An Effective Prayer Life

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.  With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”  Ephesians 6:18

 

As we conclude the series on the “Armor of God” it would almost seem like this verse is not a part of the armor.  But I once read a very interesting commentary that talked about how the Roman soldier would have different sized and shaped daggers in his arsenal to address different types of military needs.  Have you ever tried to do a job with the wrong size tool?  It is almost impossible. 

There are all kinds of prayer in existence.  As a well-armed Christian, we must have each type available as the need arises.  There is times that a prayer of petition- asking God for a specific request- is needed.  Other times it may be a prayer of intercession, where we stand in the gap for someone else and believe God to meet their need.  There are prayers of consecration and dedication when we turn our lives over to the Lord.  There are prayers of supplication, prayers of desperation and prayers of thanksgiving.  This list is by no means exhaustive.  But the point is apparent.  We need variety in our prayer life.  Just as a meal consisting of beans and rice meal after meal would be monotonous, praying the same type of prayer all the time is boring.

If you have become bored with your prayer life, why not try a different type of prayer?  Maybe read a psalm or one of Paul’s prayers and make it your own?  Let’s move beyond “God is great, God is good” or “Lord bless Mama and Daddy.”  These are good, but there is so much more out there for you.

Another suggestion is to pray for different needs on different days of the week.  For instance, you could pray on Monday for your church; Tuesday for your family; Wednesday for those who need healing; Thursday for your local government, state and national government, Friday for missionaries and Saturday for revival or an end times harvest.  Sunday could be a day to pray for souls to be saved in your church service or to intercede for the pastor.

Let’s challenge ourselves to grow in our prayer lives, praying prayers as big as the God we are praying to.

Dear Lord, show me where I am lacking in my prayer life.  Grant me a zeal and desire to be a prayer warrior.  Expand my prayer experiences and increase my desire to pray.  In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

Sherri