How To Develop A Consistent Prayer Life

Praying to God is a habit that we should all develop. Just as it is our habit to set a time to exercise, do our favorite hobby, or do any other activity every day, we should also set a particular time every day and commit it to God. Among every other everyday activity that we do in life, praying or things related to our relationship with God should have the utmost priority. If we have time to eat, exercise, read a book or watch a show every day, but we don’t have time to pray to God, then God is clearly not our priority. Everything in life should adjust to God. We are the ones who should make time for God. There is also a matter of whom or what we love the most. If we love God with all of our heart, soul, and mind, then we will love God above everything else and put Him before everything else. In Psalm 16:8, King David, the writer of that Psalm, said, “I have set the Lord always before me”. The context of this Psalm is that King David meditates on who God is in his life. God is portion and cup, the One who gives him counsel, the One who fills his heart with gladness and causes him to rejoice, the One in whom his flesh dwells securely, and the One in whom he finds pleasure and joy. He knows who God is, and because of that, he has set God before him always. In the same way, if we truly understand who God is, then we will set Him before us, and we shall put Him above everything else in our lives. Prayer will not be a problem because we shall always make sure to pray to God, for it is something that we delight in doing.

Psalm 16:8

I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

Matthew 22:37

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

How can I be consistent in my prayer life?

A Christian, being a work in progress, may find himself or herself in a season where they are struggling to have a consistent prayer life. Recognizing that you are neglecting your prayer life and repenting from it is a good start. However, now that you know that you have an inconsistent prayer life, you should start acting on it to develop a more consistent prayer life. But how do we do that? Below we will outline some things that you can do that may help you develop a more consistent prayer life.

One of the things you can do is withdraw to places that are conducive to spending solitude with God. The greatest example that we have of this in the Bible comes from Christ Himself. We see that there are times when Jesus will wake up in the morning to spend moments of solitude with God. There are also instances where Jesus withdraws from crowds of people to be alone with God. We see that Jesus withdraws to desolate or lonely places— places without any distractions.

In the same way, if we want to have quality time with God where we also pray to Him, we should learn to withdraw to places where we won’t be distracted while we pray and spend solitude with God. For example, if you are in the living room of your house and you can’t concentrate because someone is watching TV, then you should go to some other place in your home where you won’t be distracted. Being free from distractions is not just about the physical area, but also about other things in life. For example, our phones can be a distraction. A single notification sound automatically diverts our attention from God. In other words, it is not just withdrawing to a place free from distraction, but also putting away things that cause distraction.

Luke 4:42

And when it was day, he departed and went into a desert place: and the people sought him, and came unto him, and stayed him, that he should not depart from them.

Luke 5:16

And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed.

Luke 22:41

And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,

Another thing that you can do is constantly remind yourself to pray and make sure that you do pray when you are reminded. There are many ways for you to do this. You can set the alarm on your phone or gadget at a specific time every day that you set aside for prayer. You can also use notes, a day planner, a daily checklist, and other personal productivity tools. If we can use them to help us be productive in our everyday life, surely we can use them to be consistent with our prayer life. With that said, another thing you can do is have an accountability partner.

Accountability partners are your brothers or sisters in Christ to whom you are accountable. You tell them everything in your life with complete transparency. These are the people who walk along with you on your spiritual journey. They correct you if you need correction, encourage you if you need encouragement, weep with you if you are going through something challenging, and so much more. That is why Christians are meant to be a part of a church community. Accountability partners will always check on you regarding your prayer life. They will help you develop a consistent prayer life and remind you of your responsibilities. Being part of a church community plays a significant role in one’s prayer life and spiritual journey. It is something like charcoal. If you take charcoal out from the rest of the burning charcoal, the charcoal will become cold. However, if you put it back, it will become hot again. It is the same for our Christian life. We become lukewarm if we are living our Christian life alone. Fellowship with fellow believers means having a community that edifies us, corrects us if needed, stirs us up in good works, and much more. That affects your prayer life as well. Being surrounded by believers who also pray encourages and admonishes you to pray. That does not mean that your motivation to pray should come from your fellow believers. God should be your motivation to pray. The point is that being part of a church community helps you in your spiritual walk with God.

Luke 22:41

And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,

Lastly, always read your Bible. While making time to read your Bible can also be a struggle and something you should also make time for, together with prayer, reading your Bible enables you to be reminded of who God is and learn more about God. The more you know about God, the more you will want to pray to Him. With that, you also must remind yourself of the Gospel every day. Reminding yourself of the Gospel reminds you of what a privilege it is to pray to the Father. 

Heavenly Father, You are the God who gives grace and helps me. Help me so that I may be able to develop a consistent prayer life. Give me the grace to be wise with managing my time above everything else in my life. Help me always put You above everything in my life. I pray that prayer will not be something I have to drag myself into doing, but something that I delight in doing, for it is where I can spend time with You and talk to You. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

In the end, remember that it is still God’s grace that enables you and helps you develop a consistent prayer life. Also, we must remind ourselves that prayer is not something we should do like a routine, nor something that we dread doing. It should be something that we delight in doing, given that it allows us to have a conversation with our Heavenly Father, who adopted us as His children in Christ.