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When there are numerous things to prioritize, veering away from living a devoted life can seem normal. In fact, others may deem it practical to put survival above spiritual obligations. However, every Christian needs a lifeline to God, a thing or two that connects them to Him whenever they seek His wisdom, mercy, and power, and one of the most powerful connections to have is a prayer life.
It’s easy to get lost in a deserted spiritual life and be parched from His love. But it’s far easier to maintain a conversation with Him. Here are easy ways on how to strengthen prayer life.
Understanding the Power of Prayer
In The Power of Prayer in Its Working, author Walton Weaver defines prayer as the most powerful channel towards inner peace, hope, and contentment in life. It may not instantly resolve every problem, but it’s a powerful tool to help you navigate peacefully. A means to communicate with the divine, prayers remind you that you aren’t alone.
Whatever you yearn for will be communicated, verbally or intentionally, to God through prayers. He listens and is always with you, working and ensuring things are in your favor. So, while this shouldn’t be taken as a shortcut to success and be abused, prayer can be seen as a means to finding peace amidst the chaos of life, a reassurance that happiness will always find its way to you.
“Surely God can answer prayer for people who live in space and time, even when their prayers involve “things” tied in with space and time, if God Himself is the source of this world’s origin as well as its continuance on a day to day basis.”
– Walton Weaver in The Power of Prayer in Its Working.
Without a doubt, prayers are essential in life.
However, there are misconceptions and confusion surrounding it, and Walton Weaver provides answers on how to strengthen prayer life in his book and his other written works.
What Are the Common Challenges in Prayer Life?
Other than setting priorities straight, many things in life put people at risk of miscommunicating themselves through prayer. This is why there is such a definite need to answer the question of how to strengthen prayer life effectively. Prayers can be deemed ineffective with one wrong intention, failing to reach the right recipient.
With busyness as one of them, five detrimental things kill the effectiveness of prayers. These can be conscious decisions people make or misconceptions they’ve long believed about the practice. Fortunately, author Walton Weaver addresses these in his book.
The 5 Things That Kill Your Prayer Life
- Unconfessed Sins
- Busyness and Distractions
- Doubt and Unbelief
- Lack of Discipline and Consistency
- Lack of Forgiveness and Bitterness
When resolving how to strengthen prayer life, avoiding or addressing these matters is at the top. Still, others may find it a challenge to achieve—after all, life can be overwhelming, and it is pretty easy to fall victim to any of these.
So, perhaps consistency is one of the primary keys to an effective prayer life. Making the activity a natural part of your lifestyle means it becomes naturally engraved in your routines, making it a breeze to practice constantly. But where do you begin?
Ways on How to Strengthen Prayer Life
There’s no surefire way to develop a powerful prayer life. Aside from being a uniquely individual experience, it is also fundamentally a journey rather than a singular destination. Thus, when it comes to answering the question of how to strengthen prayer life, there isn’t only one answer. Instead, it’s a process one should consciously adhere to and lean toward.
Overcome Spiritual Dryness
The best way to answer the question, “How to strengthen prayer life?” is to recognize and acknowledge what parts need strengthening. Prayer is a multi-faceted practice. Hence, to enhance your prayer life, know where to improve.
Do you feel like the time you dedicated to talking to him is lacking? Do you feel like you don’t set a clear intention whenever you reach out to him?
You must first identify where you’re falling short to resolve the problem.
Set Aside Time for Prayer
Again, consistency is the only way to strengthen your prayer life. While life can be busy, you must still allocate time to care for yourself, including time for prayers. You won’t be distracted and forced to miss talking to God if you have a fixed and scheduled time.
So, find one that works best for you.
This doesn’t have to happen every day if time truly is limited. However, you must ensure that when you’ve settled on a time, you must stick to it. Always show up during the time you’ve set. This way, you will have a constant time for conversations with God.
Explore Different Types of Prayer
Prayer isn’t only a space for you to communicate your desires. Instead, it’s a sincere place where you and God meet and talk. You’re allowed to seek acceptance or wisdom from Him openly. However, you must also make sure you’re listening to Him.
Prayer isn’t a one-way street and a way to see it as such is to talk to God through these other forms:
- Adoration
- Confession
- Thanksgiving
- Supplication
- Listening
Group and Community Prayers
Prayer is ultimately about building a deeper relationship with God. However, you are often called to foster an intimate connection with others to strengthen your prayer life.
Humans are social beings. You are equipped with skills and the freedom to encourage others to brave through adversities in life with faith and hope. Hence, while prayer is often solitary, this doesn’t have to be solely this way. You’re always free to join groups and pray with them.
This way, you aren’t only encouraged to pray consistently but also reminded about the beauty of humanity through its community.
Prayer is a journey, not a destination. When finding answers on how to strengthen prayer life, you must embrace the process of finding consistency, intention, and willingness through it. Don’t be discouraged if you feel limited or inadequate with the time and effort you give. Remember, kindness to yourself is also a way to build a strong and healthy prayer life.
If you want to devote more to communicating with God, start by learning what you don’t know about prayers and Him. Grab a copy of The Power of Prayer in its Working now!
