Looking for a way to change up your prayer life? Try the prayer grooves suggested here by Lee Nienhuis.
Elisa
Prayer Grooves
By Lee Nienhuis
There is power in the repetitive rhythm of an action. My parents live out of state, and people have always marveled at how I could drive twenty-one hours from West Michigan to Austin, Texas, alone with my four young children. I often tell them, "We just find the groove in the road, put our tires in it, and drive." Similarly, we can create prayer habits, or grooves, that with repetition become patterns.
It's easy for us to buck the idea of ritual prayers because we believe that passionate prayer lives always involve spontaneity. We live in a culture that bucks self-discipline, but creating prayer grooves in your life creates opportunity to build consistency.
For example, what if you began committing your day to the Lord every time your alarm rang or at least as you pour your first cup of coffee? Perhaps as you drive past the local school you could pray that God would allow truth to be taught there and for the faculty to have wisdom that day. One of my friends has an app on her phone that rings every two hours prompting her to pray for students in her small group and her nephews and nieces. Now that's using technology to glorify God.
One of my deep prayer grooves is to begin any study of the Word with a time of prayer. This means when my hands open the Scriptures, I ask for the Holy Spirit to give me wisdom, insight, and to guide me into truth. I need his leadership and insight as I have my personal devotions, as I prepare lessons, and as I teach.
Another prayer groove that runs deep in my life happens at bedtime. If I lay down with my husband and we haven't prayed for our family, we can't sleep. Eleven years ago my husband told me that he'd heard Dennis Rainey say that the divorce rate of couples who pray together daily is virtually zero. With a simple commitment to prayer, we could almost ensure we would stay together. This rhythm has not become dull with the repetitive nature but rather a time of sweetness and unity between us.
There's something very powerful about scheduling prayer into your days. It reminds me that I need God to work, but it also alleviates the guilt associated with prayerlessness. At the end of the day, I'm praying about the things that matter most to me and I have filled my day with moments of seeking him.
Children and others in your sphere of influence see more than we give them credit for. As we pray this way in front of them they learn how to implement it in their daily lives as well.
Be BRAVE enough to be transparent before others.
Is it time to ask for the Lord to create inside of you a passion to pray? How would implementing the ideas above help you model you prayer life to those in your sphere of influence, including your family?
Lee Nienhuisis a passionate Bible teacher whose love for the Lord and the Word is contagious. Lee is the author of Brave Moms, Brave Kids: A Battle Plan for Raising Heroes. She is an area coordinator for Moms in Prayer International and a sought-after speaker who shares a dynamic vision for the next generation of Christ followers. Lee and her farmer-husband, Mike, have four kids and live on four acres of grass in West Michigan. Connect with her at leenienhuis.com.