Six Steps to Effective Prayer and Giveaway
My guest this week is a sweet lady I met at a writers conference. Her new book on prayer releases November 18. And she’s giving a copy away on this blog post.
By Penny Cooke
“In this manner, therefore, pray…” (Matthew 6:9a NKJV)
Do you ever find it difficult to pray, to remember or find time to pray? If so, you are not alone. We are all busy.
Even when we have good intentions, we can end up discouraged as the craziness of life takes over so often.
If I’m not prepared, my cell phone will chime, my to-do list will nag, and my stomach will growl in duet with the dog begging to go out (and in, and out…).
I begin to question, When can I go to meet with You, God? (Psalm 42:2)
Jesus gave us instructions for prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 (The Lord’s Prayer). If we look carefully, we’ll see He covered specific elements of prayer. Perhaps He didn’t mean it to be a rote prayer, but a guide. After all, He had just told the disciples not to recite vain repetitions (Matthew 6:7).
What are these elements? Here is an acrostic for prayer that explains the elements Jesus taught.
P – Proactively Pursue Prayer.
Jesus left us an example of intentionally getting away from it all to pray (Mark 1:35, Luke 5:16, 6:12, 9:28). Scripture urges us repeatedly to proactively pursue prayer (Matthew 26:41, Luke 18:1, Ephesians 6:18, 1 Thessalonians 5:17, and 1 Timothy 2:1). Besides spontaneous prayers we may pray throughout the day, it is essential to take the time to be alone with God to pray fervently (James 5:16).
In today’s busyness, we need to be proactive about a lot of things if we’re going to get everything done. It is no different with prayer. And if we have so much to do, shouldn’t prayer be on the top of our list?
R – Remember His Righteous Deeds
This follows the “Hallowed be Your Name” element of the Lord’s Prayer. Jesus began His prayer with worship. Worship helps us realize who God is and what He has done for us.
We see in the Old Testament what happened when the Israelites forgot God and all He had done for them. Psalm 106 recounts much of their forgetfulness and rebellion, even though they had been warned, “…beware, lest you forget the LORD…” and “…you shall remember well what the LORD your God did…” (Deuteronomy 6:12, 7:18)
Psalm 100:4 tells us, “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving…” Remembering generates thankfulness and thankfulness produces worship.
Jesus began His prayer with worship. Worship helps us realize who God is and what He has done for us. 'Hallowed be Your Name.' (The Lord's Prayer) @penny_cooke #Prayer #Giveaway Click To TweetA – Acknowledge Sin
This is the “forgive us our debts” piece of the Lord’s Prayer. This does not suggest a brief and general, “Forgive my sins,” but a time to acknowledge and confess specific sins in our lives, and to repent. To repent is to adjust our lives to the ways of God.
Confession is a vital part of prayer, which is often overlooked when we pray short, on-the-go prayers. David recognized, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear” (Psalm 66:28).
But there’s more to this piece of the Lord’s Prayer: “…as we forgive our debtors.” We must be sure we extend the same grace and mercy to others as we seek for ourselves (Matthew 6:14).
Confession is a vital part of prayer, which is often overlooked when we pray short, on-the-go prayers. David recognized, 'If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear' (Psalm 66:28). @penny_cooke #Prayer #Giveaway Click To TweetY – Yield to His Will
This covers the “Your Will be done” part of the Lord’s Prayer.
To yield is to submit, to surrender or relinquish control. That’s a hard one for a lot of us. We humans like to be in control. But to yield to His will is to allow God to be in control, trusting His ways are best.
When we pray this part of the Lord’s Prayer, we welcome His will and His kingdom into our lives. It is to, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness…” Then the promise: “…all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).
E – Enjoy His Daily Bread
Most of us have enough “daily bread” in our cabinets, refrigerator and freezer to last nearly a month. Whether or not we do have such abundance, this is about knowing where our provision comes from and trusting God to provide. It is to have faith that He will do what He said He will do, pertaining to daily bread or any other promise He has made to us (John 14:14).
When the Israelites wandered in the desert, they groaned and complained. Even though they had experienced God do many miracles, they still forgot all He had done. They didn’t trust or obey Him (Numbers 21:5). In Deuteronomy 8:3, they were reminded God had fed them with manna in the desert to make them know they “shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.”
First John 1:1-3 reveals that Jesus is the Word. In John 6:35, Jesus informed He is the Bread of Life. So the Bread of Life is Jesus, the Word in the flesh (John 1:14).
God longs to give us Himself. He gives us Himself through Jesus, the Bread of Life, the Word, our Daily Manna. He provides daily physical bread for our physical life, but He also provides daily spiritual bread for our spiritual life.
God longs to give us Himself. He gives us Himself through Jesus, the Bread of Life, the Word, our Daily Manna. He provides daily physical bread. He also provides daily spiritual bread. @penny_cooke #Prayer Click To TweetR – Rest in the Waiting
We want quick, instant everything nowadays. We expect things to happen now, and we’re always in a rush. We’d do well to hurry up and slow down.
God is never in a hurry. He sees the end from the beginning and knows exactly what and when things need to be done for our prayers to be answered. And He is much too concerned for our spiritual wellbeing to give us anything one minute before its time.
When we trust and wait patiently with thanksgiving, our anxiety and grumbling is replaced with His peace. We can rest when God’s peace guards our hearts and minds, no matter how long it takes our prayers to come to fruition (Philippians 4:6-7).
How much more effective do you think your prayers could be if you proactively prayed this way more often? (For a chance to win Penny’s book on prayer, answer this question in the comments.)
