“We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you.” Colossians 1:3
There are many ways we can pray and many things we can say in our prayers. Sometimes it is good to have a plan before we begin to pray. That way we don’t ramble or forget to say some things. Someone helped us make such a plan when they designed the five-finger prayer. It’s an unusual name, but it may be helpful for us when we pray.
To use the five-finger prayer, we first begin by folding our hands in front of us. Notice that the finger closest to us is our thumb. The thumb reminds us to begin our prayer for those closest to us. That means we could include our parents, brothers, and sisters. We could ask the Lord to watch over them and protect them and to strengthen their faith. We might even ask for healing or help for them when facing difficult situations.
The next finger we call the index finger. Sometimes we call it the pointer because we use this finger to point to things. This part in our prayer is meant for those who lead us or point us in the right way. That would be our parents, teachers, and pastors. They dedicate their lives to pointing us to heaven. We must remember to thank God for these helpful people on our list.
The next finger is the tallest finger. It leads the other fingers in length. That should remind us to pray for those who lead us such as our president, and representatives in government. We pray that God would lead them to make godly decisions.
The fourth finger is our ring finger. Of all the fingers, this one is the weakest. It’s the one hardest to train to type or play piano because it is so weak. It can remind us to pray for those who are weakest. That would include sick people, and people who cannot care for themselves.
Finally we come to the little finger. This is the least significant of all the fingers, and so we save the last words of our prayer for ourselves. The little finger should remind us to ask God for guidance, strength, and protection.
Now when we wish to pray for others, we just remember our five-finger prayer where we pray for those closest to us, our leaders, those who point us the right way, those who are weak, and finally ourselves. What a wonderful prayer plan to follow!
Lord teach my heart the blessèd way,
To imitate your Son!
Teach me, O God, in truth to pray,
Your will, not mine, be done. Amen.
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