Using Logos to help with my prayer life

I'm concerned with my prayer life.I've been thinking of different ways to get past the stock phrases and narrow subjects that have been characterizing my prayers and wanted to tap into the community here.

The current experiment is to have a daily prayer as well as themed prayers each day of the week accompanied by relevant readings.

Example: Monday would be Thanksgiving prayers and a reading plan that goes through passages brought up by "song:speechAct:topic:Thanksgiving". Tuesday could be laments and prayers for those suffering or my own disappointments, etc.. I have layouts for each day of the week which include the relevant readings and prayer list.

So if you don't mind sharing...

How do you use Logos to aid in your prayer life?
What resources have helped you develop your prayer life and understand it better?
What themes or concerns do your prayers follow? (I'm thinking of how Psalms are classified in the Psalms Explorer Tool)

I'm especially interested in answers from those with more liturgical backgrounds as I was raised in a tradition that is typically apathetic or dismissive of a rigorous liturgy.

Thank you!

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Comments

David Thomas

I deeply appreciate Pete Scazzero's writings from the Evangelical tradition. As you have asked for liturgical influence, this may help establish new rhythms in your (or any forum user) prayer life

https://www.logos.com/product/41668/emotionally-healthy-spirituality-day-by-day-a-40-day-journey-with-the-daily-office

Mike Binks

Without answering any of your questions Morgan you might try opening your library and searching for 'Calendar Devotionals'. There should be a facet with that name down the left hand side. See if anything takes your fancy.

Lew Worthington

Like Mike, I may not provide a great answer, but I do appreciate and relate to your statement and question. I've toggled back and forth most of my life between being very systematic to being more spontaneous. The risk of the former is how dispassionate my prayer life could be (it is easier for me, for example, to sing Hallelujah when my grandkids jump on me than it is to sing God's praises because the list says to); the risk of the latter is that discipline is too lightly prioritized. The way my psychology works makes it difficult to use a Logos prayer document since it always drives me to think of it in terms of a todo list or in terms of a database function. So to answer question #1: I have mostly put it away. I do use the Logos prayer list as a reminder tool, but not religiously (pun semi-intended).

Morgan

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1236653#Comment_1236653

Without answering any of your questions Morgan you might try opening your library and searching for 'Calendar Devotionals'. There should be a facet with that name down the left hand side. See if anything takes your fancy.

I have some calendar devotions, not many, but they tend to have more of a bible study style than prayer.

I deeply appreciate Pete Scazzero's writings from the Evangelical tradition. As you have asked for liturgical influence, this may help establish new rhythms in your (or any forum user) prayer life

https://www.logos.com/product/41668/emotionally-healthy-spirituality-day-by-day-a-40-day-journey-with-the-daily-office

This seems more in line with what I'm looking into, thanks for the recommendation.

Like Mike, I may not provide a great answer, but I do appreciate and relate to your statement and question. I've toggled back and forth most of my life between being very systematic to being more spontaneous. The risk of the former is how dispassionate my prayer life could be (it is easier for me, for example, to sing Hallelujah when my grandkids jump on me than it is to sing God's praises because the list says to); the risk of the latter is that discipline is too lightly prioritized. The way my psychology works makes it difficult to use a Logos prayer document since it always drives me to think of it in terms of a todo list or in terms of a database function. So to answer question #1: I have mostly put it away. I do use the Logos prayer list as a reminder tool, but not religiously (pun semi-intended).

I've always been in the spontaneous camp myself and have found it has developed lately into something both dispassionate and too lightly prioritized at the same time. I'm hoping to use a systematic approach that will then grow into something more natural. I was struck by a line in a short article by Conrad Gempf "A typical non-messianic Jew thinks he or she needs to make themselves feel thankful and only then give thanks. I want to give thanks and allow that to help me to feel thankful."

MJ. Smith

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1236669#Comment_1236669

Take Our Moments # 1: An Anabaptist Prayer Book | Logos Bible Software and Take Our Moments # 2: An Anabaptist Prayer Book Advent through Pentecost | Logos Bible Software are something I often recommend. They are very well designed to support additional spontaneous prayer and to keep you praying through "dry spells".

SineNomine

I'm especially interested in answers from those with more liturgical backgrounds

I qualify, but I'm going to give you a suggestion that isn't per se liturgical: you may wish to consider daily periods of lectio divina. (Practitioners of lectio divina who are from liturgical backgrounds frequently employ it for one or more of that day's lectionary readings. This compels a certain variety of material.)

Rosie Perera

This is not within the confines of Logos, but I have been helped in dry spells in my prayer life by using daily prayer apps/podcasts such as (especially) Pray As You Go. I've come across a couple of others that looked good, but that one is the best one that I was most consistent with.

GaoLu

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1236704#Comment_1236704

I appreciate Kenneth Boa's Handbook to Prayer:

https://www.logos.com/product/570/handbook-to-prayer

Depending on your library, it might be quite inexpensive here:

https://www.logos.com/product/217240/logos-6-pentecostal-and-charismatic-starter-legacy-library

Aaron Sauer

My prayer life needs work as well. This has been helpful

Piercing Heaven: Prayers of the Puritans

Jonathan Bradley

How do you use Logos to aid in your prayer life?

What resources have helped you develop your prayer life and understand it better?

What themes or concerns do your prayers follow? (I'm thinking of how Psalms are classified in the Psalms Explorer Tool)

Morgan,

For the first question, I use the prayer list and, at one point, I had a layout dedicated to prayer (notes, prayer list, Bible all open) and had this as my default layout when opening Logos.

Second, one of my favorite reads on prayer is "Praying the Bible" by Donald Whitney. It's truly helped my prayer life immensely. There's another book I read recently, but I cannot recall the name at the moment.
Also, the chapter on Prayer from R. Kent Hughes book "Disciplines of a Godly Man" is a great chapter (His wife wrote "Disciplines of a Godly Woman", I haven't read it yet, but chapter 4 is the chapter on prayer in her book). In the chapter, R. Kent Hughes wrote to spend 5 minutes on Bible Reading, 5 minutes on Meditation, and 5 minutes of disciplined prayer, and begin with that foundation.

I don't have an answer to your third question.

I hope this helps. Blessings!