13 Practical Ways to Focus Your Prayer Life

Recently, Byron and I have been talking a lot about prayer. It's such a huge part of our lives, our ministry, and our Spiritual growth. As we walked home today, we were talking about different aspects of prayer, and I started feeling a bit inspired. That said, I decided to write a list (not all inclusive, but still pretty long), of 13 practical pieces of my prayer life that have helped me to be a more focused, diligent, and purposed prayer! With that being said, here we go!

1) Do Not Disturb

If you have a cellphone turn on the do not disturb feature, and then place your phone somewhere out of reach (i.e. across the room). For me, this eliminates 90% of my distractions.

2) Don't Fall Asleep

Pray somewhere that you won't fall asleep. Even the disciples struggled with this! There's no shame in it. If you're in a comfy position, wrapped up in a blanket, and silently praying to yourself with your eyes closed at 7am, it takes some serious will power to NOT fall asleep. If you're prone to falling asleep when you're prone, try praying while sitting in a chair, at the kitchen table. 

3) Set a "Prayer Timer" 

Usually, I try to pray for 15 minutes before I read my Bible. 15 minutes isn't the "holy" number, but for me, it's a practical goal. I wanted to become more disciplined in my prayer life, so I choose a reasonable amount of time to pray, and then set the timer on my watch so that I could see if I reached my goal. At first, I would make it 3-4 minutes before running out of things to pray about. But each day, I could pray a little longer, and now, my quiet time with the Lord feels shortened if I don't get to pray for at least 15 minutes. It's a lot like running -- if you want to be a marathon runner, you have to train. You set your goal (run a marathon), and then each day, you discipline yourself to run more and more, until you are able to run a marathon. Set your prayer goal, and discipline yourself to reach that goal.

4) Make a Prayer list

It's really easy to say, "I'll be praying for you!" and then never think about that person or situation again. It's no different for me. I have am unbelievable bad memory for prayer requests, but fortunately, the solution is simple -- a prayer list. A while back, I noticed Byron looking at a list of names as he was praying. Feeling inspired, I decided to make a list as well. Some days, I have so much to pray for, I don't even look at the list. Other days, I can't think of anything to pray for, and so I work through the list. It's a simple tool that really helps me to focus my prayer and reach my "timer" goal. 

5) Have a Thankful Heart

I think it's important to say, praying is no small thing. It's communication with the creator of the universe. That's big! So often, we begin our prayers by saying, "Thank you for this day." I think that's a great idea, but also, "this day" is not the only thing that we can be thankful for. The Word says:

"But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth" (John 4:23-24 NKJV).  

I can't think of a better way to worship God in "spirit and in truth," than by worshiping God while praying. When I begin my prayers, I try to start by praising God for the things He has been doing. And during times in my life when I was really struggling with circumstantial depression, I found that worshiping God through prayer was pivotal in coming out of those dark times. 

"For You will light my lamp; the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness (vs 8)...As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is prove; He is a shield to all who trust in Him. For who is God, except the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God? It is God who arms me with strength, and makes my way perfect (vs 30-32)...The LORD lives! Blessed be my Rock! Let the God of my salvation be exalted (vs 46)...Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the Gentiles, and sing praises to Your name. Great deliverance He gives to His king, and shows mercy to His anointed, to David and his descendants forevermore. - Psalm 18 (NKJV)

6) Ask For the Holy Spirit

Sometimes, I just don't feel like I know how to pray. But, praise the Lord, we are promised that the Holy Spirit will guide us as we pray. Romans 8:26-27 reads, "Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God" (NKJV). If you don't know how to pray, don't worry. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you as you pray. 

7) Get Right With God

For me, it's absolutely impossible to pray if I have sin in my life. And unfortunately, I'm a sinful person, which means that asking God to forgive me for my sins has to be a regular part of my prayer life. Since God is Perfect Light, if I have been dwelling in darkness, I can't have fellowship with Him until I've confessed my sins to Him. Here's the good news though:

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness" - 1 John 1:9 (NKJV)

This topic could be a blog post all on its own, but for the sake of keeping it brief, it needs to be said that if we draw close to God, He promises to draw close to us. Likewise, if we continue to choose the ways of the world, we are drawing closer to the world, not God, and it will begin to feel like God is distant over time -- but He's not actually the distant one, we are. 

"If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear" (Psalm 66:18, NKJV). That may seem harsh, but it's the truth. However, the Lord ABOUNDS in grace and mercy. Check out what the next two verses say, "But certainly God has heard me; He has attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer, nor His mercy from me" (Psalm 66:19-20, NKJV). 

8) Pray For Yourself

In John 17, Jesus prays for Himself, and as our ultimate example, that means that we should pray for ourselves too. One of my biggest prayers is for the Lord to give me wisdom. I ask for this almost every time I pray. James 1:5 says, "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him" (NKJV). 

I also bring other needs, burdens, and requests before the Lord. Matthew 7:7 states, "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you" (NKJV). Unless we ask amiss (James 4:2-3), the Lord will hear us and give us what we need, IF it's His will. I often ask for the Holy Spirit to manifest Himself more in my life, to work in my life, to teach me, and to show me how to better minister to and love people. 

