So, what can we do? Here are a few ways to refresh your prayer life and enjoy the fellowship God has for us with him in prayer.
Start Small and Be Disciplined
When teaching them to shoot, Benjamin Martin told his boys, “Aim small, miss small.” Too many times we try to start a new plan that’s way too big for us. Don’t expect to spend the whole night in prayer like Jesus without first learning to give five or ten minutes a day consistently for week. Start small and be disciplined. Make a list of people and needs, read over a passage of Scripture to gain encouragement, set an alarm for ten minutes, and pray until you pray.
Do that every day for two weeks. Then, up your time and go for fifteen minutes. After another two weeks, move it up to twenty or twenty-five minutes a day. Good habits can be formed just like bad habits. And the goal here is to develop a habit of prayer. That may not seem all that spiritual. But the truth is, most spiritual delights begin as spiritual duties. In other words, after prayer is a regular part of your daily life, it will break open to you and be far more than a routine discipline. Your time with God in prayer will be something you look forward to.
Remember God and Be Encouraged
What motivates us to pray and encourages us to continue in it? It could be several things, but the most sustaining will be God himself. When Moses was considering forty years of leading grumbling, faithless Israel, he asked for more of God to keep him going. “Show me your glory” he begged the Lord (Exod 33:18). So, stop and consider who hears our prayers:
- Remember God is our Father (Matt 6:9)!
- Remember God is all-powerful and all-knowing (Ps 115:3; 145:5).
- Remember God is both just and merciful (Luke 18:1–8).
- Remember God loves to hear his people pray (Luke 18:1).
- Remember God is with us in our suffering (Acts 9).
- Remember God provides for our physical and spiritual needs (Matt 6:11–13).
- Remember God delights to give good gifts to his children (Matt 7:1).
- Remember God can give far more than we ask (Eph 3:20–21).
Then, remember Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
- Remember Christ secured your full salvation through his cross and resurrection (Eph 1:3–10).
- Remember Christ welcomes the bruised and fainting (Matt 12:17–21).
- Remember Christ is our sympathetic high priest (Heb 4:5).
- Remember Christ prayed and is praying to the Father for you (John 17; Rom 8:34).
Finally, remember the gift of God the Holy Spirit.
- Remember the Spirit is the guarantee of our salvation (Eph 1:13–14).
- Remember the Spirit is our Helper in all things (John 14).
- Remember the Spirit gives us confidence in God’s love and boldness in prayer (Rom 8:14–17).
- Remember that he is the gift that leads us to hear and believe the promises of God (2 Cor 4:13–15).
Remember these things and be encouraged to pray.
Keep Going even if You Stumble
Habits most often die after the first failure. Missed a day in your Bible reading plan? Forgot to keep your new diet? Failed to journal yesterday? Got lost on my phone in reels when you said I wouldn’t? Well, I guess you might as well give up. . . . Except you shouldn’t! Even when you miss a day of disciplined intentionality, get back on the horse and keep going. Don’t let a missed day or two convince you you’ve failed. That kind of thinking is a self-sabotaging excuse or a flaming arrow of spiritual warfare launched by the enemy to discourage you. Either way, look to God, get back on your knees, and pray!
Find a Prayer Partner and Meet for Prayer
From battle-buddies to running partners, there is something motivating, even energizing about doing an activity with a friend. Prayer is no different. Praying with someone who shares your faith, hears your heart before God, and lifts you up before him can be a tremendous encouragement to your personal prayer life. What might this look like? Again, start small—maybe thirty minutes. Spend five minutes or so sharing requests with each other, read a psalm or a paragraph of Jesus’ teaching or a New Testament letter, then take turns praying. Pass the praying back-and-forth like a conversation. Pray for each other, pray for the church, pray for other needs that come to mind. Bear each other’s burden before the throne of grace (Gal 6:2).
Let's Pray
These suggestions are not the end all of a deep and consistent prayer life. There is much more that could be said and others have done so. But these are some simple ways to get moving toward prayerfulness.
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