In the life of a Christian, prayer is an ever-present resource connecting us directly with our heavenly Father. Someone might pray for a blessing over the meal they are about to eat, for a loved one to do well at a particular performance, or if they are fearful of a situation they find themselves in at that moment, they may pray about how that situation will play out. The Lord is ready for us to approach Him at any time of day with the needs and concerns this life might lay before us. He also loves times when we just simply praise Him for who He is and what He has done.
While impromptu prayer is great for maintaining regular conversation with the Lord throughout the day, I want to focus in on another element of the prayer life of a Christian. This can be considered a more intentional conversation, most likely had during a daily quiet time. I want to share with you what this time looks like for me, and while I use a simple acronym to help guide this time, you can feel free to craft this conversation however you feel the Lord leads you. There’s nothing magical about the structure I use, but it does help me to be mindful of things I might otherwise forget to mention while talking with the Lord.
Even though the structure has remained the same for years now, I have added elements to it based on conversations I have had with other believers, a message I heard, or maybe even a simple reminder the Lord laid on my heart during a previous prayer. I encourage you to think and pray hard through what you might add to your daily prayer with the Lord.
Crafting a “structured” prayer can seem a little robotic or rehearsed if you’re simply checking off the boxes on the list. A good balance is needed between the regularity of this prayer and allowing time for the Lord to respond back to you as you talk to Him, not just pushing your way through the prayer, and saying “Done, Amen.” You must walk patiently through this time, as you would with any other person you have a loving relationship with. If you need to break up the conversation, so be it. The Lord isn’t going anywhere, and He’ll be ready to pick it back up once you’re back in an intimate, distraction-light setting.
With that said, let’s break down the acronym I use, P.R.A.Y.
“P” stands for Praise. I love to always start out my conversation with the Lord by thanking him for all that He has done, and is currently doing, in my life. These can be things that have happened long ago, or even within the past twenty-four hours. Here’s my list current list:
- I ALWAYS start off this time with first praising the Lord for sending his Son to come down to earth, die on the cross, rise from the grave, and provide for me the ONLY way to have eternal life. Without that, I’d have NOTHING, I’d be NOTHING, life would not be worth living. This wasn’t always a part of my daily prayer, but then I was convicted by a message about how sometimes we can forget to praise God for THE most important thing. Prayer needs to start here. We cannot ever take this amazing gift for granted.
- Then I praise Him for waking me up that morning, giving me breath to breath, allowing for rest through the night, and keeping me and my family safe.
- I praise Him for my health. Even in times of poor heath, you can thank Him for never losing sight of you, and for being nearby in your times of need.
- I praise Him for family who loves me. I think through my relationships with my immediate family (dad, mom, brother, sister) and how those relationships currently stand. If there is conflict with one or more of those people in your life, you will have the opportunity to pray for that coming up.
- I praise Him for friends who care for me, thinking through a handful of current examples.
- I praise Him for my wife and children. I make sure to thank Him for SPECIFIC things about each one of them, rather than just throwing a blanket prayer over them. I mean, they are the most important people in my life.
- I praise Him for food in my stomach, clothes on my back, a roof over my head, and a vehicle to drive. If you find yourself in a season of life where any of these things mentioned are lacking, still praise Him for what you do have, while also continuing to bring your requests for provision before Him.
- I praise Him for giving me a job to work. Included in this prayer is recognition for the experiences I’ve had, the lessons that I’ve learned, and the relationships that I’ve been able to be a part of.
- The last thing I try to do during this segment of my prayer is to think back over the last twenty-four hours about anything specifically that might also warrant praise.
Next we get to “R”, which stands for Repent. You can’t bring your requests to the Lord without first having dealt with the sin in your life. This is a great time to do so:
- For me, I pray for the following list of sins: pride, selfishness, lust, laziness, deceit, jealousy, and envy. Now while I might not struggle with each of those the same, I still ask that the Lord forgive me if I have committed sin in any of those areas. Obviously, this list isn’t exhaustive, and you can very well add to it to make it more relevant to your life.
- The key though, is that you pray for SPECIFIC sins. Don’t just say, “Lord, forgive me of my sins.” Ask Him to take away that specific thought or action you committed against Him.
- As you are doing this, ask Him to remove any of this that is hindering your communication with Him. Tell Him that you want to be able to hear clearly from Him. You want your feet to be set on solid ground. Ask Him to wash you, making you whole, making you new, making you clean.
That leads us to “A”, which stands for Ask. As you can imagine, this is where you get to bring your requests before the Lord. With sin being dealt with, you can now in full confidence, approach the throne of God (Hebrews 4:16). Here’s what this looks like for me:
- I ask the Lord to provide me with His love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control (Galatians 5).
- I ask for those things specifically so that I can be a godly husband, father, son, brother, friend, leader, employee, and co-worker.
- I then try to think through my upcoming twenty-four hours for any specific need that should be mentioned.
- This is also a good time to intercede on behalf of those who have shared their requests with you, or who have needs that you know about.
Finally, we come to “Y”, which stands for Yield. This is simply where you get to say to the Lord, “Not my will, but yours be done.” This part of your prayer is not too complex. Allow yourself time to sit and wait on the Lord. You have made your requests known to Him, and now you get to yield to His desires for your life. End your prayer with this attitude of “open hands” as you trust in your Good Father.
I pray that this reflection back on my journey to construct a daily prayer conversation with the Lord will be helpful to you. Again, don’t see it too much as a checklist of things to mark off; otherwise it will seem regimented and legalistic. Rather, use it as a tool to help you remember the good things the Lord has done for you, while praying to walk in His will for your life in the day to come. God bless.