{"id":1133,"date":"2013-04-16T07:00:19","date_gmt":"2013-04-16T12:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thomrainer.wpengine.com?p=1133"},"modified":"2013-04-16T07:00:19","modified_gmt":"2013-04-16T12:00:19","slug":"ten-simple-strategies-for-prayer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/ten-simple-strategies-for-prayer\/","title":{"rendered":"Ten Simple Strategies for Prayer"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Chuck Lawless<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I know very few people who don\u2019t struggle with prayer. We know we should pray, but doing so consistently and fervently is not easy. Most of our praying is reactionary \u2013 that is, in response to a problem \u2013 rather than proactive, lifestyle praying.<\/p>\n

Sometimes we try to fix this problem by seeking to become a prayer warrior overnight. That approach seldom works, and we get discouraged. A better approach is to build your prayer life one step at a time. Here are some simple strategies for increasing your prayer:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Establish some prayer \u201ctriggers.\u201d<\/strong> Associate prayer with some daily activities, and then develop prayer patterns. For example, you might pray before you turn the ignition on your car. Pray as you cook a meal, clean a room, or walk on the treadmill. Let the \u201ctrigger\u201d do what it\u2019s intended to do: direct you toward prayer.<\/li>\n
  2. Use the church bulletin or calendar as a prayer guide<\/strong>. Find the list of scheduled events for the week, and pray for each day\u2019s activities. If the young people are meeting on Tuesday night, pray for them. If the praise team practices on Monday, intercede for them on Monday. Let the bulletin or calendar information guide your daily praying.<\/li>\n
  3. Develop a \u201cFocus on the Family\u201d prayer strategy<\/strong>. Each week, focus on a different family in the church. Find out what prayer needs they have, and pray for them. Your small group might use this strategy to make certain every family receives prayer throughout the year. If so, be sure to pray for inactive families as well \u2013 only through prayer might they return.<\/li>\n
  4. Follow the ACTS paradigm<\/strong>. This strategy was the first one I learned decades ago, and it is still an effective one. Build a prayer list based on Adoration (praising God for who He is), Confession (admitting sin), Thanksgiving (expressing gratitude) and Supplication (praying for others). The intentionality of this strategy will help you stay focused during prayer.<\/li>\n
  5. Use a \u201cFocused ACTS\u201d strategy for one week<\/strong>. Use ACTS on Monday, but then focus daily on only one component during the rest of the week. On Tuesday, adore God throughout the day. On Wednesday, ask God to bring to light all of your sin so you might confess it. Thursday is for thanksgiving, and Friday is for praying for others.<\/li>\n
  6. Do \u201cdrive by\u201d praying<\/strong>. Use your time in the car to pray. Watch for church buildings, and pray for the pastors of those congregations. Intercede for children and teachers as you drive past a school. If you pass a \u201cFor Sale\u201d sign in your neighborhood, pray for that family. Pray for your coworkers as you park each morning.<\/li>\n
  7. Set some \u201cprayer power points.\u201d<\/strong> A prayer power point is a set time each day when you stop to pray. I find it best to set the alarm on my watch, and that reminder calls me away from my desk to pray. Just a few minutes set aside for prayer help me to re-focus for the rest of the day.<\/li>\n
  8. Pray the \u201cModel Prayer\u201d of Matthew 6:9-13 daily<\/strong>. I would not want this strategy to become routine and repetitious, but Jesus taught us to pray this prayer. Start each day with this prayer. Pause long enough to meditate on each phrase. Let the words become a genuine conversation with God.<\/li>\n
  9. Pray as you read the news<\/strong>. Whether you read the newspaper or read online, use the news to direct your praying. Intercede for countries in war. Pray for families affected by crime or natural disasters. Ask God to guide government leaders. Pray for missionaries in each country in the news.<\/li>\n
  10. Send an email prayer to someone each day<\/strong>. Take ten minutes, pray for someone else, and send a written prayer to that person. This strategy doesn\u2019t take long, and just a few sentences of prayer will encourage somebody unexpectedly.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Remember, you won\u2019t become a prayer warrior overnight . . . but start somewhere. Becoming a furnace of prayer begins with just a spark.<\/p>\n

    What other prayer strategies have you used?
    \n<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n

    \"Lifeway_Blog_Ad[1]\"<\/a>Chuck Lawless\u00a0currently serves as Professor of Evangelism and Missions and Dean of Graduate Studies at Southeastern Seminary.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

