Practical Steps for an Organized and Effective Prayer Life

The apostle Paul prayed constantly for believers and churches all over the world. Paul was a remarkably busy person whose life was full of conflicts and trials. Yet he maintained a system of prayer. We can follow his example by keeping prayer lists and, with God’s help, using them to help organize our prayers. At times you will feel more burdened to pray for some than others, but press on even when you do not feel like doing so.

Divide your list into three categories: those you intend to pray for (1) every day, (2) every week, and (3) every month. A good friend in South Africa spends an hour or more on his knees in his study every morning from 5:00 to 6:00, interceding in this manner. My family and I are on his daily list. I cannot tell you how many times I have been encouraged by realizing that this brother is daily lifting up my worthless name to the Lord of Sabaoth. No wonder John Newton (1725–1827) considered his best friends to be those who prayed for him.

Pray through your church directory, dividing the list to cover a reasonable number of people each day. If you are a pastor, you will know their needs. Praying may be the most valuable work that a minister does. It may also be the most important ministry of church members.

Use other prayer directories to pray through a list of missionaries supported by your church or denomination. Read the e-mails and newsletters of missionaries you support and pray for them after you are done reading. Otherwise, you might forget.

Reading the Bible for Prayer

One reason your prayer life may be drooping is that you have neglected the Holy Scriptures. Prayer is a two-way conversation. We need to listen to God, not just to talk to Him. We do not listen to God by emptying our minds and waiting for a thought to spontaneously come to mind. That’s non-Christian mysticism. We listen to God by filling our minds with the Bible because the Bible is God speaking in written form. Our Lord Jesus Christ says in John 15:7, ‘If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.’

When you read the Bible, do so with the intent of responding to God’s Word with prayer. For example, read Ephesians 5 with its many commands for the church and marriage. This is rich material for prayer. Praise God for the love of Christ presented in verses 2 and 25. Turn the commandments into confessions of your transgressions of God’s holy law. And bring the laws of God to Him, praying for God to write them on your heart and the hearts of others. Every Scripture passage is fuel for burning prayers.

The Importance of Perseverance in Prayer

May God also sanctify us through seemingly unanswered petitions. Remember, in the waiting time between sowing and reaping, plants are growing. Though we may wait a long time before receiving an answer to some prayers, we must pray on, realizing that prayer itself as well as the trial of delayed answers helps our soul grow.

But if unanswered prayer is sweet, how much sweeter is answered prayer! ‘Good prayers never come weeping home,’ wrote Joseph Hall (1574–1656); ‘I am sure I shall receive either what I ask or what I should ask.’ God knows what is best for His children. He never denies us anything that we ask for in humble submission and according to His will. So pray on. Refuse to leave the Lord alone. Keep before you the encouraging words of Thomas Watson (ca. 1620–1686): ‘The angel fetched Peter out of prison, but it was prayer that fetched the angel.’

Excerpt taken from Taking Hold of God: Reformed and Puritan Perspectives on Prayer, edited by Joel R. Beeke and Brian G. Najapfour. Published by Reformation Heritage Books. Used with permission.