Prayer Habits

While we can (and should!) enjoy unstructured and unplanned simple communion with God, persistence and structure matter in our prayer lives. 

“The LORD has heard my plea; the LORD will answer my prayer.”

Psalms 6:9 NLT

When we pray, we can be assured that God has heard our prayer. This is so important. God hears us. Sometimes we throw up prayers and do not stop to dwell on the assurance that God hears us when we pray. Knowing for certain that God hears frees us to trust Him with the answer and the timing, because we also know that He is infinitely wiser and sees the big picture. 

"We will only persevere in prayer when we're convinced of what God is capable of, and of what we are up against." 

Jon Bloom

Knowing God hears also encourages persistence in prayer. If we are fully assured that God hears us, we are encouraged to make our requests known to him.

“I will call to you whenever I’m in trouble, and you will answer me.”

Psalms 86:7 NLT

Not only does God hear our prayers, he hears more than we know to ask for. 

“When we pray, God hears more than we say, answers more than we ask, gives more than we imagine – in his own time and in his own way.” 

Nicky Gumbel 

God hears, He hears more than we ask for, and he never forgets a single prayer you pray. He stores them up like treasures: 

"each one had a harp, and they held gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of God's people" 

Revelation 5:8b NLT

"God never forgets a single prayer you pray, even though you may forget. Things may have happened to you today as a result of prayers that you prayed years ago and you have forgotten all about them. But God is still working on them in his timing. Keep stacking up the prayers. Persevering prayer prevails." 

Nicky Gumbel 

Structured prayer is essential because it helps form a habit of regular prayer, it provides words for prayer when you have no words of your own, and it creates a spiritual rhythm in your life. Further, when you use the words of Scripture to structure your prayers, you can know you are praying in the will of God. 

“For this reason I am telling you, whatever things you ask for in prayer [in accordance with God’s will], believe [with confident trust] that you have received them, and they will be given to you.”

MARK 11:24 AMP

This week we remind ourselves that prayer is important and we should create structure around prayer habits that enable us to persist in prayer, both for ourselves and for others.  

AMEN