Since one of my spiritual goals this year is to strengthen and deepen my prayer life, I have been looking for the best prayer tools to help me do this. Many prayer tools are available, from apps you can download to books you can read to journals that can guide you. I have chosen five of the most helpful tools that have been instrumental in growing my prayer life.
PRAYER TOOL 1: YOUVERSION BIBLE APP
One of the best ways to deepen your prayer life is to begin by reading God’s Word. Different from Bible study, reading God’s word before, during, and after time spent praying allows you to pray God’s promises, cling to His truth, and allow the gospel to dwell deep within you. The Bible is a foundational tool for our prayer lives because it guides us to incorporate the key aspects of prayer:
- Praise and Adoration
- Confession and Repentance
- Gratitude and Thanksgiving
- Guidance and Obedience
- Requests and Petitions
Whenever I am stuck with not knowing how to pray, I can always return to the Bible for direction and guidance.
While I use my ESV Study Bible to dig deep into God’s word, I love the YouVersion Bible app when reflecting and meditating in contemplative prayer.
The YouVersion Bible App is a free app that you can download on your smartphone, tablet, or computer that offers an interactive experience with the Bible. Some of the features that help me deepen my prayer life include:
- Reading the Scriptures in several different translations.
- Closing my eyes and having the Bible read to me through the audio feature.
- Using the Prayer section, which helps me with guided prayer, keeps me accountable, and allows me to add my personal prayers.
PRAYER TOOL 2: PRAYERS FOR TODAY PRAYER BOOK
While numerous books have helped me on my personal journey with prayer, Prayers for Today by Kurt Bjorklund is the one I return to time and time again for its biblical, classic, and contemporary sources on prayer. This prayer tool includes daily readings of poems, hymns, scriptures, songs, and quotations. A concluding section with reflective questions also encourages me to personalize my prayers.
Each day’s entry focuses on one of ten traditional types of prayer:
- Prayers of Thanksgiving
- Prayers of Confession
- Prayers of Affirmation
- Prayers of Petition
- Prayers of Renewal
- Prayers of Praise and Adoration
- Prayers to Have Christ-like Character
- Prayers for Wisdom and Guidance
- Prayers of Intercession
- Prayers of Surrender
With 260 entries, enough for every weekday of an entire year, Prayers for Today helps me begin each day by preparing my heart, mind, and soul to spend quality time talking with God by seeking a more profound connection through reflective prayer.
PRAYER TOOL 3: PRAYER ACROSTICS
If you have read any of my previous blog posts, heard me speak, or participated in one of my Bible studies, you know how much I love and use acrostics! They are simply some of the best Bible study tools to remember, access, and apply biblical truth. Below are some of my favorite acrostics to help with prayer patterns; they are gentle guides that make my prayer time more focused and productive. Feel free to download and print these prayer acrostics to use during your prayer time.
ACTS PRAYER GUIDE
The ACTS acrostic is a prayer tool used by many because it is simple and effective.
A – ADORATION Begin by praising God for who He is.
C – CONFESSION Spend time confessing your sins.
T – THANKSGIVING Take time to thank God for His blessings.
S – SUPPLICATION Ask God to supply your needs.
PRAY PRAYER GUIDE
This simple acrostic begins with praise and ends with yielding to God’s Spirit.
P – PRAISE Tell God how great and powerful He is.
R – REPENT Spend time repenting of what you have done wrong.
A – ASK Present your needs and requests to God.
Y – YIELD Surrender to God’s will for your life.
In addition to these prayer acrostics, I have created a few of my own that I use when I am stuck praying or find it difficult to pray. You can learn more about these prayer tools by visiting my Free Faith Printables page.
PRAYER TOOL 4: PRAYER JOURNALS
Journaling my confessions, questions, requests, and reflections has been an instrumental part of strengthening my prayer life. When I take the time to write my prayers, it not only helps me focus but allows me to keep a record of God’s faithfulness in answering my prayers. Although a simple lined notebook can be an effective prayer tool for journaling, I found a series of reflective prayer journals at Val Marie Paper that have transformed my prayer life.
