Arrow Prayers

“When You said, “Seek My face,” My heart said to You, “Your face Lord, I will seek.” - Psalms 27:8

Imagine an archer drawing back his bow. He takes his stance, focuses his aim on the target, and shoots, landing the bow perfectly in the center. Oftentimes, we resemble an archer, drawing back the bow of prayer and releasing it towards our Target, God. “Arrow” prayers as they are often called, are short little prayers said throughout one’s day usually targeted towards a specific situation or matter. They are known to pierce the veil that hangs between God and man, allowing for human nature to build a deep connection with God’s divinity. But how do we actually ensure this connection is built in the midst of such a chaotic life on Earth?

As students, servants, and young adults, it is really easy to get caught up in the whirlwinds of life. Our minds are focused on our academics, our jobs, and the pains of the world around us. As a result, we often forget or put aside time for organized prayer and quiet time with God. We become too tired or too busy to dedicate time to our spiritual lives, and the connection we have the Father begins to slowly weaken as we carry on. What arrow prayers do is that they allow you to talk to God in real-time as you go about your day-to-day routine. We as youth are oftentimes placed in incredibly difficult situations, where prayers like “Lord grant me the strength to handle this situation” or “Lord grant me the wisdom to speak to this person with grace” can actually save us from ourselves.

What is really beautiful about arrow prayers is that they allow us to bring our minds back to God throughout the day, creating a routine. Saint Paul reminds us in the book of 1 Thessalonians to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17), and in this manner, we can continue to acknowledge God’s presence and power in our lives. I believe that sometimes we forget how powerful the hands of God really are. These small prayers have the biggest impact, as they shoot from our hearts to God’s ears in a split second, calling Him to take action. In this way too we create a church within us, as Saint John Chrysostom writes “You can set up in altar to God in your minds by means of prayer. And so it is fitting tp pray at your trade, on a journey, standing at a counter, or sitting at your handicraft”.

When we stand before the altar in the church to pray, we are praying with intention. With hope. With trust, and with courage. I find it favorable to lead an intentional life, especially in a world where it is easy to lose sight of the Light of Christ. Arrow prayers provide us with a living church inside of us, in which the mind, heart, and spirit become one when we ask God to accept our supplications to Him during the day. They allow us to practice gratitude, thanking the Father for His constant love towards us. The best example of the use of arrow prayers comes out of the book of Psalms. If we examine the book of Psalms, we will notice that David calls upon the Lord frequently throughout, as we note that during this time David struggled greatly in his role as king over the people of Israel. He recalls his own faults and strengths, as well as the enemies stirred up against Him and often uses these arrow prayers as a means of gratitude and call for help to the Lord. We too become like David in our days here on Earth. As students, we face many challenges as the toil of our academics are too much to bear. It is then that we are reminded of the covenant we share with Christ, knowing that we must keep Him on the forefront of our minds and the center of all that we do. He is our light. He is our strength and our hope. The church of Christ lives in us and through us, as we are the shooters and God’s ears are our target.

“Lord hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.” -Psalm 130:2 How wonderful it is to share our hearts with the Lord!