#JUSTASK
At Riverside where I am so blessed to preach we have been talking about prayer & wrestling with some pretty deep questions. Questions like, Where are you God? If you, O Lord, kept a record of sin, who could stand? Whom shall I fear? How long, O Lord, will you forget me?
Wrestling with these questions, I believe, is incredibly helpful even when we aren’t after easy answers & quick fixes. It’s helpful to remember that these questions are found in the psalms, the prayer book of Jesus. It’s helpful to remember that the people of God for thousands of years have wrestled with these same questions. So if you’re asking these questions you are not alone.
But I also realize that it might be helpful to share some practical ideas & tips to help us in our prayer life. One disclaimer… I’m not the expert on prayer & my prayer life is far from perfect. But maybe these ideas will be helpful to you & encourage you as you continue to grow deeper in your relationship with God.
12 Tips to a Deeper Prayer Life:
- Routine. Pray at a set time every day. Early, late, mid day… doesn’t matter. Whatever works best for you.
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Distraction free zone. Turn off or move away from anything that dings, beeps, buzzes or says, “Mommy” or “Daddy!”
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Pray the Psalms. If you don’t know what to say, pray the Psalms. 1 a day for 150 days. Repeat as desired.
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Listen. Spend time listening, not just talking. Ever been in a conversation with someone & all they talk about is themselves?
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Pray more for others than yourself. Don’t just talk about yourself. Pray for others. Ask others to pray for you.
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Have a Prayer Partner. It’s great to have someone to keep you accountable in your prayer life. Plus, it gives you someone to pray for & someone who can pray for you.
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Experiment in Prayer. There are many different ways to pray. If you’re stuck in a rut, try a new way to pray. Prayer postures. Journal. Private worship. Breath Prayers. Jesus prayer. The Lord’s Prayer. Pray the hours. Prayer walk. etc.
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Pray specifically. James, the brother of Jesus once said, “You do not have because you do not ask.” James 4.2 Sometimes our prayers can get generic & ambiguous. What is it you want God to do for you specifically? Pray about that. Just ask. God is your Father & He loves you. What do you want Him to do for you today?
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Write it down. Write down all the ways you’ve seen God at work. When you pray specifically & write down the ways you see God work & answer your prayers, your faith will grow. Remember, Prayer over Time = Faith.
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Practice waiting on God. Ask God for something then resist the urge to fix it yourself. So many times we pray to God about something & then go fix it ourselves. Instead, put it in God’s hands & leave it there. Trust Him. Then wait on Him to work.
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A Statement of Faith. Start every prayer with a statement of faith. Something like, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Most High God.” Or, “God, You are good & Your love endures forever…” Beginning your prayer with a statement of faith is a helpful way of reminding yourself who God is & who you are not.
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Ask hard questions. The goal of prayer isn’t always to get answers. Something happens in prayer that is a great mystery. This is true because time spent in prayer is time spent in the presence of God. And when you spend time in the light of the presence of God you can’t help but be changed. Transformed.
Daily prayer is a training ground
Remember, the goal here isn’t to try all 12 of these at once. Pick one or two & continue to grow in prayer.
Daily prayer is a training ground. If you decided you were going to run a marathon, you would prepare & train for that race before you ran that race. The same is true for us as Christians. If you’re not in a season of difficulty now, pray. Pray every day. Create a habit of prayer. The relationship you cultivate with God now will carry you through the difficult season later.
Commit yourself to the practice of prayer, the discipline of prayer. And remember, even when it feels like you’re not accomplishing anything, you are. Time spent in prayer, time spent in the presence of God, is never wasted. God is doing more in you than you know.
Stay committed to prayer. Don’t give up on prayer. Just pray. Let prayer work in your life. Let God work in your life.
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