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What I’ve learned from other godly people who seem to have power in their prayer life is that, first, they are disciplined about praying. And secondly, they have developed a structure for their prayer life that enables them to pray more effectively. Jesus taught his disciples how to pray, and we need to learn as well. So, I’ve been sharing some ideas that can help you pray more powerfully.
Praying Scripture
Have you learned the joy and effectiveness of praying Scripture? I recommend this highly because it is truly powerful praying. How do you pray Scripture, you ask? There are several ways.
First, as you are reading from the Bible, stop and pray back what you read. For example, I was reading Psalm 39 and like so many of the Psalms, it is a beautiful prayer. I prayed, “Lord, show me my life’s end and the number of my days. Remind me of how brief and fleeting is my life, and therefore help me to be focused on what is eternally important and not be swallowed up with the affairs of this world.” You see how a Scripture passage can guide you to a very effective prayer.
There are wonderful praise prayers in the Bible which you can use for your own. As you find them, write them in a prayer journal and use them. There are prayers for others that really improve the way you pray for friends and family. For example, pray Philippians 1:9 for people you know and love: “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.”
I pray Philippians 4:8 often: “Today, Lord, help me to think only what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely and admirable.” It’s very important to pray about your thought life. I pray on the armor of God as outlined in Ephesians 6.
These are just examples of praying Scripture, and it will energize your prayer life immensely.