10 Steps to a Practical, Joyful, Prayer Life
Dick Eastman has been an author who has deeply touched my prayer life over the years. Below are the first 5 insights he gives to help us develop a more consistent and joyful prayer life.
Jesus said, "Go directly to the Father...using my name...and you will have abundant joy" (Jn. 16:23-24, NLT). The psalmist adds, "In God's presence is the fullness of joy" (Ps. 16:11, KJV). These 10 directives may help you make prayer not only practical, but a joy as well.
1. Find the best possible time and place for prayer. In Mt. 6:6, Jesus said, "When you pray" (suggesting a time devoted to it), "go into your room" (suggesting a place devoted for it). First, set a specific time that is best suited for you to pray. Watchman Nee wrote, "Those who have no set time for prayer, do not pray." Then, find a good place for prayer-like a spare room, a closet, or even a comfortable chair. Going to the same place each day helps form a habit.
2. Forget all previous failures in prayer. A lady once confided to me that a terrible problem was hindering her prayer life. "I often fall asleep during prayer," she said. I replied, "Welcome to the club. I do, too!" Stunned that a teacher of prayer would have that problem, she inquired, "What do you do when you fall asleep during prayer?" Chuckling, I replied, "I rest in the Lord, what do you do?" As she laughed, I added, "What I do is start praying again when I wake up. The key is-don't give up!"
3. Fight all prayer hindrances fiercely. Paul wrote, "Use every piece of God's armor to resist the enemy" (Eph. 6:13, NLT). Of course, the greatest hindrance to prayer is not praying at all. James said, "You do not have, because you do not ask God" (Jas. 4:2). Then there's the hindrance of selfish praying. James continues: "When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives" (Jas. 4:3).
4. Focus on the Lord rather than on answers to prayer. God told Jeremiah, "Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you...You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart" (Jer. 29:12-13). The essence of prayer is in the repetition of the word "Me" (God) in this passage. Effective prayer isn't gauged by how many answers we receive, but by how much of God we touch.
5. Follow a meaningful plan of action. When the psalmist said he would "direct" his prayer unto the Lord in the morning (Ps. 5:3, KJV), he used the Hebrew word arak, meaning to "set in order" or "arrange." He had a plan of action, or strategy, for his praying.
Source: Pray Magazine
Next week we will consider Dick Eastman's remaining five ways to practice joyful prayer.
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Desi: Lets put these suggestions into the bulletin in the near future. Conrad
Posted by: Desi | February 04, 2010 at 09:41 AM