The power of prayer cannot be understated. It is our connection to God, it keeps us aligned with His plans and strengthens us throughout our day. But how do you talk to God when you can’t see Him? Is there a simple prayer we can say that will strengthen our prayer life?
Growing your relationship with God means answering these questions and finding ways to communicate with Him through prayer. And yes, there is a simple prayer that will strengthen your prayer life, so let’s explore!
Table of Contents
“Are you there God?”
Do you ever feel like saying this when you are taking time to pray? Sitting in the silence, trying to get into the mindset of prayer and it feels like you are talking to a wall? It can be discouraging and frustrating when we want to have a conversation with God but aren’t sure how to start.
This is even more irritating when we are a busy mom (or just busy in general!) and don’t have much time to pray. We know we need to do it, we know it will help us but good grief can be difficult!
As our seasons of life change, so do our prayers and the time we have for prayer. Sometimes we can’t commit to prayer in the same way we did before, which means we need to make adjustments in how we do things. Or perhaps we are just starting back into prayer and need some guidance on how to go about it.
Your Prayer Life is Your Own
Most importantly, remember that your prayer life is your own. This is your Christian journey, no one else’s. Your walk with God shouldn’t look or feel like anyone else’s. You can take suggestions from people but ultimately you have to create the habit and relationship with your Heavenly Father.
That being said, sometimes we need a little bit of help getting the words to come out coherently. God knows what is on your heart, He knows what you want to say but sometimes we still need to say it!
How Do You Talk To God
The big question that remains is how do we talk to God. How do we know what to say? Should our prayers be long and drawn out or short and sweet?
The questions might start pouring out of your head before your prayers do but they don’t need to. God doesn’t care what you sound like or if you are making sense. He cares that you are starting the discussion with Him one way or another. He enjoys the prayer time whether it is eloquent or choppy.
But if you need somewhere to start, to get the ball rolling, this acronym is a good way to help get yourself settled in prayer,
PRAY Acronym – Praise, Reflect, Ask, Yield
Start by praising God for all He has done. This is where you pour out your thanksgivings and offer your grateful heart to God. It is a good place to start because it gets your mind moving and focusing on God and how good He is!
Next move into personal reflection. This is where you are going to ask forgiveness for the things that you could have done differently in your day. It’s a good time to think about your personal struggles and the things you need to work on as a Christian woman, asking forgiveness for the areas where your weaknesses have won.
Now we move into asking, the part that we often jump to before anything else. This is where we petition God for the things on our hearts. The illness someone is facing, the struggles of motherhood, the broken relationship with a friend, the wars of the world…all the things only our Heavenly Father can change.
Finally we yield it all to God. We end our prayer by asking God to let things be done in His time, for His will. In other words, we hand our prayer over to Him and let Him take it from our hearts and minds.
An example of what this might look like:
Heavenly Father, I thank you for your blessings today. Thank you for the sunshine and time we spent together as a family. I pray for my short temper that got the better of me, forgive me and help me to offer words of encouragement rather than unpleasantries. I come before you, asking for strength and patience during the trying times of motherhood. May there be peace and love within my home and my family. I lay this down at your feet and ask that the Holy Spirit work in me and provide me with wisdom so that your will can be done. Amen.
This is just a very basic example of what your prayer could be using these elements from PRAY. Things would be different everyday as you pray for different things or people, depending on the situation.
One Simple Prayer to Change Your Prayer Life
I’ll be completely honest with you, the most important part of these 4 steps is the yielding. This might take a mindset shift because sometimes we think of prayer as a chance to ask God for what we want. In reality, prayer is a time when we lay things down at our Heavenly Father’s feet and ask for His will to be done.
When we are in the “asking” stage of our acronym, it’s okay to express to God everything that needs prayer. From the nagging headache to the prayer request of a friend, we can find comfort in God when we surrender these things to Him.
However, there is a difference between what we want and what God wants. We won’t know what God wants unless we meet Him in prayer and ask that He reveal it to us.
Let me say that again…
We can’t pray for what we need if we haven’t asked God for His direction first.
If you find yourself struggling to pray, or don’t know what to say, then you likely need the Holy Spirit to direct you. You need to spend time asking God for His will and His plan so you know what it is you should be praying for. You need one simple prayer that opens your heart to God’s will:
Holy Spirit, give me wisdom and words for this situation.
I pray that you open my heart to your will. Prepare me for the path you have set before me and help me walk in the way everlasting.
Praying for One Thing When You Need Something Else
I see so many women who get caught up in the things they are praying for. Good things, prayers of strength or healing. I myself have done that! The thing is, when we are abiding in Christ, we are committing ourselves to His works and plans. This means He knows what we do not and we need to be ready to hear the desires of His heart.
