Getting Your Prayer Groove On…

We recently started Share & Prayer at church, a medium for women to meet and pray for church and individual needs. Since it’s inception I have spent a lot of time thinking of prayer and how it affects our lives. A lot of people ask the question, why pray if God already knows? Ultimately, God’s instruction to pray is clear in the Bible (Ephesians 6:18 “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints”) but the overarching reason is to strengthen our relationship with Him and to trust Him in all things. This is the most intimate relationship you will ever have on this earth, so why waste it?

One thing that has convicted me the last year is the commitment to pray for others. How many times have you told someone, “I will pray for you”? Did you do it? Or did you do it after you remembered two weeks later? Let’s face it, we’ve all been guilty of this. This realization puts me in the category of mocking God’s provisions. Well if that doesn’t put me in my place then nothing will. James 5:16 says, “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” This reinforces the need to go before Him and he will unleash His mighty power!

I have implemented strategies to improve my prayer life. Here are a few that may help you:

1. Get a cute little notebook to keep prayer requests in. This keeps me organized and allows me to track the person’s progress. When the prayer is answered I mark them off the list. Little notebooks allow me to take it everywhere. If you don’t have your notebook, write it down as soon as you get home.

2. Designate time for prayer. Okay, yes, I realize this is hard. But who says it has to be in a quiet place? (well yes, Jesus did but it’s doesn't always have to be in quiet place). If 12 o’clock is your time to pray, then take your notebook to school, work, the store or even on the treadmill. You can certainly get your groove on while grocery shopping.

3. Best advice: follow up on a prayer request right then and there with the person. Just say, “Can I pray with you now?”