What if Christian leaders could come alongside you and give you a piece of advice or encouragement to help you have a great prayer life? What would they say?
I asked these Christian leaders and here is what they had to say:
“I believe a good prayer life comes from ‘recognition’—recognizing God for who he is—our creator, savior and salvation, and us recognizing our deep need for Him. It’s important to set aside a certain time of the day to pray for a while. But it’s also important to ‘pray without ceasing’ throughout our day in things that we ‘recognize.’ —Mac Powell, Third Day (thirdday.com; Twitter: @macpowell).
“I am a big believer in praying consistently for the people I am discipling. I use my iPad to keep photos of the people I pray for weekly. I have photos of my family, close friends and the Timothys I am mentoring. During my prayer time, I flip through these photos to pray for them. I have found it to be a powerful and effective way to pray for the people I care about!” —Lee Grady, The Mordecai Project (leegrady.com; Twitter: @LeeGrady)
“The plans of God are only revealed in the presence of God. We don’t get our marching orders until we get on our knees! But if we hit our knees, God will take us places we never imagined going by paths we didn’t even know existed.” —Mark Batterson, New York Times Best-selling author of The Circle Maker (markbatterson.com; Twitter: @MarkBatterson)
“It may sound simple, but the best advice I can give anyone regarding improving their prayer life is to pray about prayer. In other words, if you need help with your prayer life (and who doesn’t?), then why not ask for help? When it comes right down to it, none of us are really that spiritual. If I want to be a man of prayer, I am going to need the Lord’s help. Pray about prayer!” Dave Butts, Chairman of America’s National Prayer Committee (harvestprayer.com; Twitter: @hpmdave)
“Want to have an incredible prayer life in 2016? Then start and end each day with thanksgiving. Thank God for the blessings and for getting you through the trials. Having a heart of gratitude will change your life. I know because it changed mine.” —Tracie Peterson, best-selling author of over 100 Christian fiction novels (traciepeterson.com)
“Relentlessly set aside margin in your week for prayer. If you’re struggling with a daily time, just do it as often as you are able—whenever you can get away. And if possible, give yourself enough space in your schedule to pray and worship as long as you feel like it. —Matt Brown, author of Awakening: How God’s Next Great Move Inspires & Influences Our Lives Today (thinke.org; Twitter: @evangelistmatt)
“Remember that it’s never about obligation; it’s always about invitation. Jesus invites us to be much with Him. The moment this feels like an ‘ought to’ or a ‘should do,’ I know I’ve lost sight of the fact that He loved me first, and I remind myself of His love and marvel afresh at the miracle of my salvation. That keeps my prayer life alive, a delight and full of expectancy. The star-breathing God invites me to partner with Him in the greater kingdom story and He moves when I pray. What else could be a better use of my time? So grateful.” —Susie Larson, talk show host of Live the Promise (susielarson.com; Twitter: @SusieLarson)
“Why did Jesus pray so much? This used to concern me because I thought, If anybody had God figured out, Jesus did, so why did He need to pray so much? One day, the Lord just spoke to my heart and said, “Jesus did not pray to figure Me out. Jesus prayed because He had Me figured out.” —Ron Auch, Pray Tell Ministries
“Prayer is getting God’s ideas without the stain of human logic.” —Dave Williams, Dave Williams Ministries (davewilliams.com)
“Too often, we make prayer exceptional rather than normal. Make it a habit to end your time with people in prayer. When you share a meal, a meeting or a conversation with someone, close with “Do you mind if I pray a blessing for you today?” You’ll be surprised how often that turns into a God moment! Even nonbelievers like to receive prayer.” —Rod Loy, Pastor, First North Little Rock, Arkansas (firstnlr.com; Twitter: @ProdLoy)
“Spend time with Jesus. Intimacy with Jesus creates boldness in prayer. Ask Him to reset your life and bring a reset to this nation.” —Nick Hall, Pulse (reset2016.com; Twitter: @NickHall)
Do you want to have a great prayer life? Do you think that prayer maybe should first be a “get to” before it is a “have to?” Then we are here to help you on your journey.
Kevin Senapatiratne is head spiritual pyromaniac for Christ Connection. Kevin speaks around the United States helping Christians find the fun of prayer. He is the author of Enjoying Prayer. You can learn more about his ministry at enjoyingprayer.com.
For the original article, visit christconnection.cc.
Ron Allen 
Eddie Hyatt 
Michael L. Brown 
