3 ways to improve your prayer life if it has become routine

It’s easy for our prayer life to become routine. Perhaps, this is why Jesus warned us against meaningless repetition. When it becomes routine, it seems like the only thing that changes are the requests that we bring. Rather than just change the requests, try changing up the praise portion of your prayer time. Here are three ways that have worked for me. Pray through the (1) who, (2) what, and (3) why of God.

(1) Remember the “who” of God. Rehearsing things we know about the character and person of God is a great starting point. Theologian John Frame encourages us to consider the names, images and attributes of God. You don’t have to be a Bible scholar to pull this off—just google it. You’ll come up with more than one prayer time can contain. Here are a few to get you started.

Names of God:

• Yaweh (Jehovah) – LORD (Psa. 107:13)
• Jehovah-Jireh – the LORD will provide (Gen. 22:14)
• Jehovah-Sabaoth – LORD of hosts (Psa. 46:7)

Images of God:

• King – God reigns over all (Psa. 93-99)
• Shepherd – he personally protects (Psa. 23)
• Rock – he is a strong fortress (Psa. 18:2)

Attributes of God:

• God is good – he acts for the benefit of others (Gen. 50:20)
• God is holy – he is set apart from evil (Hab. 1:13)
• God is love – he willingly sacrifices for others (John 3:16))

(2) Remember the “what” of God.

The Psalmist wrote, “I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.  I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High (Psa. 9:1-2)

The word “recount” means to keep score or to keep a tally. We’re to keep score of the things God has done on our behalf. When was the last time you prayed through a list of things that the Lord has done for you? There is no shame in keeping that kind of list. Recount it. Review it as a part of your praise time. This is how we remember the “what” of God.

(3) Remember the “why” of God.

Once we’ve remembered who God is and what he’s done, it’s important to remember “why” he does what he does. This is how the prophet Jeremiah finds encouragement during a really difficult time for his nation. In Lamentations he writes,

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him” (Lamentations 3:23-24).

Jeremiah affirms that God does what he does because of his steadfast love for us.

So, if you’re looking for ways to add momentum to a prayer life that has become mundane, try remembering these three – the who, what, and why of God.

In the final pages of every Biblical Strategies resource you will find additional ways to enhance your prayer life. Those prayer helps are uniquely designed with your particular temptation in view. Click here for more information.