Practical Steps to a Vibrant Prayer Life

A question I’m often asked about prayer is this: “How long do I pray these beautiful prayers?”

The answer is simple. Pray a prayer until the words become written on the tablets of your heart and your mind. You will discover that your doubts and fears dissolve as your faith in God’s Word increases. Effectual prayer is a prayer based on the will of the Father. Your mind will be renewed if you choose to exchange wrong, misguided thought patterns for God’s Word. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (see Rom. 10:17).

God is patient and kind even when we have the audacity to tell Him exactly how He should answer our prayers. God’s Word is for correction and discipline! (See 2 Tim. 3:16-17 AMPC.) Praying the Scriptures changed my false perceptions about who God is. As you pray the Word, you will come to know the Scriptures in a meaningful way, and you will experience transformation in your every-day-going-to-work life. You will become strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.

When you pray, be sure to take your time and pause for reflection. If you have not already done so, be sure you do not allow your cell phones and other devices to rob you of your listening time. Use this time to develop your spiritual imagination. See your Father inviting you into His Throne Room (see Heb. 4:16). He wants to hear your voice, and He is ready and willing to extend mercy and grace just when you need it. Ask the Holy Spirit to make the Word a reality in your heart and mind. One believer who had been diagnosed with terminal cancer began praying the written prayers page by page. She received a miracle; God’s Word healed her. Another believer prayed each prayer every day, sometimes several times each day. At the end of seven days, he was delivered from depression. Prayer is not magic! God is not withholding any good thing from His children. Effectual prayer is deep calling to deep—a loving Father answering the prayers of His children.

These prayers will help you ask and keep on asking, seek and keep on seeking, knock and keep on knocking until the door is opened! (See Matt. 7.) The King of glory will come in!

 Take the time to research and contemplate the spiritual significance of each verse listed at the end of the prayers. Praying in the name of Jesus is the prayer Jesus would offer in your situation. Tacking “in the name of Jesus” at the end of your prayers is not just a token saying. It’s the authority to pray the prayer, knowing that Jesus releases the power to back it up.

These prayers are a guide for you to get to know your heavenly Father intimately. How do you become acquainted with anyone? By spending time with that individual. Never run from God even when you’ve sinned; instead, run to Him. If you confess your sins, He is faithful to forgive you and cleanse you from all unrighteousness (see 1 John 1:9). Remember, the Father will never leave you or forsake you. He will never leave you without support (see Heb. 13:5 AMPC).

Practical Steps to a Vibrant Prayer Life

• Have an appointed time to pray deliberately. I have found if I do not keep my early morning time with God, the day gets away. “Each morning you listen to my prayer, as I bring my requests to you and wait for your reply” (Ps. 5:3 CEV). “Every morning I will move my soul toward him. Every waking hour I will worship only him, and he will hear and respond to my cry” (Ps. 55:17 TPT).

• Read your Bible. If you do not like to read or have time to read, listen to an audio reading of the Scriptures. The Bible is food to your spirit being. Feed your heart and mind on the Word of God.

• Enter your prayer time with praise and thanksgiving. “Proclaim his majesty, all you mighty champions, you sons of Almighty God, giving all the glory and strength back to him! Be in awe before his majesty. Be in awe before such power and might!” (Ps. 29:1-2 TPT).

 • Meditate on God’s Word. Choose a verse of scripture for your meditation. Be patient with yourself; you have the power of choice and can learn to capture your thoughts and focus on the Word. Learning to meditate was not easy for me; my mind was never still. Instrumental music helped me get my mind focused. (I recommend music albums by Nick Syrett and Maurice Sklar.) “I long for more revelation of your truth, for I love the light of your Word as I meditate on your decrees” (Ps. 119:48 TPT).

Keep on Keeping On

 Be prepared! Prayer is not an invitation to tiptoe through the tulips. Scriptural prayers pierce the darkness, and Satan will apply pressure and tempt you just as he did Jesus in Matthew 4. Do what Jesus did. Answer every lie with Scripture and have the prayer available to reinforce your faith. Satan’s only weapon is deception. The enemy has been stripped of power, and you alone can draw the “line in the sand.” Do not let go! Remember, you are strong, not in human strength, but “strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might” (Eph. 6:10).

God will give you even more strength to stand against all such evil longings. “As the Scripture says, God gives strength to the humble but sets himself against the proud and haughty. So give yourselves humbly to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” ( James 4:6-7 TLB).

You are salt and you are light! You are the Body of Christ! Put on your prayer armor! (See Eph. 6:12-18.)

As you pray the prayers that follow, you will be reinforcing your prayer armor, which we have been instructed to put on in Ephesians 6:11. The fabric from which the armor is made is the Word of God. We are to live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. We desire the whole counsel of God because we know it changes us. By receiving that counsel, you will be “transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you]” (Rom. 12:2 AMPC).

If Satan brazenly attempted to stop Jesus from doing the Father’s will, he will not hesitate to attack those who dare to believe the Word of God! Thoughts come out of nowhere to undermine your confidence, and you may even question your salvation. The accuser is no respecter of persons. Satan’s tactics change from attempting to stop you from accepting Jesus to attempting to deceive you. One night, as I was preparing to leave for a speaking engagement, a sneering thought came from nowhere: Who do you think you are? Immediately, I declared, “I am a daughter of the Most High God! That’s who I am!”

 Turn to the next page and speak aloud the personal affirmations to reinforce who you are. Write the affirmations on index cards and post them around your house. Keep God’s Word before your eyes, and remember, you are created in the image of God. You are intelligent and of great valor.

 And keep on keeping on. Never give up, never give in, and never draw back. When you are victorious, God is glorified. Your prayers will avail much!

 They will bring salvation to the sinner, deliverance to the oppressed, healing to the sick, and prosperity to the poor. They will usher in the next move of God on the earth. In addition to affecting outward circumstances and other people, your prayers will also affect you. In the very process of praying, your life will be changed as you go from faith to faith and from glory to glory in Him—the One who called you to pray.