5.15.2013
4.16.2013
spiritual habits: prayer
Praying
is one of my very favorite things to do (in case you didn’t notice, I mention
prayer 35 times in this article).
Not only is prayer an incredible thing because of what it produces (answered prayers), it’s also something that is
demonstrated all throughout the Bible.
Did you get that? All throughout scripture there are references to
prayer and praying. We learn how to pray, what to pray, when to pray, and
see numerous examples of prayers. These are all great places to start reading
about prayer:
- Matthew 6
- James 5
- Romans 12
- Psalm 66
So we know that we’re supposed to pray but how do we put that into practice?
I’m definitely not an expert on prayer but I’m learning to make it a
habit. I want to share seven strategies I’ve used to make prayer a bigger part of my daily life.
I’ve used each strategy at different times in my life and they’ve proved vital
to making prayer a natural part of my day.
- Set an alarm on your phone. I know you have a phone or an iPod or something that makes noise when you want it to. For about a year I set a daily alarm for prayer. In fact, I think during some months in that year, I had more than one alarm go off in my day. Each would have a different person’s name and I would take the time then to bring that person before God and lay down the burdens I knew were around them. Sometimes I prayed for their day and sometimes for their future. I covered things such as their school life, work life, relationships, family, health, and more. I would typically pray for one person a day for a month. Sometimes I would let them know I was praying for them but mostly I would just keep quiet about it. The prayers could be long or short – sometimes they would last a long time as I let the Holy Spirit lead my prayers and sometimes they would be a simple shout-out.
- Pray through the book of Psalms. When I’ve taken time to pray through the Psalms, one Psalm at a time, I’m often amazed how often what I read is relevant to what I am feeling. It’s pretty cool. Each Psalm is easy to pray because it typically won’t be too lengthy (just wait until you get to Psalm 119 which is 176 verses long – I’d suggest that you break that one up into a couple days). I truly think the Psalms are beautiful.
- Find a prayer friend. Whether you work full-time (meet on a coffee break or for an early morning breakfast), go to school (lunch break at school sounds like a great time), are a full-time Mommy (play-date time) or fall under a different category (just make time), there are many opportunities when you can find time to chat. Make it in person, meet over skype, meet on the phone, or meet via email. Find a friend who either already demonstrates a passion for prayer or desires to gain that passion. Start meeting up and praying together. Send texts to each other a few times a week or month to make sure that you’re constantly in prayer. The Bible tells us to “rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). Having a friend who is praying for your prayer life will lead to answered prayers – because you’ll start praying! Hooray for that!
note: great post on making a habit of always praying! wanted to share it because it really helps and can benefit you, my dear readers. i have started praying much more than i used to and feel much closer to my Lord.
