How to Pray: 3 Simple Strategies to Ignite Your Prayer Life
What comes to mind when you think of how to pray? Do you believe you need to be in a certain position? Praying at a certain time of day? Reciting specific words? While all of your answers to these questions may be valid, I’d love to offer you three simple strategies to ignite your prayer life and spur you on to a meaningful relationship with God.
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What is prayer?
First, let’s talk about what prayer is. Simply put, it’s talking, fellowship, and connection with God. It is a moment where we can listen to God and surrender our burdens and troubles.
Notice the two-way relationship that derives from not only talking, but also listening.
Just as with any healthy relationship, a healthy prayer life includes time to share your heart and requests with God, but also time to be still in His Holy Presence.
A meaningful prayer life isn’t just a quick, “Help me, God”, in moments of trouble. It’s a conversation that continues in every season of life and where one seeks to know the heart of God no matter what troubles come his way.
How to use a prayer strategy
Having a prayer strategy has been a game-changer in the way I connect with God. It has revived my prayer life when I felt far from Him and struggled to pray. And it’s SO easy, too!
A prayer strategy is a simple routine or foundation to your prayer life. It limits your distractions and helps you head into your prayer time with a focused heart knowing what you’ll pray and the loose format for how you’ll do it.
It’s not a rigid format that locks you into praying a certain way, but a practical tool to make meeting with God a regular part of your day.
Like any routine, knowing how you’ll do something is a great way to make it become a habit and ingrain it in your daily schedule.
That’s what a prayer strategy does for you! It takes the guesswork out of how you’ll pray, limits distractions, and helps you focus your heart and mind solely on the things of God.
3 Simple Prayer Strategies
ACTS Prayer Strategy
The ACTS prayer method is a great prayer strategy that anyone can use. It’s perfect for busy mornings or those times when you’re not sure how or what to pray. It’s also perfect for beginners who want to pray but aren’t sure where to start.
You simply pray through the letters of this acronym, inserting your own words and thoughts during each section. This practical prayer strategy will focus your heart and keep you from feel stuck and wondering what to say to God.
A-Adoration; praise God for who He is and His flawless character
C-Confession: confess your sins and missteps to God
T-Thanksgiving: thank the Lord for His many blessings
S-Supplication: bring your prayer requests before God
Grab a free copy of the ACTS prayer method, here!
This prayer strategy a sneak peak of my favorite resource for better Bible study and deeper prayer, The Quiet Time Toolkit .
This free prayer printable is just one of the many prayer models in this toolkit to help you pray with confidence and cultivate a meaningful relationship with God.
Learn more about the Quiet Time Toolkit here!
ARROWS Prayer Model
The ARROWS Prayer Model is another of my favorite prayer strategies to use. I love how it invites God to be with you during your quiet time and for Him to prepare your heart to pray.
Another bonus to this prayer model is that encourages you to reflect on God’s faithfulness and provision. Both of these aspects of the prayer model will focus your eyes on Jesus and not on your current situations.
A- Ask God to meet you in your quiet time and to prepare your heart for prayer.
R- Reflect on God’s faithfulness and rejoice over His provision.
R- Repent of your sin and ask God to guard your heart and mind.
O- Openly lay your burdens and prayer requests before the Lord.
W- Worship and praise God for His perfect character and flawless ways.
S- Silence your heart so you can hear from Him.
My Praying Hands
This prayer model is a perfect visual for kids and adults to use to help pray with confidence (even as a beginner). Each hand specifies how to pray and who to pray for, while each finger provides a specific area of prayer.
For the left hand (how to pray):
- Please help me…
- I pray for…
- I’m sorry for…
- Thank you, God for…
- I praise You for…
For the right hand (who to pray for):
- Self
- Those in need…
- Leaders (in church and world)…
- Teachers/helpers…
- Family and friends…
Each of these models help give a specific way to structure your prayer time with a thorough outline. They offer time to pray for yourself, others, and to practice quiet listening prayer. Last but not least, it gives you time to slow down and savor your time with God.
Take Your Prayer Life to the Next Level
If you’ve ever questioned when to pray, keep this in mind-
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18
Regardless of the circumstance, pray. Get used to talking to God about any and everything, knowing and trusting that He cares about every little detail. Don’t worry about cleaning yourself up to talk to God, simply start praying.
One way to ignite your prayer life is by creating a war room prayer strategy. This strategy is based on the movie War Room and follows the simplicity of creating a special space with visual reminders of your requests.
Or, if you’re ready to ignite your prayer life and learn how to under the Bible, see how The Quiet Time Toolkit can be your guide to jump start your spiritual growth.
These prayer and Bible study templates will guide you to a meaningful quiet time and healthy relationship with God.
It’s perfect for the women who is ready to dig into God’s Word as a beginner and pray war room prayers with confidence.
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