A Simple Step to Bring Balance to Your Prayer Life

In an earlier “Prayer Hacks” I wrote about the purposes for prayer. (To read click here.) The primary purpose is to grow a relationship with God and the other purpose is to “release God’s will on earth.”

As we develop in our prayer life, usually one of these purposes dominates.

Those of us who crave intimacy will likely spend a majority of our prayer time just desiring to be in Jesus’ presence. We will find methods and prayer practices that focus on developing our relationship with Him. Times of silence, worship, times in praise and thanksgiving, fasting, listening prayer bring us the most fulfilment.

Others of us find it difficult to maintain attention and to spend time developing these intimate practices. Instead, we get excited with intercession—praying for others, praying what’s on God’s heart, His purposes for the world around us. We love prayer that leans toward kingdom activity rather than intimacy. So we look for prayer guides to enhance our times of prayer. We develop our prayer lives around areas of burden that we want to see Jesus transform.

The fact is, however, that if we are to maintain a balanced prayer life, we need to practice prayer that develops both purposes.

In order to do that, I recommend that you first do a simple analysis. Look at your current prayer life and determine which prayer purpose is your dominant purpose. What do you spend the most time doing when you pray?

Next, once you know that, I encourage you to start this new year by adding something to your prayer life that would enhance your weaker purpose.

If you are dominant in the relationship side, find a meaningful intercessory topic to pray about: neighborhood, city, nations, a nation, human trafficking, etc. Search for a prayer guide that might help you.

If you are dominant on the intercessory prayer purpose, then determine to set aside time in your daily prayer life where you can work on intimacy. Add a time to worship (use worship music), increase your time of praise, or add a time to sit in silence and listen.

As you do this you will see amazing results and will be highly blessed.

–Jonathan Graf is the president of Church Prayer Leaders Network and the publisher of Prayer Connect magazine.

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