How to Establish and Maintain a Consistent Prayer Life (Part 2)

A long while back, I decided to be intentional about my communication. I decided a few things:

1. That I would always communicate my expectations and boundaries

2. That I would always have a written down agreement in any business dealing or professional engagement, even with friends

3. I would never “ghost” a man when they seem romantically invested and I am not. I would communicate my unavailability at the first instance I notice this interest

4. That I would vocalise and enact my stand against mistreatment or ambiguity

Implementing these personal boundaries in communication was difficult, and I slipped up once or twice. However, I decided to apply these principles consistently over time. I am happy to report that I have seen a dramatic (positive) turnaround in my personal and professional relationships as a result! I noticed that people responded to the consistency of my communication patterns and took me more seriously when they saw that I was not just floating a facade for impression’s sake. I noticed how differently people approached me. I noticed the honour and respect. Of course, this is all to God’s glory because ain’t no way I’d have been this person without Him, but additionally, consistency helped.

We apply consistency to our day-to-day activities and it pays off. We can practice this principle in our faith walk too! I have been engaging these 5 things in my prayer life and they have helped me in my journey. I hope they help you too!

Determine to pray before you sleep (preferably at a set time)

This sounds simple until multiple competing interests creep up and gobble up your time! Before I came around to this hack, I would find myself engrossed in projects and 5 days into prayerlessness. My life was a mess. I was emotionally labile and always anxious about something. My spirit was always on edge and I fumbled things quite often. I could be speaking about your situation! The good news is that I found a way out. In the next few weeks, I committed to a compulsory prayer time each day before I sleep.

It is recommended to have a set time to give to God. This allows you to make your engagements with God patterned and habitual. It is easier to do this when you have a set time. That time can be mornings or evenings for you. Give God your best moments, not when you are groggy and tired or uninterested. Determine to have a pattern in your day (sleep at 10 pm, wake at 6 am for example). You may allocate your first hour to the Lord in prayer and Bible Study or your evenings before you sleep. I find this helpful especially for those who have extremely busy but repetitive, structured days.

This however is not everyone’s experience. For some, each day looks different from the next depending on the projects at hand or the leading of the Holy Spirit. Personally, and in my current season, some days I may sleep at 10 pm while other days my eyes will shut at 6 am! Either way, I commit to a particular period of time in prayer before sleeping. For this case, I ensure that I allocate a specific portion of time in prayer and Bible Study immediately I wake up (whatever time that is). This ensures that I have begun my day with the Lord (even if my day has started at 1pm!).

Determine to pray before you sleep!

Ask the Lord for Help

Prayer is a spiritual exercise that cannot be done unless you are aided by a spiritual being. I believe Christ sets precedence for the believer's definition of prayer, so He is our spiritual head. You need to ask Jesus to help you pray as you ought to (in the right spirit, with your hope fixed on Him, continuously and in faith).

Prayer by your own strength is at best an empty ritual. It is the breath of the Holy Spirit that gives life. Your prayer life cannot be sustained outside the life of God; therefore, seek Him for help to remain faithful in your commitment to be consistent in prayer.

Have Accountability Partners

The Bible guarantees us that our walk in Christ is never meant to be done in solitude. We are not lone rangers. We need each other to finish this race of faith well.

I found that whenever I purposed to go for long stretches of dedicated hours in prayer, I would fail almost immediately. The fire I needed to push past the 4th session would be more than I could attain. I would grow weary and discouraged and would give up. But when I asked God for people to pray with and run with, God was faithful and sent me individuals who are passionate about Jesus and prayer.

Gather with believers as often as you can!

He also brought me a mentor (www.shammahgara.com and Shammah Gara on X) whose ministry is rooted in the Word and in fervent prayer. She has greatly helped me in my prayer walk and has been a great source of accountability. Whenever I feel weak, I remember I have a prayer meeting to attend with my company of believers and so I push on. I always come back refreshed and ready to push another day.

Do you have accountability buddies in your faith walk?

(You can pray for God to bring them if you don’t, and He will supply them!)

Set Goals

Yes, set spiritual goals exactly the way you set life goals. What do you envision as your future as a child of God? How do you hope to operate as a child of God? By the end of this year, what do you want to see in your life as evidence that you have been with Jesus? And so forth. When Jesus spoke of counting the cost of partaking in His kingdom, He intended you and I to consider planning as part of our walk. We do not grow by accident. We excel by intention.

You can set a simple goal such as “By the end of this week, I desire to pray every day without fail according to scripture” (Praying according to scripture as used in this context refers to praying the scriptures as part of your prayers within their right context). Your goal could be “By the end of this month, I desire to spend time with Jesus for a minimum of one hour daily”. Make it personal, but remember to that effective goals show progress. Be sure to track your progress as well!

We do not grow by accident. We excel by intention

Have a Personal Relationship with Jesus

It is impossible to be consistent in prayer if you have no relationship with Christ, our spiritual head.

If you are, then I assure you that your prayers are vain repetitions that are a noisy cymbal to the Lord. I am sorry if this may offend, but it is unfortunately true. Effective prayer that is consistent is rooted in a personal relationship with Jesus.

A relationship with Jesus looks like this:

1. Obedience to His commands (John 14:15)

2. Acknowledging Him in our decision making (Proverbs 3:5-6)

3. Being honest with Him at every point in our lives, even the points we are not proud of (The book of Psalms shows David’s honesty with God)

4. Being quick to repent if we fall into sin (1 John 1:9)

5. Putting Him first in our lives (our decisions evidence this)

If you feel like this brief list does not define you in any way and you are wondering what this relationship is, don’t worry. We’re all learning and there is grace sufficient for you and I.

I’d like to invite you into a relationship with the lover of your soul, who is concerned about your every need. He is Jesus. For the little time I have known Him, he has been gentle, graceful and kind to my heart. He has changed me and made me whole. I certainly do not look like what I have been through. I give Him all the credit!

If you would like to join me in this love journey with Christ, or if you have ever prayed this prayer but would like to re-dedicate yourself to Christ, you can pray along:

Dear Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross for me and for cancelling all the debt I had to pay for my own sins. Thank you for sacrificing your life for me so that I can live eternally. Dear Jesus, I give you my life and my heart and I ask that you take away all my sins. Please make me whole again.

I denounce every covenant or agreement I partnered with that is contrary to what You say and I declare that from this day forward, I am a child of God and a servant of Christ. I am no longer joined to satan and his ways, I am now in the family of Christ.

Thank you Jesus for accepting me into your family.

Amen.

If you prayed that prayer, please reach out to me on my email (within this website).

Take care, family,

With love,

J.