The Discipline of Lent, Part III

Part III of the this series on Lenten Discipline: "our Lord's call to intensify our struggle against sin, death, and the devil— all that prevents us from trusting in God and loving each other" (Maundy Thursday litany). When we come to today's topic, prayer, we finally come to one that all Christians can agree on. Not all Christians are united their understanding of such God-given tools as repentance and fasting, but prayer is one of God's gifts that nearly all Christians agree upon.
The Discipline of Lent is four-fold: repentance, fasting, prayer and works of love. Today, then, we'll touch base on the third Lenten Discipline: prayer.
Prayer First of all, we need to answer the question of what prayer is. I like to answer it by stating first what prayer is NOT. Prayer is not mysticism. Prayer is not some sort of mystical activity in which we are drawn closer to God in contemplation and communication. If we want to be drawn closer to God, we go to God's Word and God's Sacraments. Prayer, by contrast, is us talking to God. It's a communication with God that naturally finds its anchor and focus in God's Word... and the best prayers are prayed with an open Bible in front of us. But prayer is not listening TO God, it's TALKING to God.
Daily prayer might include these things:

1. Begin by making the sign of the cross upon yourself in remembrance of your baptism as you speak the words of invocation ("in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen").
2. Use a devotional aid such as Portals of Prayer, the Treasury of Prayer, the Lutheran Hour, or CPH as a guide for prayer and meditation.
3. Use one of the Daily Prayer or Responsive Prayer services in the Lutheran Service Book (pages 294-298), following the lessons in the Daily Lectionary (pages 299-304).
4. The Psalms are a wonderful treasury for prayer. Use them. Sing them. Pray them.
5. Luther's Small Catechism is also is a wonderful tool for meditation and prayer. If you'd like, check out this unique resource: the Small Catechism in Prayer Form.
6. Use the Ten Commandments as a tool to examine yourself. Read each commandment one by one and hold yourself up to the mirror of God's Law. As it reveals to you your sins, turn to God in repentance and pray for forgiveness — knowing also that God's absolution certainly comes to you without delay.
7. Close your prayer time with the Lord's Prayer and with this little Lenten prayer: "Lord God heavenly Father, thank you this day and for this time of prayer. Through the Discipline of Lent, help me to grow in my faith in Your works; through Jesus Christ my Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever, Amen."