Join Me On the Journey

I have admitted to myself that I don’t have a good prayer habit. I know that the first step toward change is admitting that I need to change.

Part of that is examining whether making a habit of prayer is truly important to me. It is, by the way, okay to admit that prayer just is not a priority in your life. This applies not only to having a regular prayer or quiet time, but with everything that requires discipline in your life. There are seasons of life, and no one can do everything at every point of their lives.

I would contend that prayer is a vital part of the believer’s life and shouldn’t be ignored, but if you aren’t truly committed to praying every day, the fact is, you are not going to do it. You will do one of the things that I have done in the past. You may mentally assent that you need to pray and then promptly forget about it (except for the times that it comes up and nags you). You may decide that you are going to pray regularly, but not form a solid plan and so it doesn’t last.

The second step is to get a plan. The plan for praying regularly is to ask yourself questions.

1. Why do you want to pray?
2. When are you going to pray?
3. Where are you going to pray?
4. How are you going to pray?

Why do you want to pray? We already touched on this a bit. Are you just getting ready to pray because you’re feeling guilty about not praying, or have you come to a place in your life where praying is something that you want to do? Your attitude about prayer is of the utmost importance.

What if one of your children came to you and said, “Mom, I know that I haven’t been spending enough time with you. I’m busy and I would really rather be doing something else, but I know that it’s important. I am going to spend a half hour every day talking to you.” I don’t think you would be especially happy about it their attitude, but you would certainly love the thought of your child spending time with you.

When she showed up, how would you feel if you could tell that she was only spending time with you out of a feeling of obligation. You could tell she was deriving no pleasure from the time and when the 30 minutes was up, she abruptly got up and walked out. “Finished for the day, Mom. I’ll see you tomorrow. Gotta go! There are so many more important things that I have to get to today.”

I don’t want to guilt-trip you into praying. I’m just asking you to think about your attitude about prayer. Pray about your attitude about prayer. Ask God to give you a hunger to pray. He’ll do it.

The next thing to look at is when you are going to pray. I’m fortunate in that fact that I already get up early, long before anyone in the house is stirring. This works for me because I am naturally a high energy, early riser. Getting up early is not for everyone. It’s not possible for everyone and it’s not necessary for everyone.

However, if you are going to start a habit of prayer, you must plan when you are going to pray before you pray. If you do not, you will fail. (If you think you are the exception to the rule, let me share with you an adage I once heard and I think of often: “There is no exception to the rule that everyone wants to be an exception to the rule.”)

Even if your day is different every day, you need to plan out–at least the night before or first thing when you get up that morning–when you will pray. If you get up in the morning and think, “Well, I’ll get in my prayer time sometime today,” I don’t hold out much hope that you will get it done.

Decide where you are going to pray. It’s nice to have a little place prepared where you have your journal, your Bible, something to write with, and any other supplies that you deem necessary. I have my things in a basket by the couch where I have my quiet time every morning. Whatever your system, just try and keep all the things that you’ll need in one place.

Finally, decide how you are going to pray. Are you going to allow God to teach you from His word? Are you going to read books about prayer? Are you going to follow someone’s system?

As I shared before, I have decided to reread Let Prayer Change Your Life by Becky Tirabassi. I like her “system” because it encompasses everything: prayer, Bible reading, and a to do list.

But, I also know that along the way…should I endure…as I am determined to do…I will make changes and adaptations to the way that I pray and have my quiet time. My life will change. I will change. The things that work for me today won’t work for me at some point in the future. It has taken me a long time (over 41 years) to accept that there are seasons in life and what works for me today just won’t work forever.

If you are thinking, “Good grief, why doesn’t she just get on with it,” I don’t blame you. It does seem like I’m doing a lot of thinking about praying and not a lot of praying.

I assure you, I am praying. That’s the point that I would like to leave you with.

Pray while you’re thinking about praying.

For most of us, prayer is not a natural thing. It’s something that we have to purpose in our hearts to do. We must ask ourselves why, when, where and how we will pray. It is something that we must commit to in order for it to truly become an integral part of our lives. And, most of us will start praying regularly at some time in our lives and fall away and then start again…and again…and again. Some of us will go through life never having a regular prayer time.

The wonderful thing is that when we commit to spend time with God in prayer, we receive so much more than we give. We give a sacrifice of our time and God accepts it and blesses it.

Think about starting a good habit of prayer today.

If you are having a regular prayer time, why not share with us what has worked for you. If you would like to join our accountability group, please let me know. Email me or leave a comment.

Popularity: 4%