    You can connect with Dr. Lawless on both\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Facebook<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Chuck Lawless I know very few people who don\u2019t struggle with prayer. We know we should pray, but doing so consistently and fervently is not easy. Most of our praying is reactionary \u2013 that is, in response to a problem \u2013 rather than proactive, lifestyle praying. Sometimes we try to fix this problem by…","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":1194,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"publish_to_discourse":"","publish_post_category":"","wpdc_auto_publish_overridden":"","wpdc_topic_tags":"","wpdc_pin_topic":"","wpdc_pin_until":"","discourse_post_id":"","discourse_permalink":"","wpdc_publishing_response":"","wpdc_publishing_error":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1133","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-church-answers"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTen Simple Strategies for Prayer | Church Answers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/ten-simple-strategies-for-prayer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ten Simple Strategies for Prayer | Church Answers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Chuck Lawless I know very few people who don\u2019t struggle with prayer. We know we should pray, but doing so consistently and fervently is not easy. Most of our praying is reactionary \u2013 that is, in response to a problem \u2013 rather than proactive, lifestyle praying. Sometimes we try to fix this problem by...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/ten-simple-strategies-for-prayer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Church Answers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-04-16T12:00:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/strategies-for-prayer.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"250\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Chuck Lawless\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Chuck Lawless\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/ten-simple-strategies-for-prayer\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/ten-simple-strategies-for-prayer\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Chuck Lawless\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/09e294734245d3978e67deffd6991c7f\"},\"headline\":\"Ten Simple Strategies for Prayer\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-04-16T12:00:19+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/ten-simple-strategies-for-prayer\/\"},\"wordCount\":710,\"commentCount\":31,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/ten-simple-strategies-for-prayer\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/strategies-for-prayer.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Church Answers\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/ten-simple-strategies-for-prayer\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/ten-simple-strategies-for-prayer\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/ten-simple-strategies-for-prayer\/\",\"name\":\"Ten Simple Strategies for Prayer | Church Answers\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/ten-simple-strategies-for-prayer\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/ten-simple-strategies-for-prayer\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/strategies-for-prayer.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-04-16T12:00:19+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/09e294734245d3978e67deffd6991c7f\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/ten-simple-strategies-for-prayer\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/ten-simple-strategies-for-prayer\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/ten-simple-strategies-for-prayer\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/strategies-for-prayer.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/strategies-for-prayer.jpg\",\"width\":628,\"height\":250},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/ten-simple-strategies-for-prayer\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Ten Simple Strategies for Prayer\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/\",\"name\":\"Church Answers\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/09e294734245d3978e67deffd6991c7f\",\"name\":\"Chuck Lawless\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b99cf3a5686c69c6ee0fa69473f5a659bee7daaa31ff24217be46675fd10a5bd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b99cf3a5686c69c6ee0fa69473f5a659bee7daaa31ff24217be46675fd10a5bd?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Chuck Lawless\"},\"description\":\"Dr. Chuck Lawless is a leading expert in spiritual consultation, discipleship and mentoring. As a former pastor, he understands the challenges ministry presents and works with Church Answers to provide advice and counsel for church leaders.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/author\/clawless\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Ten Simple Strategies for Prayer | Church Answers","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/ten-simple-strategies-for-prayer\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Ten Simple Strategies for Prayer | Church Answers","og_description":"By Chuck Lawless I know very few people who don\u2019t struggle with prayer. We know we should pray, but doing so consistently and fervently is not easy. Most of our praying is reactionary \u2013 that is, in response to a problem \u2013 rather than proactive, lifestyle praying. Sometimes we try to fix this problem by...","og_url":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/ten-simple-strategies-for-prayer\/","og_site_name":"Church Answers","article_published_time":"2013-04-16T12:00:19+00:00","og_image":[{"width":628,"height":250,"url":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/strategies-for-prayer.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Chuck Lawless","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Chuck Lawless","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/ten-simple-strategies-for-prayer\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/ten-simple-strategies-for-prayer\/"},"author":{"name":"Chuck Lawless","@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/09e294734245d3978e67deffd6991c7f"},"headline":"Ten Simple Strategies for Prayer","datePublished":"2013-04-16T12:00:19+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/ten-simple-strategies-for-prayer\/"},"wordCount":710,"commentCount":31,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/ten-simple-strategies-for-prayer\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/strategies-for-prayer.jpg","articleSection":["Church Answers"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/ten-simple-strategies-for-prayer\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/ten-simple-strategies-for-prayer\/","url":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/ten-simple-strategies-for-prayer\/","name":"Ten Simple Strategies for Prayer | Church Answers","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/ten-simple-strategies-for-prayer\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/ten-simple-strategies-for-prayer\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/strategies-for-prayer.jpg","datePublished":"2013-04-16T12:00:19+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/09e294734245d3978e67deffd6991c7f"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/ten-simple-strategies-for-prayer\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/ten-simple-strategies-for-prayer\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/ten-simple-strategies-for-prayer\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/strategies-for-prayer.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/strategies-for-prayer.jpg","width":628,"height":250},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/ten-simple-strategies-for-prayer\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Ten Simple Strategies for Prayer"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/","name":"Church Answers","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/09e294734245d3978e67deffd6991c7f","name":"Chuck Lawless","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b99cf3a5686c69c6ee0fa69473f5a659bee7daaa31ff24217be46675fd10a5bd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b99cf3a5686c69c6ee0fa69473f5a659bee7daaa31ff24217be46675fd10a5bd?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Chuck Lawless"},"description":"Dr. Chuck Lawless is a leading expert in spiritual consultation, discipleship and mentoring. As a former pastor, he understands the challenges ministry presents and works with Church Answers to provide advice and counsel for church leaders.","url":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/blog\/author\/clawless\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1133"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1133\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/churchanswers.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}