The Lord also wants to know when we're hurting, and He desires to carry those burdens for us. At Jesus' feet, we can lay every burden (Matthew 11:28), and promises that "My yolk is easy and My burden is light" (Matthew 11:30, NKJV). 

In the Psalms, David is constantly bringing his heartaches to the Lord, and David was a man after God's own heart. What an encouraging example, that we can truly bring everything before God, and that He cares.

"Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you." - 1 Peter 5:7 (NKJV)

9) Pray For Others

Going back to John 17, Jesus didn't just pray for Himself, He also prayed for others. In fact, the majority of His prayer was for His disciples. Same for Paul -- In his letters, it's clear that he is praying for people, churches, cities, and others in ministers. Intercessory prayer should be a huge part of our prayer lives. This is really where that "prayer list" comes in handy. Matthew 5:44 says, "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven" (NKJV). So, if your enemies and persecutors didn't make it on your prayer list, you should add them. 

But also, remember Ephesians 6:18, "And praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints" (NKJV). This means we shouldn't just be praying for our enemies and persecutors, we should also be praying for our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. 

We should also be praying for the Gospel to spread and for our friends and family that aren't saved. Romans 10:1 says, Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved" (NKJV). Paul was praying for Israel to be saved because He had a heart to see the lost be found. Jesus has the same heart. Throughout the new Gospels, Jesus is desiring for people to come to Him, and He asks the Father to not hold various sins against people as He is persecuted. Stephen also has this heart in Acts 7. God's greatest desire is for all people to come to know Him, and to be saved by the blood of Jesus Christ. And as believers, we need to be praying for the Gospel to be made known to everyone, including our friends and family members that don't know Christ. 

10) Pray For Laborers 

We need to be praying for laborers. Luke 10:2 says, "The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest" (NKJV). Jesus is asking us to pray for more ministers and missionaries to go out into the world to spread the good news of the Gospel. And I think this point can even double back to "Pray For Yourself." We should also be asking God if He is asking us to become ministers or missionaries to be His laborers in the Harvest. 

11) Pray for the Persecuted Church

In Acts 12:5, we see that Peter was in prison, but the church prayed for him constantly, and he was freed from prison. Whether we see it or not, there is a persecuted Church today, and as Christians, we should be praying for it. It might feel like an overwhelming task to pray for the persecuted Church, but there are some really cool resources to help guide us as we pray. In the past, Byron and I have used Operation World as a tool to help us pray for the world. On their website, there's a list of countries with various statistics that you can use to help you know how to pray. We know a few different people who pray for a different country every day, which is a cool idea. 

12) Pray for Your Time in the Bible

It's a fairly natural transition to go from praying to reading your Bible. I find that my time in the Word is the most fruitful if I've asked the Holy Spirit to help me to have understanding of the Word, and for the Lord to speak to me through the Word. The Bible says that we gain understanding through the Breath of the Almighty (Job 32:8), and it's fitting that we ask the Lord to give us understanding of His Word. 

Likewise, We can ask the Lord to speak to us through the Word. 2 Timothy 3:16 states, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work" (NKJV). God's Word is complete, holy, accurate, God inspired, untainted, unchanged, and unaltered. In my experiences, God will often answer my prayers through His Word by speaking directly to my heart when I read it. 

13) Be Encouraged

As we pray, we can also be encouraged by the fact that Jesus is also praying. He is constantly interceding for us, which is mind blowing and totally amazing! Romans 8:34 says, "Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and futhermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us" (NKJV). Jesus is interceding for us at the right hand of the Father! Hebrews 7:25 also says, "Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them" (NKJV). If there is a friend or family member (or even a politician!) that you know isn't saved, and you think, "Maybe they'll never get saved," be encouraged. Jesus saves, and he lives to make intercession for that friend, that family member, and yes, even that politician. 

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May it be said, this isn't a perfect or complete list of how to pray and who to pray for. These are just 13 things that have been really good for me to focus on as I'm praying. If you're looking for more ways to pray, or people to pray for, here are just a few more ideas:

-Pray for your family

-Pray for your friends

-Pray for your acquaintances 

-Pray for people you regularly encounter (baristas, coworkers, etc.)

-Pray for politicians

-Pray for celebrities

-Pray for pastors

-Pray for people who have fallen

-Pray for marriages (That there would be less divorce, adultery, etc.)

-Pray for people who are abused

-Pray for people who are drug and alcohol abusers

-Pray for people deceived by false teachers

-Pray for Jesus to come back soon

-Pray for wars to end

-Pray for missionaries

-Pray for people who feel like they might be called to missions

-Pray for believers to follow after the Lord with boldness

-Pray for believers to act in love, grace, and mercy

-Pray for people to be healed

I hope and pray ; ) that after reading this post, you'll find yourself desiring to pray more, and that you would draw closer to the Lord throughout 2016!

Blessings,

Emily