“Every great movement of God can be traced to a kneeling figure.” (D.L. Moody)
Pictures exist of small children doing it
with folded hands while kneeling at their bed at night. You’ve heard live (or on
TV) a chorus of unison voices following the lead of a minister during a church
service. Is it a regular part of your morning, mealtime, and evening routines? Possibly,
you did this once during a particularly scary or painful experience. “Dear God,
if you’re up there, help.” If you didn’t grow up in any particular
denomination, it may be a practice you consider odd, or awkward, or mysterious.
Prayer is how believers make their praise and requests known to God. Anyone can
cry out to their Heavenly Father 24/7 for His guidance, healing, deliverance,
mercy, or miracles. What can a believer do to promote a meaningful, powerful
prayer life? Here are five guidelines to consider:
Make prayer active and multi-sensory: Prayer grows
dull when you turn it into a purely mental exercise. God made you a creative being
so why don’t you bring creativity to your prayer life? Lighting a fragrant
candle can send a signal to your brains: “It’s time to pray.” It can
bring a sacred sense of awe to a few minutes of prayer. Listening to music can
help you focus on God.
Many people enjoy
doodling, drawing, or painting while they pray. Help out an unfocused mind with
a prayer journal. Making a list of requests keeps your mind alert, and stop to
pray for each request after writing it down. Write out longer prayers like a
letter. A prayer journal builds faith when
you look back over your requests and recall God’s answers.
Remember you don’t
have to sit quietly to pray. Some good prayer times can happen in the beauty of
nature. Praying aloud also helps to keep your mind engaged.
Make prayer an integral part of your
day: These
two verses confuse me: “Make your life a
prayer. And in the midst of everything be always giving thanks, for this
is God’s perfect plan for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thess.
5:16-17, TPT) Is this possible? Try this experiment. Start and end
your day with prayer. Lift up short prayers to God as often as you can
throughout your day.
Pray over your
schedule. Ask God to help you with your to-do list. When you hear a troubling
news report, lift the situation up to God. Say a prayer for your spouse or
child as you give them a hug. Pray for the person you’re talking to through
social media. Give thanks whenever you stop at red lights while driving. Look
for prayer moments that work for your life.
Pray expectantly: Prayer becomes a
lifeless exercise when you’re not looking for answers. Jesus invites you to
expect God to work. “Continue to ask, and God will give to
you. Continue to search, and you will find. Continue to knock, and the door
will open for you." (Matthew 7:7,
ERV) How much more exciting prayer becomes when you keep your eyes open to
watch for God’s answers. How many answers can you miss because you didn’t expect
God to respond?
Pray simply: You might think you
have to pray passionate, persuasive words for God to hear you, but in reality
He listens even to your shortest emergency prayers. “The fewer the words,
the better the prayer,” said Martin Luther. Isn’t that reassuring? You can talk
to God in everyday language, just like you talk to a friend.
You don’t have to
pray long. God delights in a simple word of praise, like “Lord, I love
you.” He treasures the anguished prayer of a parent when they call, “Heal
my child.” He answers the simplest request: “Lord, give me strength
for today.”
Read the Bible and pray over verses: Have you ever had a one-sided conversation
with someone who talked continually without listening to you? The conversation
didn’t go very far, did it? You do the same thing to God when you pray without
reading the Bible, His eternal letter
of love and wisdom to you. Reading scripture helps you get to know God.
It brings life to your
prayers. If you want to have a more effective conversation with God, let
David’s words in the Psalms enliven your prayers. Stop in the gospels in the
life of Jesus to pray over a verse that interests you. Ask God to work that truth
into your heart. Let the words of Paul’s letters give you specific prayer
requests for yourself and the people you love.
“A day without
prayer is a day without blessing, and a life without prayer is a life
without power.”
(Edwin Harvey)[i]
[i] Adapted from:
· “How to Pray: 5 Practical Tips” by Betsy
de Cruz
· “Prayer” by Garfield Memorial Church
· “Why Christians Pray & the
Meaning of Prayer in the Bible” by Julia Oates
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