At some point in my life, I asked myself this question “How do I start a prayer life? Honestly, I used to think praying was a chore and for years I struggled with it. It’s either I fell asleep while praying or my mind wandered. The few times I made any effort to pray, I felt like there was a wall around my heart. It was that bad and my prayers were dry and worrisome.
Anyways, I am glad to say that’s all in the past now(somebody shout glorrrryyyyy!) Looking back I have noticed a drastic change in my prayers, I have improved. Of course, it didn’t just happen overnight. I had to ask for the grace to pray, put in the work and trust God’s Spirit to lead and teach me. So what were these steps I took and how can they help you start a prayer lifestyle? First off let’s define prayer and its importance:
What is Prayer?
Simply put, prayer is daily communication with your Father. Just as how we talk to people around us, we tell them things, we ask them for advice etc that’s how prayer is. The only difference is we don’t see God physically but He’s ever-present. This means you can talk to God, have a random casual conversation (no need for big grammar), share your little secrets (although he already knows lol), report, anyone, that bugging you, claim your blessings etc.
Most times we put all these plenty formalities between us and God when God just wants us to talk. When it comes to your Heavenly Father, you are not a stranger so don’t hesitate to start conversations with Him.
The Importance of Prayer
One of the first steps towards spiritual growth is prayer. Prayer helps you build a closer relationship with God, get answers to your questions, place your request, commit others to God etc. The place of prayer in the life of a believer cannot be ignored. Jesus was the perfect example of a praying man. He would spend the night praying and his prayers yielded results. Now that I have explained to you the importance of prayer, this brings me to the question “How to start a praying lifestyle?”
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8 Best Ways To Start And Maintain A Consistent Prayer Life
1. Know who you are praying to:
Has this ever happened to you-you don’t know someone but the awful things you’ve heard about them make you not want to come close to them, you may not even want to have a conversation with them? Some of u grew up with the wrong notion about God. We are not to be blamed. The people around us who were supposed to accurately represent God ended up portraying Him differently. For some of us, God is this big angry guy who is always ready to pounce at us for making mistakes or pissing him off. On the contrary, God is a lovely Father, one who desires to draw closer to His beloved children. One who has an interest in the tiniest detail of their lives. knowing this will enable you to see him in a different light, you won’t hesitate to start conversations with him because you know he is always available to listen. So my dear friend, the first step towards starting a prayer life, one you will be consistent with, is to know the one you are praying to.
How can you know God for who He truly is? The answer is simple, go to the WORD. In the bible, you see all of God. You see Him as the creator, father, defender, provider, saviour etc. And while you are in the Word, when you come across stuff that seems confusing, don’t be afraid to ask questions. I love how Shante from daily she Pursues explained it in this post.
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2.Be Intentional:
Do you seriously want to start a prayer life? Then be intentional! Intentionality here entails being deliberate about your prayer life. It includes making the intentional decision to start where you are and remain consistent regardless of the difficulties. It also means putting in the effort to prepare yourself by asking God for grace to pray, gaining knowledge about prayer, creating that conducive prayer atmosphere, picking out the time you are most alert and your sweet spot(a place without distractions that will enable you to focus e.g a war room), having a routine to follow (probably a prayer timetable) and the willingness and openness to be led by the Spirit.
3. Keep it simple and Real:
Keeping it simple means avoiding big grammar and repetition of words that don’t make sense. Do you know that apart from English God also speaks other languages? If you are finding it difficult to pray in English, keep it simple by speaking the language you best know how to communicate in. This could be your local dialect, this could be in songs, this could be daily prayer-poems, and this could be in the form of arts. Don’t feel pressured because you can’t pray like Mr X or Miss Y!
But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions as the heathen do, for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
Matthew 6:7
Keeping it real means being honest. God can see through our fake facades so no need for one. With God you can be vulnerable, and you can voice out your fears and even your doubts. Unlike humans that are quick to judge and make fun of others’ weaknesses, God doesn’t.In fact, in being honest we acknowledge that we are truly weak and need His strength, we acknowledge that he is our source and sustainer.
Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
2 Corinthians 12:8-9
4. Start small but Keep it going:
We all aim to pray for hours and hours but do you know that those who pray for more than 30 minutes didn’t start like that. They all started small. You too can start small! You can start with 5 minutes conversation with God then slowly but gradually you progress to 10 minutes,15 minutes and before you know it you are praying for hours.
I saw a quote that read “I don’t pray for more than 5 minutes but I don’t go for 5 minutes without praying”. This simply means consistency is better than duration. It’s not how long you pray but how often you pray. Inasmuch as you start small, endeavour to be consistent. Now when it comes to being consistent, I will be real with you. It requires a lot of self-discipline and the human body hates being uncomfortable. You will have to push yourself to actually stay consistent.
A tip to help you stay consistent is by setting reminders. This could be a clock or phone alarm, little post-it notes by the door, including prayer in your to-do list etc. Having a specific prayer schedule can also help, it will help your brain realise that it’s a routine and when the time of your prayer approaches you somehow instantly remember.
Related Post: Prayer for Beginners
5.Pray with scriptures
Maybe the reason why you shy away from prayer and find it challenging to start a prayer life is that you simply just can’t find the “right” words. This is where praying with scriptures comes in. Using the Psalms will help you adore, praise and exalt God, praying the prayers of paul will help you seek knowledge etc. There are 66 books in the bible and each book contains prayer points. You just have to either read your bible and jot down these prayer points or google scriptural prayers(the advantage of living in a tech age lol)
Related post: How to Pray the Scriptures: 4 Things to Get You Started
6. Practise prayer journaling:
Prayer journaling is simply writing your prayer in a book. This is most helpful if you are the type that expresses themselves better in written texts. Also, journaling helps you to stay focused and avoid distracting thoughts. The beauty in prayer journaling is that you can also go back and see God’s goodness especially when those prayers have been answered.
7. Pray for and with others
What happens when you put one dry Stick next to another that’s on fire? The other stick catches fire and also starts blazing. Basically, that is what happens when you are around people that pray. If you are finding it challenging to start a prayer life on your own, you can pray with someone who has one. This is to help you get started until you can finally stand on your own.
Praying for others means creating prayer plans where you pray for other people. They could be your family, friends, random strangers etc. What this does is it enables you to keep praying consistently. You can start by DIY-ing a prayer jar with the names of people you want to pray for and each day, you do your very best to pray for them.
8. Pray in the Spirit
The role of the Holy Spirit in every believer cannot be overemphasised. He is your teacher, he teaches you how to pray. He also is your helper and enabler. Most times when you can’t find the words to pray, just pray in the spirit and before you know it you are energized.
In the same way the Spirit [comes to us and] helps us in our weakness. We do not know what prayer to offer or how to offer it as we should, but the Spirit Himself [knows our need and at the right time] intercedes on our behalf with sighs and groanings too deep for words.
Romans 8:26
Is there a right format for prayer?
There are no rules when it comes to us holding conversations with our Father. However, Jesus, our big brother, gave us a guideline. It goes like this
- Acknowledge God as Father
- Hallow His name i.e reference Him
- Put His will first before yours i.e ask for spiritual things first
- Ask for your needs and that of others, and place your request
- Thank Him for forgiving you your sins and ask for the grace to forgive those around you daily
- Ask for protection
- End in thanksgiving and seal your prayer with the name of Jesus.
Conclusion
It’s my prayer that you grow and excel in your prayer life. Don’t be too hard on yourself and don’t compare your prayer with that of others, it can lead to discouragement. You just focus on your walk, daily asking the Holy Spirit to enable you to pray and help you improve.
I hope this article was helpful, do let me know in the comments. Also, kindly share with your loved one. Support this blog by donating/buying me coffee.
