I’ve never met a follower of Christ who didn’t want and need a more meaningful prayer life. I’ve written many devotionals about prayer.

When I think of fervent and devoted prayer, Elijah immediately comes to mind. Through prayer and devotion to God, he was able to take on the pagan king and queen of Israel and lead the nation to God (1 Kings 17-18(.

James the apostle used Elijah as an example of believing prayer (James 5:16-18).

Let me give you four simple steps that have helped me progress in my relationship with God through prayer.

First, choose a place where you normally pray and make this your place of prayer. Jesus told His disciples to enter their “prayer closet” to pray. He, of course, was advocating more than simply a place to pray. He knew that we constantly fight the urge to do spiritual things to be seen by others. He wanted to make prayer a time of spending time with our Father who is in heaven (Matthew 6:5-6).

At the same time, having a place dedicated to prayer will help you pray.

Second, choose a time for prayer. Time works the same as place. Having a definite time will encourage you to pray. Having a time to pray is a good habit that reminds us that we need to spend time with out Father.

Third, read Scripture. Reading Scripture will accomplish at least two things for you. First, it will be a call to prayer. Spending time with God through His Word will make you want to pray. Second, it will show you what matters to God. That will help us to pray according to the teachings of Scripture.  

Fourth, make a list of people and events that need to be taken to God. 

I find that having a list is not only an encouragement to pray but a real joy. Just this week, one of the people I have been praying for committed his life to Christ. Having his name on my list brought joy to me as I saw him make this decision.

I would encourage two kinds of lists. I would encourage you to pray for the physical needs of people–things like healing, family problems, and all the things that we face in life. I would also encourage you to have a list of people without Christ. Pray that God would speak to their hearts. Pray that God would put credible Christians in their path, and pray that God would open a door to help them to koow HIm.

These are areas that have helped me to grow deeper in prayer. I pray they will do the same for you.

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