Editor's note: Enjoy today's inspiration written for Devotionals Daily featuring Praying the Alphabet. Enjoy this free Praying the Letter A Sampler from Praying the Alphabet.
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When we pick up the phone to text a friend or call a family member, we rarely struggle to know what to say. The words simply flow out of us, abundant and full of energy.
But when it comes to communicating with God in prayer, we may sometimes struggle to find the words.
We might sit there in silence, our minds drawing a blank, or we feel anxious about approaching a perfect, holy God with our imperfect words. Sometimes we silently or verbally begin to pray, yet our minds wander to our daily agenda. Other times, our prayers might feel formulaic or prescriptive in a way that leaves us wanting more.
This isn’t a new challenge.
Even Jesus’ disciples came to Him and asked Him how to pray.
In the Sermon on the Mount, He gifted them—and all believers for all time—with the Lord’s Prayer. This gift shares a meaningful truth: Although prayer is important in the Christian life, it doesn’t always come naturally to us. At times, we need an inspiring starting point that allows us to pray more honestly, specifically, and consistently.
What if that starting point was as small and simple as the letter A?
A Little Letter, A Big Idea
Enter the book Praying the Alphabet: Connecting with God from A-to-Z, which provides a framework that uses the alphabet to guide prayer, one letter at a time.
In the book’s introduction, author John Kramp shares his own struggles in his prayer life and explains how Psalm 119 inspired him. Each of the psalm’s twenty-two sections is an acrostic poem in which every line begins with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The letter serves as the heading for that section. For instance, the first section begins with the Hebrew letter “aleph,” and lines one through eight all open with a word beginning with “aleph.” The psalmist works his way through the Hebrew alphabet in this fashion, ending with the last letter in the Hebrew alphabet, “taw.”
The way this approach translates to the English alphabet is as follows:
- Twenty-six sections (one for each letter in the English alphabet)
- Each section has eight lines
- In the first section, all eight lines begin with the letter A
- And so forth, until the twenty-sixth section, which begins with the letter Z
A Way to Pray That Benefits All Believers
Within this framework, every letter of the alphabet becomes an invitation to a more consistent and intentional prayer life. Focusing on a single letter can allow us to pray in a way that’s more specific and less abstract, anchoring our thoughts and feelings in concrete words. Other benefits of praying through the alphabet include:
- Taking the pressure off us to find the “perfect” words to pray to God
- Providing a scaffolding for our prayers without diminishing our ability to be honest
- Helping prayer feel more personal, as we select unique words to use for each line of the acrostic
- Giving us a way to pray that grows with us and allows us to revisit the same letter with as many prayer variations as we want
Following this framework fits the needs of Christians in every context and situation. Busy Christians can focus on specific prayers and feel more connected and uplifted. New believers can have a scaffolding that builds their prayer confidence. Parents can collaborate on prayers with their children, a fun way for them to speak to God together, bond with one another, and expand their vocabularies. And anyone who feels stuck in their prayer life can use the framework as a springboard to more vibrant engagement with God.
Ditch Your Perfection and Need to Perform
However, this tool isn’t meant to be used in a rigid way, and it’s not about performance or perfection. All too often, even things that are God-pleasing can become just another item on our to-do lists.
The goal here isn’t to “finish the alphabet” but to grow in relationship with God.
Whether you’re working through the alphabet on your own—such as during personal devotional and journaling time—or using it with others, such as for family devotions or in small groups—use your God-given creativity to express heartfelt prayers to the Heavenly Father who delights to hear from His children. As it says in Psalm 145:18,
The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth. — NIV
How to Begin Praying the Alphabet, Right Where You Are
You might be thinking, This sounds like a great way to pray! But how do I get started?
Let’s begin with the letter A! You can either use the downloadable resources provided or your preferred method for capturing your thoughts (a piece of paper, journal, notes app on your phone, etc.).
- First, brainstorm a list of A words that resonate with you. If you need help, flip or click through a dictionary or use a search engine. Here’s a list of sample words:
adoration, awesome, anxious, almighty, admit, accept
- Then, write the opening line of a prayer that uses one of those A words. For this exercise, we’ll use the word “almighty”:
Almighty God, You alone are worthy of our praise.
- From there, keep adding lines until you have eight in total:
Almighty God, You alone are worthy of our praise.
All of heaven adores You, and so do I.
Although we fall short of Your glory,
allow us to come into Your presence with thanksgiving.
Alleluias springing forth from our lips,
as we stand in awe of Your holiness and perfection.
Accept my humble prayer, Lord, in Jesus’ name.
Amen.
Congrats—you’ve just used the Praying the Alphabet framework to write your first acrostic prayer! That’s all it takes to start this transformative practice.
Written for Devotionals Daily featuring Praying the Alphabet.
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Your Turn
Praying doesn’t have to be hard! There are many methods to make your prayer life less complicated and easier. Why not try praying the alphabet today? ~ Devotionals Daily
Don't miss this free Praying the Letter A Sampler from Praying the Alphabet.