BE CONSTANT IN PRAYER: 5 SIMPLE DAILY PRAYERS TO STAY CONNECTED TO GOD

The Bible tells us to “be constant in prayer” and “pray without ceasing,” but how is that possible with our daily roles and responsibilities? Is there an effective way to incorporate prayer into our busy routines? Try these five simple prayers to stay connected with God throughout the day.

WHY IS DAILY PRAYER IMPORTANT?

Prayer is, first and foremost, the way we communicate with God. If we claim to have a personal relationship with God through Jesus, we need to talk to Him. This might sound like an oversimplification to many of you, but I believe we make prayer more complicated than it needs to be.

Think about your closest relationships. Why is connecting with them important? How often do you communicate? What happens when you cannot speak for a period of time?

When we view prayer as a conversation between us and God, it becomes easier to see why this daily communication is so vital to our spiritual health and well-being.

“To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.” ~Martin Luther

Wayne Grudem’s Bible Doctrine gives a helpful explanation of what daily prayer does for us:

Prayer is not made so that God can find out what we need, because Jesus tells us that ‘Your Father knows what you need before you ask Him’ (Matthew 6:8). God wants us to pray because prayer expresses our trust in God and is a means whereby our trust in Him can increase. In fact, the perhaps the primary emphasis of the Bible’s teaching on prayer is that we are to pray with faith, which means trust or dependence on God.”

Bible Doctrine, Wayne Grudem

If prayer increases our faith, trust, and dependence on God, we need to see it as foundational to our spiritual growth and learn how to make it a daily practice.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO “BE CONSTANT IN PRAYER”?

The Bible contains over 650 prayers, including 25 of Jesus’s. However, I want to examine two specific verses that discuss the frequency of our prayers.

In Romans, Paul encourages believers to:

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

Romans 12: 12 (ESV)

And in Thessalonians, Paul again mentions how often we should pray:

Rejoice always, pray continually,  give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV)

This “constant,” “continual” prayer does not mean that you literally pray every minute of every day. The ESV Study Bible says that these scriptures suggest “a mental attitude of prayerfulness, continual personal fellowship with God, and a consciousness of being in His presence throughout the day.”

Think of praying continually as persisting and persevering in prayer.

• Be devoted and committed.
• Be habitual and intentional.
• Be mindful and present.

What is the opposite of being “constant in prayer”? Think of a friend who is a terrible communicator–someone who randomly texts you, occasionally gives you a call, and sporadically talks about getting together. Paul does not want us to treat prayer in this way.

In these verses, Paul calls us as followers of Christ to make prayer a daily, habitual, disciplined part of our lives–a way of connecting with God that we cannot live without because of what it does for us.

I pray because I can’t help myself. I pray because I’m helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping. It doesn’t change God. It changes me. ~C.S. Lewis

5 SIMPLE DAILY PRAYERS TO STAY CONNECTED TO GOD

For years, I felt guilty about my prayer life (or lack thereof) because I could not set aside dedicated time to sit in silence and solitude before the Lord and pray. This myopic view of looking at prayer in one narrowly defined way kept me from talking to God on a consistent, daily basis. Because of my poor communication, my relationship with the Lord grew distant and stagnant. And the more I failed to talk to God, the farther I moved away, thinking that God would not want to hear from me.

If that is where you are today, let me encourage you, my friend, with these five simple daily prayers. Once I started incorporating these into my everyday routines, my prayer life rebounded in powerful ways. Like reconnecting with a dear, old friend, I wanted to talk to God about everything in my life. It even led me to the spiritual discipline of silence and solitude (you can read more about that here), where I learned that listening to God’s voice is also a significant part of the prayer conversation.

A concentrated mind and a sitting body make for better prayer than a kneeling body and a mind half asleep. ~ C.S. Lewis

DRIVE-THROUGH PRAYERS

How many drive-throughs are part of your daily or weekly routine? You may go to your bank drive-thru to withdraw or deposit money. You swing through the fast food drive-through to pick up a quick snack, meal, or coffee while running errands. You wait every day in the drop-off and pick-up lines at school for your children. And when you need that prescription quickly, you are desperate for a drive-through pharmacy.