What we may need is endurance or self-control as we face a difficult situation. These things may not be apparent to us if we are tunnel-visioned and continue to ask God the same requests over and over. There’s no way to know for sure unless we ask the Holy Spirit to reveal it to us. So sometimes, all we need to say is:
”Holy Spirit, give me wisdom so I may know the words to pray.”
Yielding it to God, handing it to Him and asking Him to provide you with wisdom not only gives you the words to pray but it also changes your heart. It prepares you for what is coming or gives you peace in knowing God has it handled.
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
Romans 8:26-27
Sometimes you will be repeating your prayer for wisdom, over and over and over again. You will listen to worship music, you will lean into God and focus on what God needs you to hear.
We don’t always get the answers right away, and this can be frustrating. This is when you might be praying for patience because you know you need it in the waiting! But asking for God’s will rather than your will means that you are preparing your heart for God’s plans, as scary and terrifying as that might be, His plans are always good!
Be Careful What You Pray For
It also means we have to be careful what we pray for. When we pray words of scripture, when we pray what the Holy Spirit has put on our hearts, we know God will work in our prayers. So we have to be ready to handle all His blessings that He is ready to give us, even if it means we have to endure times of pain to get there.
Many years ago I prayed Psalm 139:23-24, asking God to search me and try me, thinking it would be a good way to grow spiritually.
Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!
Psalm 139:23-24
I remember God asking me if I was sure I wanted to do these things and I said “Of course!” Not realizing just what that meant. So God answered my prayer and oh boy did He search me and try me!
I endured several incredibly difficult months that rocked me to my core. I can only describe it as being shattered and then letting God put the pieces back together.
The result was beautiful and I can pinpoint that as a distinct life-changing moment for me, one that I had asked for not realizing how hard it would be! God knew what would come of it and He walked with me the whole way. But from then on, I was more careful about what I asked of God, and if I sensed a big change was coming, then I prayed for God to work on my heart to prepare me.
God wants what is best for us but if we have tunnel vision in what we think we want or need, we can be blindsided by God’s plan. When all we had to do was ask God to prepare us for whatever His next steps were!
What Your Prayer Life Might Look Like
Now that you’ve got the foundation for prayer, it’s time to implement it! There are many different ways you can do this. For most of them, you will need to have quiet time so you can talk to God and pour out your heart to Him. No distractions, no social media, no interruptions. This can happen as part of a daily Bible Study or just a prayer session with you and your Heavenly Father.
Traditional Prayer
Traditional prayers are what we think of when praying, audible words that we speak, with our eyes closed, perhaps on our knees. This is what we learn as children, at the kitchen table or before bed. Our introduction to prayer and one that is possible, wherever you go!
Prayer Journal
Some of us are not auditory people and find that writing our prayers out is more effective. This can be done with a simple notepad where you write your prayers to God instead of speaking them. The benefit of this is that you have a record of prayers and can go back and reflect on God’s faithfulness.
Check out one of my favourite guided prayer journals by Ann Voskamp’s, “Sacred Prayer.” Available on Amazon.
Praying on the Go
Motherhood is one of those times when you may not be able to pray uninterrupted. So you have to do it on the go. You can still follow the PRAY acronym, just make it short and sweet. Or you offer praise when you are thankful. You ask for forgiveness when things go off the rails and ask for patience or strength as you need it.
I found that I was able to pray while rocking my babies to sleep, or when I was nursing them in the quiet of a room. That was a good time to be “alone” and pray over my children especially but also all the other things that were on my heart.
Strengthen Your Prayer Life
However your prayer life looks, it should bring you closer to God. It should renew and restore you as you spend time in His presence. Abiding in Christ means walking with Him, to be in step with His plans and purposes.
If you are praying for something specific, direction in a situation, a health crisis or situations that seem bleak, remember to yield everything to God. Quiet your mind and let the Holy Spirit guide your words so you know what to ask.
Remember that we do not pray to change God but rather to change our hearts. Let God wrap you in His presence, let Him restore you, renew you and fill you with peace. Your prayers are a way to connect with Him and learn from Him.
Strengthening your prayer life means living a life of prayer. It is that constant connection with God. It doesn’t have to be complicated. It doesn’t have to be long and drawn out. It can happen anywhere, at any time. God is always available and wants to hear from us. A mom who prays builds a Christian home with her prayers. Her prayer life will change the lives of those around her because she is constantly praying for them!
Talk to God in every situation and when you close the door to talk with Him in silence, be ready to open your heart to His wisdom and follow the path He has ordained for you. Let this one simple prayer change how you talk to God and strengthen your prayer life in the best way possible!
Feeling burnt out and on the edge of a meltdown? This is normal. Motherhood is hard but God did not call us to live on coffee and anxiety. Check out this free resource to help you manage those big mommy emotions on the days when you feel overwhelmed. Read the blog post and grab the download here.
Leave a Reply to Halloween When You Aren’t A “Halloween Mom” – Little Bit Of MotherhoodCancel reply