A Successful Prayer Life Is Consistent

Pray without ceasing.

–1 Thessalonians 5:17

Jesus said prayer is not a public display of our spirituality, and it’s not a complex theological formula. So what is prayer? Prayer is talking to God–nothing more, nothing less. Sometimes we ask God to do something for us or for somebody else. Sometimes we admit to Him that we’ve blown it. Sometimes we express gratitude for what He’s done. And sometimes we just talk to Him.

In Colossians 4:2–3, we find four characteristics of a meaningful prayer life. First of all, a successful prayer life is consistent. Verse 2 says, “Devote yourselves to prayer.” If you want to unlock the power of God in your life, then your prayer life has to be consistent. That means you need to have a designated time and place every day that you meet with God. For Jesus, it was in the early morning in a secluded place (Mark 1:35). Maybe you’re not a morning person, so your designated time to meet with God is at lunchtime or in the evening. Find a time that works for you. And if something happens to interrupt your appointment with God, don’t be hard on yourself; find another time that day to meet with Him.

Some Christians may feel like they’re too busy to pray. If you think you’re too busy to pray, then you’re too busy not to pray–after all, any activity without God’s blessing is futile. You don’t have to spend an hour in prayer every morning. Commit to spending just five minutes in prayer. You’ll find that five minutes will turn into ten minutes and then fifteen minutes, and so on, as you get used to the idea of conversing with God. Make time every day to pray.

Having a consistent prayer life also means speaking with God throughout the day, even while you’re doing other things. In 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Paul wrote, “Pray without ceasing.” Prayer is to be a regular rhythm of life. We’re to pray as naturally and as frequently as we breathe. Brother Lawrence wrote, “There is not in the world a kind of life more sweet and delightful, than that of a continual conversation with God.” You and I were created to have a continuing conversation with our Creator.

If you’re not used to having an ongoing conversation with God, make a habit of praying before each new activity. Before you go into a meeting, pray. Before you make a telephone call, pray. Before you take an exam, pray. Before you begin a new activity, make a habit of talking to your heavenly Father about it. A successful prayer life is consistent.

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Today’s devotion is adapted from “Heavenly Communication” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2012.

Brother Lawrence, The Conversations and Letters of Brother Lawrence, concerning the Presence of God, (London: J. Hatchard and Son, 1824), 25.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org.