3 Keys to Effective Prayer

We have begun the Prayer Challenge as a small weekly initiative to encourage friends we know to build a consistent prayer life.

What we started as a 5-minute chain prayer initiative to pray for ourselves, family, church, and nation has expanded far beyond our plans.

We initially thought of 30 minutes of cumulative prayer that we could consistently do every day, but it has now been going on for 3+ hours every day for the past one and a half months.

It is God's work, and we are so grateful to God for that.

In this Prayer Challenge, we have been sharing about 3 keys to make our prayer more impactful.

Remember, this is not all there is to prayer, but a few principles that can actually begin a shift.

“The fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”

— James 5:17

Many times we pray, but our mind is all over the place and our heart is totally disconnected, which makes it ineffective.

James talks about effective prayer, and its key is to be fervent.

Fervent means focused and consistent.

Five minutes of focused prayer, where our heart and mind are united to focus, is much better than an hour of distracted prayer.

“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

— Mark 11:24

Most prayers are done without this important understanding:

What we believe is what we get.

Most prayers are done aimlessly, but Jesus mentioned that we need to believe first that we have it.

So, what is believing?

Believing is picturing your answer to prayer and then confessing your possession of it.

Only once this is done will the prayer yield results.

If you haven't done this before till now, start doing it from today.

Your belief system determines the effectiveness of your prayers.

“Pray without ceasing.”

— 1 Thessalonians 5:17

This seems to be one of the most difficult commands.

How do you pray without ceasing when our schedules are supposed to be work, studies, etc.?

Praying without ceasing isn't a space- or time-bound call, but rather a continuous walk with God.

Prayer is the breath of your inner man, just as your outer man breathes to live, and it has become a part of your lifestyle.

You breathe regardless of whether you remember or not.

Similarly, the 5-Minute Challenge is also to inspire that when you have times like this across the day, you just connect with God — in the quiet, while travelling, or while on a break.

It automatically becomes a part of your lifestyle.

Before you know it, you will be in an unending connection with God.