From their website, here are the top 8 benefits they offer for using their prayer journals (according to our customers!):
- More focused prayer time
- A bigger passion for prayer
- Less anxiety and more faith
- Being able to look back and see how God has answered prayers
- Feeling dialed into prayer and not distracted and just checking off a box
- Deeper friendships because they are intentionally praying for each other each month
- Actually praying for the things you tell people you will pray for
- It’s structured enough to keep focused, but flexible enough to make your own
I could not agree more. From a yearly Rhythms Prayer Journal to a six-month Compose Prayer Journal (the one I use), they have something to fit your needs. They also have prayer journals for teens, kids, moms, men, pregnancy, and adoption. And if you do not know what prayer journal is best for you, they have a quiz you can take to get a custom recommendation! Please check out all of their prayer tool resources at their website: www.valmariepaper.com.
PRAYER TOOL 5: BLESSIFY PRAYER APP
Someone contacted me a few months ago to try out a new prayer app called Blessify. According to their description,
Blessify is all about supporting you on your spiritual journey. Start and end your day with inspiring content and powerful prayers for a life-changing experience. Choose from hundreds of Bible verses, stories, sermons, songs, and meditative prayers to find peace in God.
Blessify
While I have tried other mobile apps to help me with prayer and meditation, after using the Blessify app for a few months, I can confidently recommend it as one of the best available. Blessify has various tools such as worship songs, beautiful prayers, encouraging quotations, and powerful Bible stories. This app gives you full access to the entire Bible and provides a daily verse for encouragement.
After answering a few simple questions, Blessify creates a personalized prayer experience based on your needs and goals. You can set reminders to pray throughout the day or look up different prayers and Bible verses for specific situations.
If you want to go deeper in your spiritual growth and have time throughout your daily routine, several sermons and messages on the app are available. Other features include listening to evening stories that help release the day’s burdens and meditate on God’s grace and truth.
The app goes one step further in fostering a supportive community by connecting you with fellow believers to share your prayer requests, pray for others, and offer support and accountability.
Depending on what I am feeling or the circumstances I am facing, I have turned to the Blessify app as a valuable tool to help me turn to God first in prayer. The app is available for free download on Play Store and your iOS app Store. Click here to download.
MORE PRAYER TOOL RESOURCES
I hope the recommendations in this post encourage you to use these prayer tools to grow your prayer life. Whether downloading a helpful app like YouVersion or Blessify, purchasing a prayer book such as Prayers for Today, using acrostic Prayer Guides, or investing in a reflective prayer journal, these simple tools can help you make the most of your time spent in prayer. And the time you invest in learning how to pray will draw you closer to God and strengthen your faith.
If you are looking for a place to experience spiritual growth, would you consider joining me here, AT THE CROSSROADS? Sign up by filling out the form below, and you will receive weekly blog posts, monthly newsletters, free faith resources, and more!
If this post spoke to you in any way, would you mind leaving a comment, sharing it on social media, or even letting a friend know? I also want this to be an interactive community where we learn and grow together, so if you have a prayer tool that has deepened your prayer life, please share it in the comments below.
My heart is to help as many people connect faith and life in real and meaningful ways. And I would love to have you along for the journey!
Disclosure: I only recommend products I use myself, and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post may contain affiliate links that I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.
Love this, very thorough.
Thank you, Heather! I hope you can use at least one of these tools to help you deepen your prayer life!
Wow! I love this so much! I appreciate seeing the tools that work for you. I, too, love the Bjorklund book and YouVersion! I will try the Blessify app—thank you❣️🙏🏻 Happy NewYear, Carla!
I am so glad that this post encouraged you, Katherine! Let me know how you like Blessify! Blessings to you as you connect with God through prayer.