10 Ways To Improve Your Score of Praying Without Ceasing (Updated)

Sometimes God’s word is very clear, but very challenging. A great example of that is Paul’s simple instruction, “pray continually.” Elsewhere he says to, “never stop praying” (Rom. 12:12 CEV) and Jesus teaches us to “pray and not give up” (Luke 18:1) when it comes to things we are asking God.

But just because it is clear what the Bible is asking does not make it easy. This is not about guilt but heading toward a goal. Having embraced the nerd within a good way for me to think about this is to think of trying to get a high score every day, week or month. Frank Laubach made a challenge to think about God 1 second of every minute of the day.

Here are ten ways to help you increase your score:

  1. Set up reminders. I have used simple things like my 3 x 5 card plan as a reminder to pray. My wife uses certain times on the clock (for example 12:34) as reminders to pray for people.
  2. Join a movement that engages your heart in prayer. Part of the reason we challenge people to pray for their pastor and church is the more your heart is engaged the more you remember to pray.
  3. Pray in the Spirit. Paul says that when you pray in the Spirit your mind is unfruitful (1 Cor. 14:14) which means that your mind can be somewhere else. This means that I can pray while I am doing other things.
  4. Use social media as set ups to pray. Since you are going online anyway to see what your friends are up to you might as well pray for them while you are there.
  5. Let news to draw you to pray. If you hear news, whether it is world, national, local or even your office, think of it as an opportunity. Use it as an excuse to shoot a prayer to heaven.
  6. Pray for needs as they come up. Too many people say they will pray about things and never do. Make a habit of praying for needs that come your way right away.
  7. Use music to your advantage. If you can have music in the background use music that draws you into the presence of God. When you hear it this may remind you to pray.
  8. Set yourself up for conversation thoughts of God at night. Reading a little Bible or trying my journal method may set you up for a good night. You may even wake up thinking about God.
  9. Use daily struggles to remind you to pray. I think it was Rick Warren who said that, “if it is big enough to worry about it is big enough to pray about.” Worry becomes the trigger to pray.
  10. Start where you are. In this “game” of spending time with the God of the universe it is best to slowly improve your “score”. Maybe pick one of this and build on it. As Dr James Rouse says, “One good habit will beget another good habit.

Make one new commitment today and see where your score will go. Check out my book Enjoying Prayer for more ideas

Using Time Travel in Prayer (Updated)

Your time is very precious. Moses made this prayer: “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Psalms 90:12) If we are to live well we must respect the time that we are given. I made a video showing to take advantage of this though prayer by doing a little time travel.

Darren Hardy, the publisher of Success Magazine does a great job helping us picture this idea in this short video.

 

Will you take advantage of some of the moments that you have today to invest in your future through prayer? The fuse of your life has been lit! Let’s use our time wisely.

How to Pray When You are In The Desert

In this short video I share with you 3 things that you can pray when you are in the desert. Even if you are not in the desert right now who do you know that is right now that might be encouraged by this. One of the things I don’t touch on in the video but is important in these times is to find encouragement from friends

 

Have you tried to tame the Lion of the tribe of Judah?

“Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. –Revelation 5:5

Walking with God is not for the faint at heart. Jesus was always stretching and challenging those who followed Him. I love how the authors of Experiencing God reminded us that Jesus did not say this “This is the way” and give His followers a map. He said, “I am the way” and led them on an adventure.

It is easy to try and manage God. But Jesus is described as the Lion of the tribe of Jesus. I love his description in C.S. Lewis’ Lion Witch and the Wardrobe –

“Is he—quite safe?” […]
“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver […] “Who said anything about safe?  ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.” (1)

Or

But amid all these rejoicings Aslan himself quietly slipped away. And when the Kings and Queens noticed that he wasn’t there they said nothing about it. For Mr. Beaver had warned them, ‘He’ll be coming and going’ he had said. ‘One day you’ll see him and another you won’t. He doesn’t like being tied down—and of course he has other countries to attend to. It’s quite all right. He’ll often drop in. Only you mustn’t press him. He’s wild you know. Not like a tame lion (2).

I find it too easy to try and tame God. I love the quote by Dorothy Sayers: “The people who hanged Christ never, to do them justice, accused him of being a bore – on the contrary, they thought him too dynamic to be safe. It has been left for later generations to muffle up that shattering personality and surround him with an atmosphere of tedium. We have very efficiently pared the claws of the Lion of Judah, certified him ‘meek and mile,’ and recommended him as a fitting household pet for pale curates and pious old ladies.” (3)

Do you dare today to let the Lion of the tribe of Judah out of the cage you have built and see what happens?

 

(1) http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Narnia

(2) http://library.taylor.edu/dotAsset/4917d94e-83ab-4b4f-b6b6-d6dfd5c6c239.pdf

(3)http://www.patheos.com/blogs/robertcrosby/2013/01/my-favorite-dorothy-sayers-quote/#ixzz3PHzDzYNg

Seven Habits of Highly Effective Prayers

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

prayer

In my first year of college I was assigned to read The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. It is a classic book on effectiveness in life. But the seven habits can easily be applied to an effective prayer life as well.

1. Be proactive– It is important for people of prayer to understand their role in coming to God in prayer. I often teach that whenever you have a desire to pray it is probably coming from God. The question is will we not only follow those promptings, but also proactively set aside time to pray.

2. Begin with the end in mind-This is a powerful idea when coming to God in prayer. The end is eternity and life with God in heaven. That is a great place to start our thoughts thinking as we begin our prayer time.

3. Put first things first– I love to begin my prayer time with thanksgiving and praise to God. It shifts my perspective to a healthy place right from the start.

4. Think Win/Win -Building on the habits we already developed we pray for the Lord to win in the world. Jesus encouraged us to pray, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done.” Effective people who pray understand that is a win for them as well.

5. Seek first to understand then to be understood– Listening before asking creates requests that change history. Starting with Scripture creates a foundation for powerful asking. This takes our prayer to a new level.

6. Synergize– This reminds me of two parts of effectiveness in prayer. First, I am reminded of the power of agreeing together with others in prayer. Second, it reminds that after hearing from God before asking we are actually working together with God.

7. Sharpen the Saw– We can always grow in our prayer life. That is why we create our resources. What will you do to learn and develop your prayer life?

Let me encourage you to take one of these habits and build it into your prayer life in the next month. See how your effectiveness increases.