How to Pray: Spending One Hour in Prayer

When it comes to prayer, it is true that, 

1. Only Christ through the Holy Spirit can teach us how to pray (what to say, when to say it and how to say it) and therefore there may be no reason for me to write this post.

2. There's already a good example of how we ought to pray in Matthew 6:9-13 and tweeting and posting it here and there on the webosphere would help guys to somehow get it on how prayer works and how it should be done, and,
3. I am not a prayer guru, and there's therefore no need to try to do stuff I'm also trying to learn.

That said, it is also a good thing to remind us of the truth in the following two statements. That,

1. Very few of us actually pray. Why? Because it terrifies us. We need someone to encourage us that prayer isn't that complicated, and,
2. Some of us need convincing that someone can actually sit before God and they'd be chatting for an hour or two; and that prayer is not boring at all.

I think this is necessary. I think it's necessary to encourage people to pray by simplifying the whole process. Making it adaptable.
You get it? Good. If you get it, know that this is why I'm writing this post.

And I'll go straight to the point;

Prayer, because it is communication involving a Holy God and an unholy man justified through faith, it has some few requirements before we engage in it. 

They are:
1. We need to get an isolated or secluded place with minimal interference for our dedicated times of prayer. We should remove obstructions (phones, TV, friends, kids, gadgets etc)
2. We need, at such moments (and actually always), to search our hearts and be attentive to hear from God.
3. We need to be conscious of what we are saying before God in order not to blabber empty and meaningless words. (Unless the Holy Spirit has blessed us, in such moments, with tongues and we're now flowing in that beautiful language, we should remain conscious that it is God we are talking to, and sensible words are required.)
4. We need to come to the place of prayer with a predetermined mind: I want to spend at least one hour or two with God today. (It isn't a bad thing if we use a stop watch for this. It will ensure we are uninterrupted and keen with what we are doing.)

So, this morning, as I overheard Benny Hinn (please, for now, put aside all the dumb things you believe about him because he had a good point here) teach on how prayer is more important than power, it led me to thinking deeply on how we as Christians should not underestimate the effectiveness of prayer.

As the Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) puts it so well, prayer helps us in various ways. Prayer,

1. Connects us with God. We connect with Him through praising Him and inviting Him yo take control of our lives.
2. Drives out demons, paralyses the work of the devil and helps us move away from temptation.
3. Is an avenue for miracles and all kinds of provision from God.
4. Connects us with fellow Christians through sincere love.

So, if you think you're too busy for prayer or that it is unnecessary yet you're a Christian, you're losing it and you may want to reconsider your stand.

After saying all that stuff up there, here's a simple 10 step model on how to spend our time with God. You will find below it a summarised infographic that you may download as a photo or as a document.

Note: I'm only giving this as a model, not a rule, thus you may be required to change time allocated for every part of this model as the Spirit will allow you every other time when you come to pray...
This model was acquired from my Church so it's originally not mine...

1. Praise God for all He has done, who He is, what He is doing and what He's going to do. (Psalms 63:3-4). This will take around 5 minutes.

2. Wait on God in prayer. Be silent and allow Him to speak to your heart. (Psalms 46:10). This will take around 5 minutes.

3. Confess & repent of your sins. (Psalms 139:23). This should take around 3 minutes.

4. Submit to Jesus all that you are: your thoughts, plans, strengths and desires (James 4:7). This may take around 2 minutes.

5. Read the Word (Psalms 119:105). This can take upto 15 minutes.

6. Pray to be a doer of God's Word. (James 1:22). This can take around 5 minutes.

7. Meditate on what you read for about 5 minutes (Joshua 1:9).

8. Petition (pray for yourself and your needs) (Matthew 7:7). This can take around 5 minutes.

9. Intercession (pray for other people around you and their needs) for about 10 minutes. (1 Tim 2:1-2, Psalms 122:6).

10. Thanksgiving (glorify God for all He is and for answered prayer) (1 Thesa 5:18, 1 John 5:14). This may take around 5 minutes.

I hope the above prayer model will encourage you to pray more. Share it with a friend.

Here are the two downloads that you may print and keep a copy for personal or group use:

1. How to Pray: Spending One Hour in Prayer (Word document - 35kb)
2. How to Pray: Spending One Hour in Prayer (JPEG image - 76kb).

God bless.

Bonface Morris.