2016
• ISBN: 9781512739510

Harold L. Bussell

Dr. Harold l. Bussell is an ordained Presbyterian Pastor. He served in ministry with Teen Challenge, Paris France and as the Dean of Chapel at Gordon College, Wenham, Massachusetts for twelve years. Harold held pastorates at Saratoga Federated Church, Saratoga California, First Congregational Church, Hamilton, Massachusetts and El Montecito Presbyterian Church, Santa Barbara, California. He is currently retired and holds degrees from Bethany College (BA), the University of Santa Clara (MA) and Andover Newton theological Seminary (D.Min).

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Copyright © 2016 Harold L. Bussell.

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Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission. NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered trademarks of Biblica, Inc. Use of either trademark for the offering of goods or services requires the prior written consent of Biblica US, Inc.

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ISBN: 978-1-5127-3952-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-3953-4 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-3951-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016906596

WestBow Press rev. date: 05/20/2016

Contents

Dedication

Preface

Why Pray Written Prayers?

Chapter 1 Our Father in Heaven, Hallowed Be Your Name

Chapter 2 Your Kingdom Come, Your Will Be Done, On Earth as It Is in Heaven

Chapter 3 Give Us Today Our Daily Bread

Chapter 4 Forgive Us Our Debts, as We Also Have Forgiven Our Debtors

Chapter 5 Lead Us Not into Temptation, but Deliver Us from the Evil One

Chapter 6 For Yours Is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory Forever. Amen!

Final Reflection

Lord, from dust I came and to dust I will return. In between, turn my fears into faith, my doubts into trust, and my anxieties into peace. Help me not define myself by my infirmities, my failures, or others' unkind words about me. Rather, give me the joy of knowing myself by the names you have called me: forgiven, loved, and friend. Amen.

This book is affectionately dedicated

to my wife, Carol,

and two adult children, Monique and Brad.

Carol, my wife of more than fifty years, thank you for believing in me and inspiring me to a greater understanding of God's grace by your lifestyle and love. Your compassion and kind, caring spirit have been a gift not only to me but to many others over the years of our life together.

Monique, thank you for making our golden years of child raising such a joy with your unique perspective on life. You have always inspired me by your willingness to take on life challenges, such as your time in Egypt, Africa, and Madagascar. You have such a tender heart for those who struggle in life. I will always be your number one fan.

Brad, thank you for making our golden years of child raising such a joy with your wit and humor. You have always amazed me with your artistic talent and insights. I treasure the times we shared together in New Hampshire, Europe, and India. I always looked forward to your words of appreciation on holidays and birthdays. Thanks for making those years so golden in my memory.

Special acknowledgment

Special thanks to Steve Wiersum for his editing my manuscript.

www.stevewiersum.com

[e-mail]

Preface

Isn't it interesting that the disciples never asked Jesus how to walk on water, calm a storm, or multiply bread? They did ask him to teach them about prayer. They didn't ask him how to pray; rather they asked, Teach us to pray (Luke 11:1). After being with him three years, they learned that prayer is not preparation for life's battles; it is the battle.

Over the years, I have often heard Christian leaders imply that prayer was easy, at least for them. However, for me, prayer was somewhat difficult. I knew that it required me to set aside time to be alone with God. Often I would find my mind wandering, looking for words to say, and many times not knowing what to say or where to start or end. As I looked at my prayers, most were primarily requests for God to meet. Although I didn't believe that at the time, I assumed that prayer's primary value was to rescue me or my friends or family from a crisis. It would be as if I asked my best friends to call me only if they were diagnosed with a terminal disease. Over the years, I have recognized that I needed some guidance as praise, worship, silence, and requests for God to remove my character defects were absent in most of my prayers.

One day it dawned on me that I talked to my dog in a more personal manner than I did to God because my prayers with God were filled with borrowed clichés. That insight sparked me to write down my thoughts and pray them over the following weeks and eventually years. During the following twenty years, I wrote down my prayers and based them on the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6; this was very helpful for me. I have written this book to help those who want to deepen their prayer life but struggle with how to do that. Often our prayers are shaped by spiritual clichés we have gained from listening to others in the church or prayer groups or heard prayed on Christian programs.

I have taken my prayers and listed them topically in the categories that Jesus outlined for us in the Lord's Prayer. I have organized the prayers into short paragraphs to encourage reflection on one's life with Christ since the ultimate goal of prayer is to deepen one's