by Joanne Wiklund
A friend of mine with a full and exciting lifestyle once told me that prayer was so important to her. I knew that, I heard her and loved her through many a prayer she made between us and in groups. But at one point, she told me that one of the prayers she prayed a lot she called an Arrow Prayer. I told her I’d never heard that term. She laughed and said she hadn’t either. It was only what she called it herself when she used it privately.
How do you do that and when? I asked. But most of all, I wondered Why? Why would any prayer have a name like that? She was a unique individual with a vivid imagination, so I wasn’t surprised at her choice of titles, only intrigued. She laughed and said, Oh, that’s when things get out of control and I know I really need Divine Intervention, instantly.
What makes that different from regular prayer? I asked.
It’s how you do it, and when, she said. In the midst of chaos, you simply put your head back, look up to Heaven and yell HELP! Send that Arrow Prayer straight upstairs.
I have been known to use an Arrow Prayer, but only in desperation. So often that’s when we need to pray, especially these days, with chaos around us daily, in all quarters of our lives. What I’ve been trying to do is increase my thankfulness in prayer. Worship is praise for God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. It is possible to worship alone and frankly, the Bible suggests we find a good closet and pray there. Another late friend of mine was one of my prayer warriors. As the daughter of a preacher, she knew how to pray and did so any time she was asked to add hers to others to hopefully make a difference in an outcome. But she always reminded me that her father was adamant that it is necessary to spend as much time saying “Thank You” to God after the event prayed for is resolved as you did asking for the outcome you hoped for. She did so routinely.
Prayers of Thankfulness can hold the same priority as an Arrow Prayer, but with a different purpose entirely. Saying thank you to anyone who helps you is important.
Psalm 50:14 “Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the Most High, 15: And call upon me in the day of trouble: and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.”
Romans 12:12 “Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer.”
