Prayer School: Bethany Morris’ Story
Hello GFC family, I’m Bethany Morris. In January 2026, I attended Prayer School at GFC, a class about providing structure in our prayer life to support spiritual growth. I previously wrote a blog about my initial impressions of Prayer School, with a promise of a follow-up blog to come later. So, this is Part 2 of my story…
For those of you that didn’t see the first blog, Matt had asked during Prayer School that we take the structure suggested during the class and apply it for 40 days without evaluation or alteration. After 40 days, we could then determine if we felt like we had a deeper relationship with God through our spiritual practice of prayer and if it was something to keep doing. As of the writing of this blog, I am on Day 75 and would like to share some insights from my own personal experience.
It’s difficult to put into words just how deeply putting structure into my prayer life has improved my relationship with God. I had feared that the liturgical prayers that were suggested during Prayer School would become rote and monotonous. But instead, I discovered that they have become a source of inspiration. They help to get my heart in the right posture for prayer and organize my thoughts. Using them has allowed me to have richer, deeper, more meaningful conversations with God than I have in the past. And having a designated time for quiet contemplation gives me the space to be open to revelation from Him. A chance to just “be still and know that I am God”, as it says in Psalms.
I find myself spontaneously repeating the liturgical prayers throughout the day. One of my favorites is “give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth our praise, not only with our lips, but also with our lives, by giving up ourselves to your service.” Isn’t that beautiful? So much wisdom packed into a couple of lines!
The most meaningful part during the structured prayer time, for me, is when I pray the Lord’s Prayer as written, and then I pray it again, but with my own words. Taking each line and putting my own thoughts and feelings into it, whatever that looks like that day. Some days it’s simply a paraphrase, but other days it leads to a much deeper prayer with respect to that phrase. Sometimes, it’s going deeper into what “daily bread” looks like for that day, or what it means to “deliver us from evil” in this broken world. If you’ve never prayed like that, I highly recommend trying it. It makes the Lord’s Prayer so much more reflective and personal.
Now, I don’t believe that God hears my prayers any more now, after Prayer School, than when I was just doing my “popcorn” prayers throughout the day. His goodness and faithfulness haven’t changed because of something that I am doing. It has, however, changed me. It has changed MY heart!
If you’re curious, or longing for more consistency in your prayer life, I want to encourage you to take the next step and join when Prayer School comes around again. Just come willing to show up and let God meet you in the process. My hope is that, as you practice, you’ll discover the same gift I have: not a “better” way to pray, but a deeper awareness of His presence, His mercy, and His voice in your everyday life.
