Do you struggle to pray regularly? Has prayer become one of those habits that you know you need to form but can’t seem to nail down? You aren’t alone. Many Christians struggle to form a healthy prayer life in their own lives. However, it may be due to a lack of understanding of just how important prayer is to the Christian. The truth is that developing a healthy prayer life has powerful implications for your entire life.
The first question we need to answer is what prayer truly is. Well, if our goal is to have a personal relationship with God, then we certainly need to communicate with Him. It’s no secret that communication is key to any relationship. Think about the person that is closest to you in your life. What would happen to your relationship if you never spoke to one another?
Relationships fall apart without communication and your relationship with God is no different. If you never commune with God through prayer, telling Him your thoughts, needs, and feelings, how could you expect to have a close relationship with Him?
Prayer not only builds your relationship with God, but it also brings many spiritual and mental benefits to your daily life. According to Scripture, prayer is a solution for many ills that we face on a daily basis. For example, take a look at Philippians 4:6-7 which says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
The very act of prayer nourishes your spirit as you commune with God and, according to these verses, even reduces anxiety and brings God’s peace to your life. Other verses in the Bible talk about how you can receive guidance, clarity, healing, discernment, and contentment; all through the power of prayer. Clearly, there are many things to be gained by the Christian through having a healthy prayer life, so why do we struggle so much to put it into practice?
The hard truth is that we just don’t tend to make prayer a priority in our lives. Let’s face it; life is busier than ever and you only have time for what you make time for. So, if we don’t intentionally and particularly set prayer as a high priority, it will never happen. Even when we do pray, we are often distracted, thinking of other things that need to be done or places that we need to go. Or, maybe you deal with neither of these things and simply feel inadequate to come before the throne of God in prayer.
No matter what you struggle with when it comes to prayer, know this from Hebrews 4:15-16: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Because of what Jesus did for us on the cross, we have the opportunity to draw near to God’s throne in prayer at all times. This means that we can and should take this opportunity with confidence and intentionality.
So, how can you make this a priority in your life and truly develop a healthy prayer life? A simple way to get started is to block out a specific time in your day that will be devoted to prayer and prayer alone. Remove all possible distractions and just sit and pray during that time. Creating a consistent routine of prayer is one of the best things that you can do for your prayer life.
If you struggle to pray or would like to have some kind of structure to your prayers, try using the ACTS method of prayer. This acronym stands for adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication. Start with praising God, move to confessing sins, thank God for what He’s done in your life, and then ask God to fill your needs and those of others. This is a great way to keep your prayers on track and know what to pray next.
Finally, don’t hesitate to incorporate prayer into other daily activities. Praying while you are doing other simple everyday tasks can be a great way to continually be connected to God throughout your day. Intentionally incorporate these things into your life and you will soon experience the joy of having a healthy prayer life in your relationship with God.
Do you struggle to pray regularly? Has prayer become one of those habits that you know you need to form but can’t seem to nail down? You aren’t alone. Many Christians struggle to form a healthy prayer life in their own lives. However, it may be due to a lack of understanding of just how important prayer is to the Christian. The truth is that developing a healthy prayer life has powerful implications for your entire life.
The first question we need to answer is what prayer truly is. Well, if our goal is to have a personal relationship with God, then we certainly need to communicate with Him. It’s no secret that communication is key to any relationship. Think about the person that is closest to you in your life. What would happen to your relationship if you never spoke to one another?
Relationships fall apart without communication and your relationship with God is no different. If you never commune with God through prayer, telling Him your thoughts, needs, and feelings, how could you expect to have a close relationship with Him?
Prayer not only builds your relationship with God, but it also brings many spiritual and mental benefits to your daily life. According to Scripture, prayer is a solution for many ills that we face on a daily basis. For example, take a look at Philippians 4:6-7 which says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
The very act of prayer nourishes your spirit as you commune with God and, according to these verses, even reduces anxiety and brings God’s peace to your life. Other verses in the Bible talk about how you can receive guidance, clarity, healing, discernment, and contentment; all through the power of prayer. Clearly, there are many things to be gained by the Christian through having a healthy prayer life, so why do we struggle so much to put it into practice?
The hard truth is that we just don’t tend to make prayer a priority in our lives. Let’s face it; life is busier than ever and you only have time for what you make time for. So, if we don’t intentionally and particularly set prayer as a high priority, it will never happen. Even when we do pray, we are often distracted, thinking of other things that need to be done or places that we need to go. Or, maybe you deal with neither of these things and simply feel inadequate to come before the throne of God in prayer.
No matter what you struggle with when it comes to prayer, know this from Hebrews 4:15-16: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Because of what Jesus did for us on the cross, we have the opportunity to draw near to God’s throne in prayer at all times. This means that we can and should take this opportunity with confidence and intentionality.
So, how can you make this a priority in your life and truly develop a healthy prayer life? A simple way to get started is to block out a specific time in your day that will be devoted to prayer and prayer alone. Remove all possible distractions and just sit and pray during that time. Creating a consistent routine of prayer is one of the best things that you can do for your prayer life.
If you struggle to pray or would like to have some kind of structure to your prayers, try using the ACTS method of prayer. This acronym stands for adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication. Start with praising God, move to confessing sins, thank God for what He’s done in your life, and then ask God to fill your needs and those of others. This is a great way to keep your prayers on track and know what to pray next.
Finally, don’t hesitate to incorporate prayer into other daily activities. Praying while you are doing other simple everyday tasks can be a great way to continually be connected to God throughout your day. Intentionally incorporate these things into your life and you will soon experience the joy of having a healthy prayer life in your relationship with God.
The Anchor Prayer App is a free app that has been designed to make it much easier to incorporate it to your daily routine and build some kind of structure and reminders in place to help you maintain a consistent prayer life, track your prayers, and be able to know how much success you have achieved with your prayer goal.
