I’ve only met a handful of Christians in my entire life who’ve said that their prayer life is a daily, consistent, ongoing, and passionate habit in their life. Most Christians I talk to seem to fall more in line with my struggle of desiring to pray more faithfully but finding it hard to stay consistent.
Prayer seems to be a big challenge for most of us. So, as I write this post, I am not coming to you like the prayer warrior that I long to be. I am not her. At least not yet. But I want to be. I desire more. And I know God wants for me. He wants more for you.
If you struggle to pray on a daily basis too, this post is for us.
I think most of us lack in daily prayer, not because we’re against prayer, but because we’re not for prayer enough. We don’t see the need for prayer. We don’t understand the importance of prayer. We don’t know why God calls us to pray. And simply, we just don’t know how to pray.
Since this post can’t cover all of those aspects, I encourage you to check out the article recommendations at the bottom of this post to dig deeper. But for today, let’s focus on something simple yet profound. How to pray every single day.
The first few steps toward praying daily begin with very practical actions.
1. Pick a Time.
Your prayer life will never just “happen.” You must plan for it. Choose a time of day that works best for you and write it on your daily calendar (or phone).
2. Choose a Spot.
Choose a special spot that will act as your regular prayer location. Maybe your bedroom, living room, or closet (my mom prayers in her closest ever single day). I pray on the couch.
3. Get Organized.
Figure out a way to keep your prayers organized. If you’re a journaler, write out your prayers in your journal and use that to guide you. If you’re a techy person, use an app to keep track of things. I currently use an app called Prayer Mate to keep my prayers organized and rotating. Just find something that works for you.
Next is to figure out how to actually pray.
There is no perfect recipe or perfect prayer method. However, Jesus teaches us a lot in Matthew 6:9-13 on the structure and template for what our prayers should consist of. You may know this passage as “The Lord’s Prayer,” but you may not have noticed the detailed structure given within it. Jesus gave us an intentional road map for what our prayers should look like.
I use this road map as the foundation and “bones” of my prayer time. I encourage you to use this structure as a guide for your prayer time as well.
1. Begin with Praise (Matthew 6:9)
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name…” Begin your prayer time by praising God for who He is. Set your heart on Him. Praise His character, His faithfulness, and His goodness. You can even open up the Psalms as use them as your guide for praising God (Psalm 56, 100, 117, 136, and 145 are great ones to start with).
2. Surrender (Matthew 6:10)
“Your kingdom come, your will be done…” Next, take some time to surrender your plans, will, timeline and expectations to the Lord. Entrust your life to Him. Pray that God would help you desire His plans more than your own. Pray for a desire to build His kingdom each day and not your own.
3. Requests (Matthew 6:11)
“Give us this day our daily bread…” God is our provider and He desires to give His children good gifts. Although His timing is often different than ours, bring your requests humbly before Him in prayer. Pray specifically for yourself and for others. Pour your heart out to God and lay your needs and desires at His feet.
4. Confession (Matthew 6:12)
“Forgive us our debts, as we also have been forgiven our debtors.” Confession of sin and repentance of sin should be a regular and daily part of our prayer life. Psalm 32:1 says, “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.” We must humble ourselves before God and ask His forgiveness for the ways in which we’ve rebelled against His Word. As we do this, God forgives us and we experience great joy in Him.
5. Dependence (Matthew 6:13)
“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” We need God’s help. We cannot walk faithfully and resist temptation on our own. We need His strength. We need His grace. Finish your prayer time by asking God to help you — today — to walk in obedience to Him. Tell Him you need Him. Conclude your prayer time in a state of humble dependence on the Lord.
Regardless of what your prayer life has been up until this point, I invite you to join me in taking a faithful step forward.
We can’t change the past, but we can change today. We can change tomorrow. We can do things differently than we have done. We can take a faithful step forward in obedience to God’s command to pray. We can learn to delight in prayer in ways we’ve never experienced before. As we seek to be faithful women of prayer, God will meet us there. He will help us and grow us. He will give us joy and satisfaction in Him.
Let’s strive together — this year — to be women who pray every day!
For additional resources and articles on prayer, check these out:
- Prayer for Beginners
- A Simple Way to Pray Every Day
- Too Busy for a Prayer Life?
- A Simple Decision: Pray More
I’d love to chat with your below!
- What is the biggest factor keeping you from praying daily?
- What do you find most challenging about your prayer life?
