A Guide To Prayer

Many have found this structure helpful in developing their personal prayer lives.  This outline is from chapter one of Isaac Watts' "A Guide to Prayer," first published in 1715.

INVOCATION

1.   Mention of one or more of the names or titles of God.

2.   A declaration of our desire and design to worship him.

3.   A desire of his assistance and acceptance, under a sense of our own insufficiency and unworthiness, in such language as this:  “Lord, quicken us to call upon thy name.”

ADORATION

1.   A mention of his nature as God, with the highest admiration and reverence.

2.   The mention of his many attributes, with due expressions of praise and with the exercise of suitable grace and affection, as his power, his justice, his wisdom, his sovereignty, his holiness, his goodness and mercy.

3.   The mention of his many works, of creation, of providence and of grace, with proper praises.

4.   The mention of his relation to us as a creator, as a father, as a redeemer, as a king, as an almighty friend, and our everlasting portion.

CONFESSION

1.   A humble confession of the lowliness of our original nature; our distance from God, as we are creatures; our subjection to him; and our constant dependence on him.

2.   A confession of our sins:  both original, which belong to our nature; and actual, that have been found in the course of our lives.

3.   A confession, arising from our sense of all our aggravated sins, that we deserve punishment and are unworthy of mercy.

4.   A confession or humble representation of our wants and sorrow of every kind.

PETITION

1.   Deprecation:  a desire of deliverance from evil (temporal, spiritual, eternal).

2.   Comprecation:  a request of good things to be bestowed (temporal, spiritual, eternal).

3.   Supplication for the church of Christ, for Zion lies near to the heart of God and her name is written upon the palms of the hands of our Redeemer.

4.   Supplication for God’s mercy for the nation to which we belong.

5.   Imprecation, never against our personal enemies, but only against the enemies of Christ and such as are irreconcilable to him.

PLEADING

1.   We may plead with God from the greatness of our wants, our dangers or our sorrows, whether they relate to the soul or the body, to this life or the life to come, to ourselves or those for whom we pray.

2.   The many perfection of the nature of God provide another kind of argument in prayer:  “For thy mercies’ sake, O Lord, save me.”

3.   Another argument in pleading with God may be drawn form the several relations in which God stands to men, particularly to his own people.

4.   The various and particular promises of the covenant of grace form another class of arguments to use in prayer.

5.   The name and honour of God in the world is another powerful argument.

6.   Former experiences of ourselves and others are another set of arguments to make use of in prayer.

7.   The most powerful and most prevailing argument is the name and mediation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

PROFESSION, OR SELF-DEDICAITON

1.   A profession of our relationship to God.

2.   A profession of our former transactions with God.

3.   A present surrender of ourselves to God and a profession of the present exercise of our affections and graces towards him.

4.   A profession of our humble and holy resolutions to be the Lord’s forever.

THANKSGIVING

1.   Those benefits which God has bestowed on us without our asking are proper to be mentioned in the first place, for they are the effects of his rich and preventing mercy.

2.   We must give thanks for the benefits we have received as an answer to prayer.

BLESSING

1.   Mentioning the many attributes and glories of God with inward joy, satisfaction and pleasure.

2.   Wishing the glories of God may forever continue, and rejoicing at the assurance of it.

AMEN, OR THE CONCLUSION

1.   A belief of all that we have said concerning God and ourselves, of all our ascriptions of honour to God in the mention of his name, attributes, and works; and an inward persuasion of our own unworthiness, our wants and our sorrows which we have before expressed.

2.   A wishing and desiring to obtain all that we have prayed for, longing after it and looking for it.

3.   A confirmation of all our professions, promises and engagements to God.

4.   The hope and sure expectation of the acceptance of our persons, and audience of our prayers.

Get the whole book here: A Guide to Prayer.