As believers we are encouraged to pray regularly. All of us know that. Not everyone does it. Almost everyone tries to do it, but unfortunately many quit. People usually quit for one of hand full of reasons. Most of them have an easy solution that you may not have tried yet. So hopefully these will help.

1. Have a regular time to pray. Finding time to pray is the biggest obstacle. For me, the solution was to pray at the same time everyday. It has become a part of my routine. When I first hit the office I stop and pray. It might be the first thing you do everyday or the last thing. Make a routine change and add time for prayer. In 21-28 days it will be a habit.

2. Pray when the idea hits you. I encourage people who are on an email prayer list to pray the moment the request hits their screen. Nothing says you have to pray for a long time and it might be more helpful to pray many times. If you wait for the end of the day until you have a big list it might be harder to stick with your prayer time. I once read of a group who committed to praying when they heard their clock sound off every hour.

3. Develop a prayer plan. There are a thousand ways to approach prayer. I try to use the ACTS method. That is Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication (requests). I know other people who have prayed starting with themselves and moving outward to family and then to their Church and then further outward. Some people have different prayers for each day of the week – Monday is for family, Tuesday is for the Church, etc. I recently downloaded a prayer App that I have not used yet, but it is another method to help guide our prayers. Finding a regular plan will help you to have a more consistent prayer life.

4. Pray out loud. Great preacher of old, Don Dewelt, suggested that Jesus prayed out loud. That is why the disciples were able to write down many of his prayers. We use this tool in public settings, but when we get in private we drift into the quietness of the mind. Then we get easily distracted or tired. Soon sleep takes over or we begin planning some other activity. Being vocal keeps you focused, but you need to find a private place for obvious reasons. Another way this might work itself out is to write out your prayers. It is a way to vocalize your ideas without your voice.

5. Let distractions be your guide. One of the biggest helpful tips I have ever received was to let distractions help guide your prayers. This preacher suggested that those things that enter our mind to distract us might be our brain making prayer suggestions. So if you are praying and you start thinking about the meal you have to fix. Then pray about that meal, pray for the people who will eat it, thank God for the gift of food and his blessing. That idea of your upcoming vacation keeps interrupting your prayers then pray about safety, family, finances and all the rest you hope to get while reconnecting with your family. If you brain keeps drifting to some issue, then take the time to pray about it.

These are some of the small concepts that have helped me to increase my prayer life. I am still not a great person of prayer, but I am better than I was 10 years ago and I hope in 10 years I will be even better. I hope you are too.