When I pray, sometimes I think I have to hit upon just the right words for it to really work. Or I measure myself with spiritual giants like Billy Graham or Mother Teresa and imagine they have an inside track with God that I lack.
God has given us the gift of 24/7 access to His throne room, but we easily get discouraged when we pray. (Maybe because we over-spiritualize it?)
We think God’s waiting for us to get it right.
We forget that prayer is simply talking to our Father, who delights in us. Have you ever met a parent who frowns with disapproval as his toddler babbles? He is thrilled! In the same way, God loves our faltering, stuttering prayers.
We think we’re not living up to the mark when we read verses like these:
“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” (Colossians 4:2)
“Rejoice always,pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances…” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18a)
We wonder, how do we devote ourselves to prayer when we have regular lives with a job and kids? Is it possible to pray without ceasing?
Surely, Paul was not talking about a never-ending prayer meeting or devotional time, but about an attitude of the heart. Devoted prayer starts with a heart attitude to love God and turn to Him throughout the day. It’s prayer that watches for God’s answer and thanks Him for what He has done.
Here are 3 Ways to Revive our Prayer Lives and Grow Closer to God:
1. Make Prayer Part of your Routine
How about trying an experiment? Try starting and ending your day with prayer. In the morning, tell God one thing you love about Him. Pray over your schedule and ask Him to bless your day. At night, thank God for how He showed Himself to you that day or read a Psalm before bedtime.
Throughout your day, lift up short prayers to God as often as you can. When you hear a troubling news report, lift the situation up to God. Say a prayer for your spouse or child as you give him or her a hug. A friend of mine gives thanks whenever she stops at red lights while driving.
Look for prayer moments that work for your life.
2. Make Your Prayer Life Active
I’m so glad we don’t have to sit still to pray because I wouldn’t last long. My best prayer times happen out on the walking trail. Praying aloud also helps me keep my mind engaged.
When I pray sitting down, using a prayer journal helps me focus. Making a list of requests keeps my mind alert; I stop to pray for each petition after jotting it down. Later my prayer journal builds my faith when I look back over it and recall God’s answers.
3. Expect Answers
Prayer becomes a lifeless exercise when we’re not looking for God to respond. Jesus invites us to expect God to work. “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7)
How much more exciting prayer becomes when we keep our eyes open to watch for God’s answers. Sometimes I wonder how many answers we miss because we don’t really expect God to respond.
How about getting started today? Which one of these ideas would work for you?
If you get distracted like I do, don’t get discouraged. Just get back on track as soon as you notice your mind wandering. Pray and watch for God’s answers, so you can thank Him.
He might answer differently than you hope, but His answer will always be better than what you expect.
In case you missed it, you might want to check out my last post on prayer: How to Find Joy When You Pray.
Need ideas on how to get more out of your quiet time? I wrote More of God: A Distracted Woman’s Guide to More Meaningful Quiet Times to help overwhelmed and distracted women recover a fresh sense of God’s presence, learn to hear His voice, and grow their prayer lives. Click on the image below for more info:
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Photo Credit: Melika
Prayer is the spiritual discipline that keeps me wrestling. I want to be more focused. I decide to keep better records of answered prayer. I lean into listening. I memorize scripture with tenacity and turn it into prayer. The methods come and go–I am SO distractable and flaky, but God meets my intention with his own faithfulness. Thanks be to God that he’s listening and attentive even when my attention leaves something to be desired.
Amen! Preach it, sister! I can learn so much from you. Love that “lean into listening” and turning Scripture into prayer. <3
Betsy,
As I’m getting older and some brain cells are disappearing, I really NEED to write down prayer requests because I have wonderful intentions, but the memory…my memory is forgetful. I know that to be a better prayer warrior for others I need to write it down! I’m getting better at keeping the dialog open with God. I often pray out loud at home. My beagle has gotten used to me “talking to myself”. I really do want to be better at praying for others. Thanks for the nudge I needed this am! Great post…
Blessings,
Bev xx
Thanks so much, Bev. I appreciate your encouragement. I know what you mean about forgetting to pray for others. A friend of mine jots things on her calendar, where she’ll see requests…
I love how you show us in such practical ways how prayer can (and should) be part of our lives! It’s a beautiful thing when we can live a life of prayer instead of compartmentalize it into what we think it should look like.
I hear God a lot when I walk too. That’s why I don’t listen to anything when I walk. It’s a beautiful (and sometimes hard) dialog and being present with Him.
Yes, to hearing God while walking! Lately I realized I was listening to too many podcasts while walking, and it was crowding prayer out! I’ve started trying to be more intentional again.
Love this, Betsy. Will be sharing with my prayer group. I am trying to set alarms on my phone to help me to remember to pray throughout the day.
I am doing the same! Some days. 🙂
These are great practical tips. I find I do some of my best praying while I’m walking too, and writing prayers down is also really helpful in keeping me focused.
Thanks, Lesley! Yes to walking and prayer!
I am in the process of revitalizing my prayer life after realizing mine had become dull and routine. I’m writing more, and praying a lot more scripture. Visiting you today from Mary Geisen’s link up. laurenspakrs.net
Thanks so much for stopping by, Lauren!
expect answers! yes!
this should be a given seeing how faithful God has been. but for too many of us, well, we seem surprised and a bit taken back when God opens or closes a door, or whispers direction, or shows us mercy.
what a needful reminder, Betsy. thank you!
Yes, sometimes I think I’m praying “on auto-pilot,” without expecting any answer!!!!
Great thoughts! I am going to work on “expecting answers”. I really never thought about the importance of expecting answers from God. Thank you for this reminder to not only pray but to just talk to God.
Great post! So many helpful reminders to lead us in drawing closer to the Lord in our prayer. Looking for His response is key, it is so faith-building to know we can watch for Him to work on our behalf. And, somehow, He always amazes us with His answers! What an awesome God we serve! Thanks so much for sharing this!
Betsy, I don’t think we ever get to the place where we don’t need reminders and encouragement in our prayer life. Maybe as you said we over-spiritualize it. I, too, find a prayer journal very helpful. It keeps my mind from wandering as much. Thanks for these suggestions. I love your photo, by the way. It just popped out at me on Crystal’s HeartEncouragement linkup. Easter blessings to you and yours!
More beautiful encouragement to keep going…and pray. Love the tips, Betsy. I pray while walking at times too, especially around the kitchen island.
practically, you’re good at showing what the bible teaches. Thank you