The more you pray, the more you will see God’s hand in your life. Your prayers will change as your life changes. As you pray for yourself, for others, and with others, you will notice change over time.
How often do you pray?
I usually pray for blessings and strength for the day when I put my shoes.
When I was in college, I set reminders in my phone for 3 different times in day to remind myself to pray.
Meal times are great to use for prayer. Even if you are used to the same prayer before eating, it is okay to pray more or change the words.
I always try to remember to pray before I go to bed. I do not like to go to sleep before I have talked with God.
Do you ask people to pray for you?
Whenever I or someone I know could use some extra prayers, I have at least 5 people I can always reach out to. We all make sure to ask how we can pray for the other person when prayers are asked for.
It is good to pray repetitively about things, and it is also helpful to share the weight and let others help you lift up what you are carrying.
Do people know about your faith?
Once people find out that I am a Jesus person, they often ask me to pray for them. I started a few years ago praying for people who asked me for prayers right after we left the conversation. I usually will pray again when I remember that part of the day a few hours, sometimes days later.
Do you pray with other people?
When I was first asked to lead a Life Group at church I was most worried about how I was going to pray with everyone. I had been in Life Groups for a few years and seen prayers of all kinds, and knew how much we would be asking for and how much this could change people’s lives. I decided that I would use song lyrics to help me pray. I would ask for everyone’s requests, start the song off from the beginning, pause part way through the song, pray everyone’s requests from my list, and close with part of the song. I would change the I’s and me’s to us and we’s. We would keep track and look back on things that fell right into place how they needed to even though it wasn’t always the way we were hoping they would.
Do you reflect on how your prayers have been answered?
I recently got together with some friends who I have done Life Group with for a couple of years now and was in awe at how our lives have all changed since the first prayers we said together! It is truly beautiful to see the difference a year of prayer can make in a all of our walks of faith.
Sometimes you will have an answered prayer by the next hour, other times it may take 10-20 years for a yes. Most often it is somewhere in between.
Never stop praying. God is out there. He hears you. He wants to hear from you. He will answer you with something better than you even thought was possible. Trust that God’s timing is best.
“There is power in persistent prayer.” Micah 7:7
“Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7
“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction and a faithful in prayer.” Romans 12:12
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