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How are we supposed to pray without ceasing, according to 1 Thessalonians 5:17?
It can seem impossible to pray without ceasing with all we have to do caring for a home, family, work, and ministry. This doesn’t mean we stop doing everything, but we incorporate more prayer into our daily lives. Let’s be honest, many days we are so overwhelmed with the day-to-day that we neglect prayer altogether. When we neglect it, God is disappointed because he didn’t get to spend time with us and we are neglecting our most powerful weapon to fight the daily grind and protect our family. D.L. Moody has a good reminder of how God views prayer. “Some people think God does not like to be troubled with our constant coming and asking; the way to trouble God is not to come at all.” So, I think we have to figure out how to incorporate more prayer throughout our day.
In a recent survey conducted by Crossway of 14,000 all of all generations, 72% of respondents indicated they were either dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with their prayer life. Further, studies conducted by Harvard University show a positive correlation between time in prayer and an improvement in psychological well-being, including anxiety and depression. In the study findings, the more frequently the individual prayed, the more positive impact it had on their mental health. So, we have to figure out HOW to include more prayer in our daily lives and be intentional about it!
Here are 10 creative techniques for more daily prayer:
1) Prayer Journal
Write down your prayer requests. This helps me stay focused in prayer but also builds my faith as I flip back through the pages periodically. It reminds me that God is faithful and can be trusted because He has proven Himself trustworthy in the past.
2) Prayer Walk
Walk while you pray. I love how this removes me from many of the distractions around me and helps me focus on talking to God and listening to Him. As I view the beauty of His creation, I am reminded of His power and His goodness. Sometimes I let my walk guide my prayers, praying for neighbors or businesses I pass on my route. I enjoy listening to the Holy Spirit and praying what He tells me to pray for my community.
3) Use Scripture as a Guide for Prayer
Use Scripture to guide your prayers. The Psalms are a great place to look for inspiration. If you would like specific Scriptures to use to aid prayer for the military, check out these 25 Scriptures to pray over those serving in the military.
4) Pray with Activities
You can incorporate prayer into the everyday activities you already complete daily. Here are some suggestions for everyday activities that can become times to communicate with God.
a. Holding Children - Pray while rocking children.
b. Shower - I have a suction cup whiteboard in my shower where I record my prayer requests. I find that the shower is a great time to focus on the Lord while doing something rather routine.
c. Driving in a Car - Turn off your radio and talk to God instead.
d. Folding Laundry - Praying while folding and putting away clothes.
e. Washing Dishes - Pray while washing dishes and loading the dishwasher.
f. Coffee Brewing - Pray while your morning cup of Joe brews. If you are a tea drinker, pray while your tea seeps.
g. Microwave Running - Pray every time your microwave is heating food.
5) Paint or Draw your prayers
For my creative friends, you can use your artistic expression to help guide you in prayer. This would be a valuable (and fun) skill to teach your kids too.
6) Remove Distractions
Go outside. I find that I struggle with becoming distracted in my home with all the tasks staring at me. I've found it helpful to step outside my home so that I can focus on the Lord. My favorite place to talk to the Lord is on my back porch. The birds singing often draw me into the worship of our Creator.
7) Prayer App
There are some great technology tools to help us focus on prayer. Here are four I like.
a. The You Version App has a "Guided Prayer' section under the daily refresh. THis guided prayer takes between four to six minutes and uses the Lord's prayer as a model. The feature provides daily prompts that help you reflect on Scripture, draw closer to God, and talk to Him about what's on your mind. I love the calming music you can turn on while you pray.
b. Pray! App – Sets up reminders to notify you of prayer requests.
c. Prayer Prompter – Prompts topics to pray about and gives you a passage suggested to read through and pray back to God
d. Instapray – Allows group settings the share prayer requests with a small group, family, etc.
8) Let Worship Music Inspire Prayer
Turn on your favorite worship music playlist and allow the lyrics to motivate and lead you into prayer and praise. I combine my prayer walks and worship music often.
9) Prayer Group or Prayer Partner
Join a group for regular prayer. I'm a faithful member of Moms in Prayer and pray with other moms with kids about the same age as mine. We pray Scripture over our kids each week. It has built my faith immensely and is the most powerful weapon I have for my kids. When my husband was serving on active duty, I often sought out another friend to become my prayer partner during that assignment. We held each other accountable to pray but also formed a close friendship. Win-win!
10) Prayer Closet
Find a special place to pray free from distractions. If you are living on a military installation, you might not have the luxury of a closet you can set aside for prayer, but you can make a small sacred space to invite you to talk to the Lord. During one assignment with the military, I turned my side of the bathroom mirror into my prayer wall and covered it with Scripture and prayers. You could also assign a certain chair for prayer time and put your prayer journal there to guide you to commune with the Lord.
Recent Crossway Research shows that when we set time aside for prayer, especially in the morning, we are more likely to pray consistently. When you don’t set aside time to pray, the frequency of prayer goes down.
Learn more about how the Lord's prayer can set a model for your prayer life, here.
I have a talk for women on using your greatest weapon, the power of prayer. Read more about my speaking topics here.
What other ideas do you have for praying without ceasing?