So, why not apply this drive-through practice to prayer? Not in a transactional or hurried way, but in terms of praying while driving through the ordinary places and patterns of your life. If you think about it, you can turn each drive-through stop into an opportunity for prayer. Do you listen to music, scroll through social media, or make a phone call while waiting in your car? Why not use that time instead to talk to God?

You can also try offering prayers while driving through your neighborhood, past your church, or by the homes of people you know who may be going through difficult times. Pray with your kids on the way to school and for them while you are waiting to pick them up.

Even though these quick prayers may only take minutes, if you do this several times a week, you are developing a habit of “constant, continual” prayer.

LIST PRAYERS

If you are anything like me, running to the grocery store or Target without a list almost always ensures that I will forget an essential ingredient for a recipe or a necessity like toilet paper! I also need prayer lists to remember what to pray about and, more importantly, who to pray for.

I was recently convicted when I ran into a friend after telling her I would pray for her son. As we chatted, I realized I had not only forgotten to pray for him–I did not even remember his name! Ugh! So, my new practice, when I offer to pray for someone or something, is to write it down. If I am at home, I stop and record it in my prayer notebook. If I am out and about, I use the note app on my phone to record the prayer request.

Reviewing these lists at the beginning and end of each day allows me to stay focused and committed to prayer. I also set reminders on my phone to pray for people at specific times throughout the day, especially if they have a time-sensitive need, such as a doctor’s appointment, job interview, or situation that requires extra care.

PRAYER PARTNER PRAYERS

Committing to pray with someone else is an excellent source of motivation and accountability. The Bible reminds us that when we agree in prayer with other believers, God is present (Matthew 18:20).

While physically getting together to pray with a prayer partner is ideal, you can also commit to praying with and for each other through phone calls, voice messages, or Zoom meetings. I am so grateful that our prayers transcend time and space!

When you choose a prayer partner, you can agree to pray for a particular length of time, for a specific situation, or to check in regularly for accountability and support.

Knowing that someone is counting on you can encourage you to keep persisting and persevering in prayer.

NAME PRAYERS

I have to credit my mom for teaching me how to use name prayers. She did this for me growing up and continues to do it for my children. It is also a wonderful way to pray God’s Word over yourself and for those whom you are praying.

When you want to claim God’s promises for your children, spouse, friends, or anyone who needs them, inserting their names into Scripture is helpful.

I repeatedly return to some of my favorite portions of the Bible to do this.

For example, when someone I know is struggling with fear, I pray:

“For God has not given [insert name] a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”(2 Timothy 1:7)

When someone I know needs guidance, I pray:

“Your word is a lamp to [insert name]’s feet and a light to his/her path.” (Psalm 119:105)

And when a friend or family member is full of doubt and discouragement, I pray:

“And let not [insert name] grow weary of doing good, for in due season [insert name] will reap, if he/she does not give up.” (Galatians 6:9)

You can even write out these prayers with the names inserted and send a note, text, or voice memo to encourage those who need to be reminded of God’s promises.

POPCORN PRAYERS

When I was a young, overwhelmed mom with three boys under four and pregnant with my daughter, a woman in my Bible study introduced me to what she called “popcorn prayers.” She sensed my frustration in getting any serious time alone for dedicated prayer, so she suggested that I offer up “popcorn prayers” throughout the day to stay grounded and present with the Lord.

While there might be several variations of these prayers (some done in group settings), she described them as silent, sudden exclamations of hope and help offered to God.

• “Lord, please give me patience!”
• “God, I need you to calm my anxious heart.”
• “Jesus, please give comfort in a way that I cannot.”

These simple, spontaneous prayers can “pop up” during our daily rounds: walking the dog, folding laundry, driving to work, or preparing dinner. It is another way we can “pray without ceasing” to keep the conversation going between us and God.

LET’S ENCOURAGE EACH OTHER TO PRAY CONTINUALLY

I hope this post has encouraged and challenged you to “be constant in prayer” no matter how busy your life is! If you want a copy of these 5 SIMPLE DAILY PRAYERS to download and print, please sign up as an email subscriber (see below). You will have access to this prayer tool and other resources.

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