8 Simple Ways to Supercharge Your Prayers

Although not a complete list, these 8 things will supercharge your prayer life and help you better understand God’s workings in your life. I would love to hear your comments on things that have helped you grow your prayer life.

1. Know who you are praying to. – Randomly speaking out into the air is the act of the mentally disturbed. You are praying to God, specifically, God the Father. In the model prayer Jesus gave us in Matthew 6, He directs us to pray to “Our Father.” Follow the teachings of Jesus and pray to the Father, not angels or dead people; He is the only one with the power to answer.
2. Make prayer something you are, not something you do. – In Thessalonians 5:17, we are told to “pray without ceasing”; this means we should be in constant conversation with God. Too often, we relegate prayer to something we do before a meal or going to bed. An active prayer life should be so much more than just a task; it is what we are. When you describe yourself as a mother, father, etc., you are describing what you are, not simply what you do occasionally, and so it should be with your prayer life.
3. Schedule a focused time of prayer. – In addition to the constant contact, we need to spend intimate, alone time talking with God. By scheduling it, maybe first thing in the morning, you will begin to make prayer a habit. Remember, what gets scheduled gets done.
4. Eliminate distractions during your focused prayer time. – Mathew 6:6 talks about going into your closet to pray. What this means is to get away from distraction. Turn off your phone, turn off the TV and get to a place where people will not distract you.
5. Don’t focus on the quality as much as on the conversation. – We get hung up on “church words” and think that is how God expects us to pray. God just wants to hear from you. He doesn’t care if you use big words or little ones; just talk to Him.
6. Keep a prayer list. – Making a list of names of people and things you have been asked to pray for is extremely helpful when praying during our focused prayer time. It will keep you on track and remembering to pray for people every day.
7. Avoid memorized, repetitious prayers. – Jesus warns us against this in Matthew 6:7. Prayer is supposed to be a living conversation, not some spell we memorize from a book. Talk to God, not at Him.
8. Include a Bible reading following your prayer time. – Prayer is how we talk to God, and the Bible is how God talks back to us. The first question I ask when someone tells me they are not hearing from God is, “How often are you reading your Bible?” Choosing not to read your Bible is akin to not answering the phone when it rings. Someone wants to talk to you, but you must pick up the phone.

Share some things that have made your prayer life stronger in the comment section and encourage someone else!