1.

Know the why: write down your motivations

Those who establish good habits in their lives know what they are aiming
for. They know there might be a mundaneness to specific tasks, but if they
keep the end goal in mind, they can persevere.

When the Bible speaks of prayer, it speaks of it not just as a duty but
a delight, as something that brings incredible blessing. If we are going to be
motivated to have a habit of prayer over the long-haul, we need to keep
God’s promises about prayer at our fingertips.

Take, for instance, Jesus’ promises about prayer (Matthew 6:6; 26:41;
Mark 11:22b-24; Luke 11:9-10; John 14:12-14; 15:7; 16:23-24). Write down
these verses and keep the list on hand.

2. Just do it: schedule a time to pray

When you are going from a shallow, infrequent, sporadic life of prayer to
something richer and more meaningful, the first—and perhaps biggest—
hurdle to get over is the commitment to set aside time daily to do it.

I wish I had something more profound to say about this, but it is the simple
step that can’t be ignored. If we want to pray more, we need to be
intentional. Yes, you have a dozen excuses for why you don’t do it. You
probably always will. Make the choice to change that now.

While any time of day is fine to pray, I believe the morning is ideal. This
was the habit of men like Jesus (Mark 1:35), Job (Job 1:5), and many of the
psalmists (Psalm 5:3; 57:8; 119:47). Morning prayer calibrates our souls for
the day ahead.

3. Find your secret place: pick an undistracting location

Find a location with minimal distractions as your go-to spot for prayer. In
time you will learn which objects close to you will help you and
which objects will hinder you.

 For some, praying on their bed is ideal. For others, the bed only
reminds them of sleep.
 For some, praying with a computer or smartphone is a handy way to
keep track of Bible study notes and prayer requests—there are even
 some handy prayer apps. For others, a phone or computer is just an
invitation to check Facebook.
 For some, praying outdoors is a perfect place to connect to God’s
created beauty. For others, all they hear are annoying birds, crickets,
and mosquitoes.

4. Write it out: journal to organize your pursuit of God

Next to setting aside a daily time to pray, the discipline of keeping a prayer
journal has been the most impactful thing on my prayer life.

List your prayer points

 Written out prayers and praises—like letters to God

 Notes from personal Bible study
 Notes from what God is teaching in times of personal meditation
and/or fasting
 Lists of who to pray for and how to pray for them
 Lists of answers to prayer
 Lists of Bible passages being memorized

People journal many different ways, and your specific method isn’t
nearly as important as your consistency in doing it. Journals are
helpful for several reasons. First, they make us more intentional about our
pursuit of God—the very act of pulling out my journal and writing keeps me
focused on the discipline of prayer. Second, journals keep track of what we
would inevitably forget: answers to prayer, the important truths God is
teaching us, insights from His Word, etc.

5. Engage the mind: combine prayer with study

Prayer is a dialogue, not a monologue. As such we need to fill our times of
prayer with times where we can sit at the feet of Jesus and learn from His
Word.

6. Engage the heart: combine memorization and meditation

To some the word “meditation” invokes thoughts of Eastern or medieval
mysticism, but meditation is something the Bible commands us to do.
Christian counselor David Powlison says there are two things that make
meditation uniquely Christian: it is full of content (not the emptying the mind
of thought but being filled with gospel-centered thought) and it
is conversational (not some wordless, emotional experience but speaking
and listening to God).
The Hebrew word for “meditate” is hagah, and it means
to mutter under the breath or imagine something in the mind. The
Bible says the substance of our meditations should be the Word of God
itself (Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1:2), the person and character of God (Psalm
35:28; 63:6; 71:24), and the works of God in history (Psalm 77:12;
143:5). Meditation is purposely getting quiet before God and thinking
deeply about Him, what He has said, and what He has done.

7. Engage the body: fast as a means of pursuing God

“Our seasons of fasting and prayer at the Tabernacle have been high days
indeed; never has Heaven’s gate stood wider; never have our hearts been
nearer the central Glory.” – Charles Spurgeon

Fasting has been practiced among the people of God for centuries as a
means of more engaging prayer (2 Samuel 1:11-12; 2 Chronicles 20:1-4;
Ezra 8:21-23; Esther 4:15-17; Psalm 25:11-14; Daniel 9:1-19; Joel 2:12-16;
Jonah 3:4-10; Luke 2:36-28; Acts 9:9; 13:1-3; 14:23). Traditionally, fasting
is going without food, or without specific kinds of food, for a period of time
for the purpose of seeking intimacy with God or seeking God for His mercy.

Jesus never commanded us to fast, rather He simply assumed his disciples

would do it. In Matthew 6 Jesus teaches us what to do, not if we fast,
but when we fast (v.16).

Jesus linked fasting to intimacy with God in prayer. Jesus likened His
presence on earth to that of a bridegroom at a wedding feast—His arrival
was a time of celebration—but “the days will come when the bridegroom is
taken away from them, and then they will fast” (Matthew 9:15). Yes, the
Christian life is full of joy, but it is a joy that is merely a foretaste of the joy
we will have when Jesus returns. This is why Christians fast today. John
Piper explains, “Jesus connects Christian fasting with our longing for the
return of the Bridegroom. Therefore, one of the most important meanings of
Christian fasting is to express the hunger of our hearts for the coming of
our King” (Hunger for God, p.83).

8. Engage the passions: praise God and be happy in Him

Closely connected to this tap root is the discipline of personal worship.
This is what George Müller called his “first and primary business” every
day: “to have my soul happy in the Lord.” What does this look like? First
and foremost, it means your disciplines of study, reading, meditating,
journaling, and intercession should lead to finding happiness in God. If
we are rushed and hurried through our devotions, we must slow down and
let ourselves find joy in our thoughts of all God is.

9. Get away: take personal retreat days to reflect

). This involves taking a day or half a day an going away to a remote
location to be alone with God.

10. Get inspired: use Scriptural prayers for intercession

The weakest area of my personal prayer life has always been intercession:
remembering who to pray for and what to pray about.

Who to pray for…

I recommend using a “concentric circle” model when you pray

 The central circle is your own soul: Pray that God will sanctify and
change your heart. Pray through your own anxieties and troubles.
Confess your own sins to God.
 The next concentric circle is your family.
 The next concentric circle could be members of your church.
 The next circle might be specific unbelievers.

You can continue the circles to include missionaries, government officials,

good friends, etc. The general idea is that the closer to the center you
get, the more often you pray for that person or situation.

How to pray for them…

The best way I know to offer my requests to God is to use Scriptural
prayers when interceding for myself or others.