It’s safe to say we could all pray more and we should always strive to get better at it. We all go through periods of time when it can feel impossible to pray. Have you ever worked out for a couple of weeks or more and your body started to crave it? But then something happened and you got out of the routine of doing it and working out seemed like a painful chore? Prayer is the same way.

If you have ever had a strong prayer life before, then you probably have experienced this at some point. Here are two prayer strategies that will change your life. They have changed mine for the better and I know they can change yours as well.

I had always prayed a bit in my head before bed, but it didn’t last long usually and I would fall asleep. I thought that was good enough and I know many people do the same thing. This is not how God wants us to pray. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus,” Phillippians 4:6-7. This sure sounds like we need to pray pretty often. Don’t get overwhelmed by that verse, though. Your prayer life will evolve over time.

God doesn’t expect any of us to be perfect Christians, but you have to take the first step and give God more of your time. It will amaze you how He will change your life. Most people who have had a strong relationship with God or still do agree that when they slack on prayer their clarity on life begins to get foggy. My relationships with the people around me are not as good. And I stress a lot more when my personal relationship with the creator isn’t as strong.

You may feel like you have a million and one things to do and praying will only put you behind. But here’s something I have learned about that.  The more you pray, the more you will get done in your life. It’s crazy how that works, but it’s so true.  It’s past time to pray once you start to feel overwhelmed. God will give you the peace and direction you need.

1. Change Your Self Talk

My Pastor preached about something really awesome one day and it has changed the way I pray ever since. Do you talk in your head to yourself? You might just be thinking about what you need to do later or replaying something that has happened to you. Try directing that self-talk to God. Involve him in your day and after a while, you will find you are talking to God most of your day! It’s so simple. I couldn’t believe I had never tried it before.

This is why having a good Pastor in your life is very important. They help you see things that you didn’t before.  I want to be as close to God as possible and learning from someone that’s been saved for a long time is so much better than trying to just figure it out on my own.  

I also don’t do formal prayers, I like to talk to God like he is my best friend because that is exactly who he is to me.  Formal prayers can get very repetitive.  We wouldn’t want someone who we love to mindlessly repeat themselves every day to us, so why would God?  Now, I’m not saying that formal prayers are bad. But they are when that’s all that you’re doing. 

2. Give Thanks, Ask For Forgiveness And Specific Requests

So I had done the previous strategy for about a year and it worked great for me and then I saw the movie War Room. If you haven’t seen it, you should. It is awesome and helps you understand why you need to develop a more precise prayer strategy. I realized I wanted more of God and this was the way to do it.

Below is my specific strategy. I try not to rush, but sometimes I can’t help it. I make sure I involve it in my day, though. Usually, I pray from about 30 minutes and sometimes even an hour at night. This is not a chore for me unless I get out of the habit, which tends to happen from time to time (no one’s perfect right?? ). Talking to God gives me peace that I cannot get by conversing with anyone else.

I speak out loud, which I never used to do. Daniel prayed out loud, so I believe if he found favor with God it would be wise to learn from him. “Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God” Daniel 6:11. If he wasn’t praying out loud, the men wouldn’t have been able to tell if he was praying to King Darius or to God which gave them grounds to have him thrown into the lion’s den for breaking the King’s decree.

First 

I pray for everything I am thankful for and ask for forgiveness for any sins I committed that day. There is no reason to pray for forgiveness for past sins once baptized in the name of Jesus (Acts 2:38). Your past sins are washed away (Acts 22:16).

Second 

I pray for what I want. Physically, mentally, and spiritually. This could include things such as more confidence, God’s will in your life, a job or a better job, a closer relationship with God, to read your Bible more, to heal your body, to become a better parent or friend, or gifts of the spirit.  I have noticed since my relationship with God has strengthened, I don’t pray for materialistic things very often.  God can change us in ways we never thought possible.

Third 

I pray for people who I know aren’t saved. And if anyone has something going wrong that I know of in his or her life I pray for that too.  It’s not always easy to pray for our enemies, but God wants us too.  I don’t know how many times my enemies have popped into my mind while I was praying, but I tried to act like they didn’t! I won’t act like I’m perfect, some days I still do that (I’m working on it). But I do pray for them pretty often, so I like to think of that as a major improvement.  Don’t worry so much about how much better you could be, but embrace where you are now and keep improving day by day.

My list is very long, so I have everyone’s name written down in my prayer journal. I don’t usually go over these names because that would take a while every night, but it’s nice being able to cross off names. It really helps build our faith. I also write down all of these steps so I make sure not to skip one.

Lastly 

I pray for the people who I know are saved. Like my Pastor and his family, my family and friends, and for everyone in my church. I pray for God’s will in their lives when I don’t know what else to pray for them.

God is in control of everything anyway and some people use this as a crutch to not pray, but prayer is for our benefit.  When he answers our prayers and moves in our lives, it strengthens our faith in Him.

There are many ways you can pray, but this is what God has revealed to me to do and it works. It is a great start for anyone.  It is so much easier for me to pray consistently since I started doing both prayer strategies. My prayer life will continue to evolve and so will yours. How else can we become the person God wants us to become if we continue to do life our own way? His path is better than anything we could ever dream. I’ll choose that any day. This world ain’t got nothing on God. I mean seriously, have you taken a look outside lately? No thanks!

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Do you think you will try these prayer strategies out? What other prayer strategies do you use? Leave a comment below.

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