How to Pray on the Go...Continued from page 1

Shift your prayers. Get out of the rut of praying for the same old subjects over and over again. As you go through each day, deliberately shift from one topic to another so you can touch on a wide variety of subjects, like: family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, the government, the war on terror, people of other religions, your church, your small group, your city or county, your children’s teachers and classmates, your upcoming vacation, moral issues, upcoming legislation, and the criminal justice system. Be creative, exploring new ground as you pray.

Make lists. Use lists of various topics to pray about, such as: a list you write of your personal needs, prayer lists you receive from your church or charities or missionaries that detail their current needs, and Bible verses you want to pray. Consider praying through your lists while taking a leisurely walk. After you pray through your lists, keep them for a while to remind you of what you’ve been praying and notice how God has answered.

Use your downtime. Make the most of the downtime you have each day, by praying in situations like: standing in line, waiting in a doctor’s or dentist’s office, sitting in traffic, waiting to be served in a restaurant, cleaning up after a meal, mowing the lawn or working in the garden, listening to music, trying to fall asleep, taking a bath or shower, sitting at the computer, watching your kids play, taking a walk, or watching television. View every moment of downtime you experience as an opportunity to pray.

Pray about whatever comes at you. Whenever life throws circumstances at you for which you’re not prepared, make prayer your first response to them. Instead of letting yourself become overwhelmed, wasting time and energy worrying, or trying to solve problems in your own limited strength, pray when you first encounter challenges to release God’s power into those situations right away.

Ask, seek, and knock. If you’re asking God about something, frame your request in terms of biblical principles to make sure you’re asking according to His will. Seek the answer to your prayer by taking action after you ask. For example, if you’ve asked God to help you become more physically fit (which aligns with the biblical principle of taking care of the body He gave you), seek the answer to your prayer by exercising regularly. Don’t just wait around for God to magically drop the answer in your lap without you doing anything that will move you closer to your goal. Keep knocking on God’s door persistently while you wait for Him to answer your prayers; don’t give up.

Pray the Scriptures. Read the Bible often and meditate on the passages that speak the most powerfully to you. Memorize them, so the Holy Spirit will remind you of them whenever you need to apply their truths. When you pray, do so on the basis of what God has already promised or commanded in the Bible, since that will make your prayers line up with God’s will. Don’t limit yourself just to the Scripture passages you’ve memorized; whenever you read some verses that speak to something you’re currently dealing with, turn that passage into a prayer by personalizing it. Realize that the better you know the Bible, the more specific, wide-ranging, and fervent your prayers can become.

Create a prayer file. Write down various prayer requests on index cards, using one card per request and noting: the nature of the request, the date, and where the request came from. File each request in the appropriate section of your file: things you intend to pray about daily, weekly, and monthly (divide the monthly section into 30 slots so you can pray about a different request each day of the month). Whenever you discover how God has answered a certain prayer request, record the answer on the corresponding card and move the card to a new file – one for answered prayers.

Pray about small things as well as large things. Remember that nothing is too small to pray about; everything is significant to God because it’s a part of your life and He loves you deeply. So go ahead and pray about whatever thoughts and feelings occur to you and whatever experiences you have. Don’t hold back. Make a habit of connecting to God through prayer constantly.

Expect God to answer. Understand that God will eventually answer all of your prayers, but sometimes not in the ways you predict. Be prepared for surprises. Trust God to hear and respond to each prayer – no matter how brief – in the absolute best ways for you and all concerned. Look forward to what God will do!

Adapted from The Ten-Second Prayer Principle: Praying Powerfully as You Go, copyright 2007 by Mark Littleon. Published by Howard Publishing (a division of Simon & Schuster), West Monroe, La., www.howardpublishing.com. 
Mark Littleton is a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary and a former pastor and youth pastor. He has authored more than 70 books, which have collectively sold more than one million copies.