Prayer is such an interesting topic. It's one of those universally accepted ideas no matter where you travel around the world. You may have different faiths, different upbringings in different cultures, but the language of prayer in many ways is unifying.
As a Christian I find this fascinating. That we can live in a culture that specifically opposes Christianity but when the going gets tough, all prayers are welcome. I believe our prayer life is not just a life line for believers but also a tool to be used to reach our world.
A world that is dying and in desperate need of hope.
Prayer is a cry. It's in a very literal definition a plea or a request being made known to God. It's a 'calling out' to a higher power. And that's important, because prayer is an act of surrender. When you pray, it's a choice you are making to indicate that you cannot do it all on your own and that you need divine intervention.
As Christians, this is pivotal to our faith. Our prayer life is our way of dialoguing with God. Not only speaking to Him, but hearing from Him as well. Imagine trying to have a successful relationship that lasts with someone you are unwilling to listen to. Or someone you never speak to or someone who is only allowed to hear your demands, while you never take the time to hear what they have to say.
Those relationships don't last. And it's the same with God. It needs to be a 2-way street.
And so,
Here are 7 ways or tips that can hopefully help you revive your prayer life!
#1 - Re-envision Prayer
Prayer is meant to be a tool used to draw you closer to God. A catalyst used to help people find life in Jesus and a weapon used to destroy the work of the enemy who has been harming mankind. Prayer is being able to connect with God in the most intimate way while still on earth. You need to see prayer in this way before you can begin to revive it! Prayer cannot be the mundane thing you add on to things like going to sleep or before a meal.
Praying without purpose will phase out over time. Praying with purpose will advance you and all God has for you.
#2 - K.I.S.S (Keep It Simple Silly)
Often we complicate things we don't understand or aren't comfortable with. I would encourage you to begin with the basics. Pray what you do know. Don't bite off more than you can chew. Start with a few minutes a day and build that time up slowly. Share your heart with God becasue He wants to hear you! Don't try and be something you're not. It's good to pray in groups so that you hear what prayer can sound like, but don't copy others, instead learn from them.
There are some amazing books that can help with this. If you'd like some recommendations feel free to leave a comment or reach out to me and I'd be happy to suggest a few books.
#3 - Read Prayers in the Bible
There are so many good prayers in the Bible that we can read and learn from. I'd encourage you to study the different prayers like, Jesus' prayer in John 17, Jesus' teaching on prayer in Matthew 6 and Hannah's prayer in 1 Samuel. Read the Psalms where many of them were songs but also prayers from David or the writer to God.
Reading prayers helps us understand how to pray and this eliminates half the battle to pray.
#4 - Create Un-interrupted space
Between work, friendships to maintain and responsibilities, we don't create enough space to pause before God without distractions. Schedule time with God that cannot be interrupted. Put your phone on silent and use a physical bible and journal to avoid any distractions by your notifications. If you use a calendar, I'd encourage you to put this in your calendar.
We don't do what we don't schedule. And sure it may seem weird or silly to start, but all you need to do is build a healthy rhythm. Once you have that, you won't need to put prayer time with Jesus in your calendars anymore.
#5 - Find a Prayer buddy/Group
I said this earlier but praying in groups is powerful. I know it's daunting. 'What if I say the wrong thing or something that makes me look bad?' I get the fear. I've been there.
You know what's worse though? Never growing because of someone else's possible perception. The truth is if your church or friend group doesn't give you a healthy space to grow as a new Christian, maybe you need to find a better space to do that. The truth also is, most of the time people are not thinking about you as much as you think they are.
A healthy christian environment is one where whether you are near or far to Jesus, you have a safe, welcoming and non-judgmental space to grow in your faith.
So find a group you can practice praying in. Whether it's in the team prayer before church service, in a prayer group or something else.
Prayer is like a muscle, you need to get your reps in to get strong. That's repetition for those who don't know.
#6 - Fuel your prayers
Often times our prayers are just 'me' focused. It's ok to start here but not stay here. To really press into all the that God has for our prayer life, we need to press into other things like supplication (praying for others), missional prayer (praying for those who are evangelizing), praying for your leaders (especially your pastor), and spiritual warfare prayer.
Ask other's how you can be praying for them. Write them down in a handy place so that you can remember to pray for them wherever you go.
If you don't know what people are struggling with, how will you know what to pray for? And if you don't ask people, how will you know? It begins with some intentionality.
#7 - The Scriptures
This is kind of an additional point to fuelling your prayers but you have to let your time in God's Word fuel your prayers. Whether it's an encouragement, a promise, a blessing or a conviction, let the living and active Word speak and lead you in your prayer each day.
I hope this was helpful!
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Pastor Reuben