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PROGRAM D-7785
I’ve been talking about prayer—specifically that there are no pointless prayers. As mentioned above, it is better to pray a bad prayer than not to pray at all, because there are no pointless prayers. But praying in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers—praying as Jesus taught us to pray in what we call the Lord’s Prayer—this is even more powerful praying.
So, even though it is better to pray a bad prayer than not to pray at all, it is better still to pray effectively. How do we make sure our prayers are as powerful and effective as they can be? Jesus gave us a format for prayer, which we call The Lord’s Prayer but it really is The Disciple’s Prayer, and if you pray like Jesus taught you to, then I believe it will be more effective and powerful.
Years ago I realized that my prayer time was rather monotonous, repetitive and not very exciting. It was more of a duty than a privilege. So, I took The Lord’s Prayer as my guide and I began a prayer journal, where I organized my prayer time based on how Jesus taught us to pray. That absolutely revolutionized my prayer life. It gave structure and meaning to what had been rather generalized prayers, and I began to keep a record of answers to prayer. Now, many years later, I have pages and pages of answered prayer—many I would have forgotten had I not made a record.
And I began to pray Scripture into my life. That has truly transformed my prayer time and me. For example, I pray Romans 12:1-2 regularly, committing my body to him as a living sacrifice for that day, asking that I will not be conformed to this world, but transformed by the renewing of mind, and in that way I can prove God’s will for my life for that day. I promise you, that is effective, powerful praying.
Eventually I put my prayer journal idea into print, and many people have told me that it has been very helpful to them as well. If you’re struggling with having a meaningful prayer life, you might find a prayer journal helpful.