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Before I seek to provide any help let me first confess that I\u2019m not coming from a position of great victory here. I\u2019ve spent much of my adult life praying that my prayer life would improve (which, of course, is an outstanding first step). I\u2019ve not arrived but God has blessed me, principally through the precious gift of my wife. Here are five changes I\u2019ve noticed in my prayer life in the five years we\u2019ve been married that have been a help.<\/p>\n
1.\tReading the Bible through yearly is a great help to prayer. This habit begins with hearing God in His Word. When He is speaking, or rather, when we are listening, we are more attuned to Him, more open to speaking with Him, guarded against moving through our days without giving Him much of a thought. For much of my adult life my work kept me regularly in God\u2019s Word. While I\u2019m grateful for that, it\u2019s not the same thing as opening God\u2019s Word morning and evening.
\n2.\tPraying morning and evening with my wife has been a great help to prayer. First, I get to be right beside her as she prays. Because my heart is drawn to hers, and hers to mine, we draw each other to His. If you have a spouse I can think of few things more important not only to your prayer life but your Christian walk and your marriage than that the two of you pray together daily.
\n3.\tPray throughout the day. That is, we do not need to choose between extended times of committed prayer and constant times of brief prayers. The practice of moment by moment walking with Him is good in itself but also powerful for improving our intimacy when we devote more time. Think of it this way. If you write lengthy hand-written letters to a dear friend that doesn\u2019t mean you don\u2019t want to send quick texts. And vice-versa. How much more so with the living God?
\n4.\tPray for others. When our attention and concern is directed toward the well-being of others are heart is more in tune with our Lord. This, of course, includes your enemies. Jesus, immediately before and during His passion prayed for His disciples, assured the care of His mother and prayed for those who were torturing Him. Another blessing of praying widely, for many people and their needs is you get to hear more and more reports of God\u2019s gracious responses.
\n5.\tBelieve what the Bible tells us. We can all talk about the doctrine of God\u2019s imminence, speak to His love, affirm the doctrine of adoption. All of which comes well short of remembering that He is our Father who loves us with a perfect, infinite, immutable, by name love. I often pray, \u201cLord, I\u2019m not asking You to give me more. I\u2019m asking You to help me better see all that You\u2019ve already given me.\u201d Give thanks. As I type it is snowing outside, yet another occasion to thank God, for both the snow and the warmth He keeps us in in the home He has given us.<\/p>\n
We do not bootstrap our way to a better prayer life. The solution isn\u2019t more effort on my part, but more gratitude for all He has already done. I\u2019m praying He will continue to help me grow in my prayer life, and praying He would do that same for you. Will you join me?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Before I seek to provide any help let me first confess that I\u2019m not coming from a position of great victory here. I\u2019ve spent much of my adult life praying that my prayer life would improve (which, of course, is … Continue reading