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Prayer is an incredibly important part of a relationship with God. Like any relationship, it takes practice to form a relationship with someone. It takes time to learn how to listen and talk to God, but there are many different ways to practice prayer.
Build a daily habit
Develop a habit of praying each day. It can help to do this at a consistent time each day (in the morning when you wake up and read your Bible, at night before bed, etc.) so that it becomes a natural habit. As you develop this daily practice, add in more times of prayer throughout the day.
But prayer doesn’t have to be at a specific time or place to be meaningful and powerful. Prayer is simply talking to and listening to God – it’s developing a relationship. And relationship are more than forming habits.
Add in prayer while you are doing everyday things – doing the dishes, driving in the car, walking outside, etc. Eventually, conversation with the Father becomes so natural and easy that it happens anywhere and everywhere.
Try practicing simple breath prayers for those moments when you don’t know what to say:
Inhale: Fill me with your presence
Exhale: I surrender my day to you
Invite
Stop and invite God’s presence into what you’re doing, wherever you are. Pausing and being quiet encourages your mind to be still and your spirit to engage with the Holy Spirit.
Praise
Spend time in praise – worship with music, read aloud Psalms that praise and adore God, journal a prayer of thanksgiving.
Confess
Are there things in your heart or your life that you need to repent of to God? Jesus took our sin to the cross – we are not bound by it anymore. Prayer isn’t based on our righteousness – we are worthy because of Jesus, not because don’t make mistakes. But sin turns us away from the Father – confessing our sin helps us to walk back toward Him and toward our relationship with Him.
Ask
What do you need? God desires to hear our needs! Lay your requests before him. Tell him the desires of your heart. The big, bodacious dreams; your worries and anxieties; your mundane daily needs.
Listen
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”
John 10:27
Prayer is not a gumball machine where you give God a quarter and He spits back out what you want. It’s a relationship that requires listening. God could speak to you through that still, small voice; through Scripture; through dreams or visions; through a friend; through a word He speaks to you in prayer.
5 ways to check if God is speaking
- God will not contradict what is said in the Bible
- Ask for the Holy Spirit to give you the gift of discernment
- Ask the advice of a friend or leader who loves Jesus – What do they think?
- Observe your own conscience – do you have a sense of peace or disquiet?
- Ask the Lord for confirmation – to say the same thing in another way
Use the Bible to pray through Scripture:
Here are some of my favorite books on prayer:
Fervent by Priscilla Schirer
How to Pray by Pete Greig
How to Pray: a guide for young explorers by Pete Greig
How to Hear God by Pete Greig
To Light Their Way: A Collection of Prayers and Liturgies for Parents by Kayla Craig
What Happens When I Talk to God? by Stormie Omartian
I Talk to God About How I Feel: Learning to Pray by Stormie Omartian
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How to Pray Scripture Over Your Kids