Have you ever been involved in a prayer meeting or a personal time of prayer that seemed flat? Has prayer ever seemed tedious or dry? To refresh your times in prayer, reconsider your motivation and your organization for prayer.
There are many ways to motivate and organize our prayers. Some make lists of needs and requests and pray through the entries on the list. Others are motivated by felt needs, their own or others, and use that as motivation and impetus to pray.
Daniel Henderson in his book, “Transforming Prayer: How Everything Changes When You Seek God’s Face”, touts what he calls “Worship-Based Prayer”. According to Daniel (p. 27), “Worship-based prayer seeks the face of God before the hand of God. God’s hand is the blessing of what He does. God’s face is the essence of who He is.”
One practical way of seeking God’s face and then seeking God’s hand is to have your prayer flow from the inspiration of Scripture. Read a passage in the Bible, and then let your prayers flow from what the passage says about God. Rely on the Holy Spirit to guide and empower your prayers.
For example, suppose you read the following passage in 2 Timothy 2:1-2: “You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.”
After reading and meditating on this passage you may be inspired to pray for your own children, or perhaps others on whom you have a mentoring relationship. You may think of those who are in particular need of God’s grace and pray for them. You may feel motivation to pray for those who you have witnessed to and who need salvation. You may be inspired to pray for the leaders in your church who are raising up the next generation of leaders.
As you reflect on the truth of God, let the truth inspire your prayers. When your prayers spring from God’s Word and His Holy Spirit, you can have assurance that your prayers are according to His will. You will experience increased confidence and power in prayer.