I have studied faith and discipleship from many people in my life. I have been lucky to study under some profound spiritual greats. I’ve been lucky enough to read and research extensively some of the great works of spirituality. I have also been lucky to converse with hundreds of pastors, spiritual leaders, and highly devout people throughout the world.
Over the years, I have kept notes, research material, and even things people said scribbled on napkins. Recently I took time to peruse a lot of my material, thinking back upon the conversations, and noting the personal lives of those I’ve encountered.
Prayer is a key element to Christian growth.
Prayer is a staple of Christian growth. It seems that without a practice of praying people do not progress very far in their Christian walk. The spiritual greats had robust prayer practices.
Of course, most people know this. But many people struggle with prayer. In fact, it is one of the most common struggles I hear from people of faith. So, what steps can you take to improve your prayer life?
Where should you begin? To know where to begin you must know where you are at present. So, let’s assess. Complete the following steps:
1. How often do I pray in a week?
We are not talking about flash prayers or momentary prayers. The Christian greats had devoted time to pray. First thing in the morning. Time set aside after breakfast or lunch. How often do you set aside time to pray each week and actually pray?
2. Are you satisfied with the time you give to praying? If not, what realistic step could you take to improve?
Many people make a mistake at this point. They have this grandiose idea of a super spiritual prayer life that consumes every part of their day. They see themselves praying hours every day. They imagine they will wake up two hours early to pray.
While I don’t want you to lose sight of your dream and you may get there, for now consider realistic steps. For example: If you pray once a week, can you commit to another day? If you pray 10 minutes each morning, can you increase that time to 12 minutes? 15 minutes? If you don’t pray, can you set aside 10 minutes one day a week?
3. Set realistic achievable goals.
We want to set goals that you can easily reach in order to build confidence and momentum. If your goal is so far-reaching that you can never get there, you will likely become discouraged and give up all together.
Set a realistic attainable goal. Add it to your calendar. Set a reminder. Post it on your refrigerator. Do whatever it takes to remember. If you follow step 4 below, have that person call you right before that time. Send a text. Send a message.
4. Tell someone!
Yep, tell somebody else about your aim. Having a mentor or someone who is discipling you really comes in handy here. But, if you don’t have a mentor then tell a friend and ask them to check occasionally on how you are doing.
Another great idea is to invite a friend to join you in reaching the goal. You don’t have to physically meet to pray, but you could agree to strive for the goal together. Each week you simply ask if they made it.
I think of the Fitbit wonders of our world who track together their steps, encouraging each other to get the magical 10,000 steps in each day. They celebrate when everyone in their group makes it. They also nudge each other when they are slacking. Why not do the same thing with prayer?
5. Act on your goal.
This is where you simply execute your plan.
Each week evaluate your progress. If you aren’t reaching your goal, ask yourself what is impeding you? Wrong time? Do you need to adjust your schedule? Turn the TV off 15 minutes early? Set your phone down for five minutes?
You may find you are achieving the goal. Don’t try to increase the time or frequency too quickly. Take your time. Spend some time with what is currently working. Relish in that celebration for a bit. Then, you can increase it a bit more if you like.
Give this method a try. See what happens. One thing is certain, doing nothing usually gets you nothing. Do something.
What are your prayer goals?
