Improving your prayer life

What grade would you give your prayer life?  Most believers are disappointed with the quality and effectiveness of this spiritual discipline.  How can your prayer life grow stronger than ever?  Three words will make your prayer life stronger and healthier than ever:

1.  FREQUENCY.  How frequently do you pray?  Once a day?  Once every other day?  Once in a while?  Try increasing the frequency of your prayers.  Pray several times each day.  I'm not talking about several, long, serious, deep prayers.  I'm talking about choosing to pray when you otherwise wouldn't have.  A brief prayer before a tough phone call, a family prayer before the kids head to school, a prayer of dedication at your desk before the work starts---find slots and insert prayers.

2.  INTENSITY.  How is the quality of your prayer life?  Are your prayers routine?  Predictable?  Heartless?  Try increasing the variety and intensity of your prayers.  Pray with passion and energy for a variety of crucial matters.  Here are some tools:  
Pray for Harvest churches around the world HERE
Pray for Harvest Senior Pastors HERE
Pray for the staff and leaders of Harvest Palos HERE 

3.  TIME.  How long do you pray for?  While most prayers are brief, try to work extended times of prayer into your week.  Carve out 15 minutes.  Carve out 30 minutes.  Carve out 60 minutes.  When you have a choice to surf the web or watch an extra episode of your favorite show, give that window to God instead.  Put on some worship music, open your Bible, kneel down, and pray.  Here are some ways to make that time meaningful:

Adoration: take time to tell God everything you love about Him.  Delight yourself in the Lord.
Confession: take time to tell God everything you don't like about yourself currently.  Confess your sins, be honest about your weaknesses and admit your need for grace (again).
Thanksgiving: take time to remember what God has done in your past.  Celebrate God-stories.  Visit the "trophy case" God filled, and thank Him for what He has accomplished in you and through you.
Supplication: ask God to meet all your needs.  Pray for your family, your marriage, your extended family, your neighbors, your coworkers, your government, your finances your worries, your ______________.  Just pray.
(Notice the first letters spell ACTS)

Challenge yourself starting today!