FIVE WAYS TO JUICE UP YOUR PRAYER LIFE
1. Pray for a whole day. Not on your knees, of course. Take an entire day to be constantly in correspondence with God. Pretend you’re Jesus: every personal interaction is a chance to touch a life, every object you pass a visual aid in a parable, every “interruption” an opportunity to be a blessing.
2. Pray like a little child. There’s a reason Jesus said the kingdom belongs to the little ones. They haven’t lost that sense of wonder about the world, of gratefulness for the littlest of things. When was the last time you let something overwhelm you, whether it is the intricacy of a dandelion or the efficiency of the human heart? When as the last time you spent a moment thanking God for the little things about your loved ones, like the delightful twinkle in their eyes when they laugh or the many ways they show their love to you each day? Perhaps we need a little less seriousness and worry and a little more wonder and gratitude.
3. Pray second, forgive first. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells His listeners to delay worshipping God if there is an unresolved grievance they need to tend to. Reconciliation is so important to God that He commands us not to worship (!) until we’ve made right with our brother or sister. So before you pray, ask God to search your heart to see if there is anyone you need to make peace with.
4. Pray through the morning paper. There isn’t a square inch on this earth or a second in history that isn’t under Jesus’ lordship. Pray accordingly, then, for world events and local tragedies and business news. Ask God to reveal Himself to people around the world, to do justice and mercy, and to help you be more aware of His omnipresence in the process.
5. Pray with God’s agenda in mind. Before you launch into a litany of man-centered requests – “help my presentation to go smoothly today,” “heal Aunt Patty’s pneumonia,” and even “bless this evening’s choir concert” -- first subordinate your plans to God’s will. For while Jesus taught us to ask for God to “give us our daily bread,” He first taught us to say “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done.”
1. Pray for a whole day. Not on your knees, of course. Take an entire day to be constantly in correspondence with God. Pretend you’re Jesus: every personal interaction is a chance to touch a life, every object you pass a visual aid in a parable, every “interruption” an opportunity to be a blessing.
2. Pray like a little child. There’s a reason Jesus said the kingdom belongs to the little ones. They haven’t lost that sense of wonder about the world, of gratefulness for the littlest of things. When was the last time you let something overwhelm you, whether it is the intricacy of a dandelion or the efficiency of the human heart? When as the last time you spent a moment thanking God for the little things about your loved ones, like the delightful twinkle in their eyes when they laugh or the many ways they show their love to you each day? Perhaps we need a little less seriousness and worry and a little more wonder and gratitude.
3. Pray second, forgive first. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells His listeners to delay worshipping God if there is an unresolved grievance they need to tend to. Reconciliation is so important to God that He commands us not to worship (!) until we’ve made right with our brother or sister. So before you pray, ask God to search your heart to see if there is anyone you need to make peace with.
4. Pray through the morning paper. There isn’t a square inch on this earth or a second in history that isn’t under Jesus’ lordship. Pray accordingly, then, for world events and local tragedies and business news. Ask God to reveal Himself to people around the world, to do justice and mercy, and to help you be more aware of His omnipresence in the process.
5. Pray with God’s agenda in mind. Before you launch into a litany of man-centered requests – “help my presentation to go smoothly today,” “heal Aunt Patty’s pneumonia,” and even “bless this evening’s choir concert” -- first subordinate your plans to God’s will. For while Jesus taught us to ask for God to “give us our daily bread,” He first taught us to say “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done.”
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