About the Author
Penny Cooke is an author, Certified Biblical Life Coach, and blogger. She has led in women’s ministry and taught Bible studies for over 25 years. Her new book, Pursuing Prayer – Being Effective in a Busy World, releases from New Hope Publishers November 18, 2019. Penny is a contributor to Heart Renovation – A Construction Guide to Godly Character (Lighthouse Bible Studies 2018), and The Wonders of Nature devotional (Worthy Inspired 2016). She has written for CBN.com and Thoughts-About-God.com, and has been a columnist for Blessed Living Women’s E-Magazine. She also enjoys offering encouragement through her blog on her website. Penny and her husband live in Florida and have three grown children and seven grandchildren.
Connect with Penny on Twitter, Instagram , Facebook, and Facebook Author page. Purchase her book.
*Sometimes I participate in these link-ups:
Legacy Linkup/Inspire Me Monday/Kingdom Bloggers/Literacy Musings/Tell His Story/Purposeful Faith/Abounding Grace/Tea and the Word/Welcome Heart/Recharge Wednesday/Porch Stories/Destination Inspiration/Worth Beyond Rubies/Tune in Thursday/Sitting Among Friends/Heart Encouragement/Embracing the Unexpected/Fresh Market Friday/Faith On Fire/Dance With Jesus and Faith and Friends.
Penny, I enjoyed the humor and truth in your introduction. The P in your acrostic is vital to our relationship with Christ and our peace. Thank you for these important reminders.
I love how you broke down the Lord’s Prayer, making it fresh and more meaningful, Penny! Why is it that we know the importance of prayer, but let so many things distract us from the one practice that draws us closer to God? I, for one, certainly want a more deeply rooted prayer life!
Blessings!
Oh if I could only stop being distracted while praying. Seems like cell phones ring, computer sends alert sounds, my “to do” list keeps running through my mind. I am very thankful God keeps listening and is ready when I return to prayer. I need to pause, pray with fire and not be distracted. Thank You Lord for giving me many opportunities to speak with You.
Thank you, Jeannie. Yes, the P is the first step. Without the P, the rest probably won’t happen. Blessings to you!
Melissa, I always say, if something distracts you, pray about that. Then go on with your prayer, and if something else distracts you, repeat. 😉 Blessings!
Karen,
Thank you for sharing this! I look forward to reading Penny’s book.
Glad this inspired you, Beckie. Excited to get my copy of Penny’s book soon.
Thank you, Martha. Yes, we all need a deeper rooted prayer life, myself included. That’s what led me to write about this. Blessings!
Ms. Penny,
While there are numerous methods of prayer out there, with several acrostics we can choose from, I agree with you that the best is to follow Christ’s example in The Lord’s Prayer. What we must do is persevere in our prayers. It’s difficult sometimes to get through my entire Prayer List in one sitting. Life, and I suspect Satan, seems to always get in the way. Have learned to pray earnestly; and when the Holy Spirit leads me I break away and focus on one specific person or need. Then, even if it’s later in the day, I come back to finish what I started. Sometimes it takes me several attempts, but it’s worth the effort to get through my prayers each day. Something else I do is what I call “Saving my Amen.” God’s blessings ma’am. Praying your book makes a tremendous impact in God’s kingdom, for His glory.
Amen, J.D. Persevering in prayer is not easy in our present culture with all of life’s distractions. Yet, when we do, and when we do set aside time to give it our all…to pray earnestly and be led by the Holy Spirit, things happen. And even if our circumstances don’t change or the people around us, we change.
I love the idea of resting in the waiting. That requires trust. Waiting is hard. Thanks for a great post.
Oh, how much I know this to be true, Nancy. I’m in a season of waiting. I just said the other day how hard it is to wait. But it does require trust and the Lord uses the waiting seasons to build our faith and to grow our trust in Him. Otherwise, we would never need to lean on Him or place our trust in a higher power.
Proactively praying. I love thinking about it like this. laurensparks.net
I do too, Lauren. To be proactive about anything shows we value it, so we take the steps to ensure it’s a part of our lives. Prayer, if anything, should be proactive!
I always tell people that they can pray wherever… you don’t necessarily need a special place to pray (although that can really end up being a big blessing). You can pray in your car on the way to work, in the shower when you’re finished working out, or even silently to yourself as you prepare a meal. The ideal is to ‘get away to pray’, like Jesus did, but when you can’t find that ideal, settle for the ordinary places and times throughout your day to pray and acknowledge God. That is better than nothing, right? Amen. Thanks for all the encouragement about prayer. Good stuff!
Yes, Lisa, agree with this, “The ideal is to ‘get away to pray’, like Jesus did, but when you can’t find that ideal, settle for the ordinary places and times throughout your day to pray and acknowledge God.” This must be what Paul meant when he told us to pray without ceasing.
No matter how many sermons or talks I hear about this topic, each speaker or writer comes at it so uniquely that there’s never an overlap. We can’t hear enough about how to apply the Lord’s Prayer or any other prayer strategy to our lives. To follow in Jesus’s steps, we must pray. You’ve given many good tips here, and I know that each one who reads this will find something that meets their needs, beginning with that need to be proactive. Seriously, if I don’t go to the Lord first in prayer and time in his Word, it WILL get crowded out. Period. For me, it has to be first, or it will be shoved aside or later completed in hurry and distraction. Thank you for these reminders.
Melinda, I never thought about it that way, but so true. We really can never hear enough practical and wise advice on how to pray. It’s why I’m excited for Penny’s book to arrive and start digging in. Love how you put this, “To follow in Jesus’s steps, we must pray.” It’s that simple and that much more convincing how we need to be praying.
This is so true! “In today’s busyness, we need to be proactive about a lot of things if we’re going to get everything done. It is no different with prayer. And if we have so much to do, shouldn’t prayer be on the top of our list?” Yes, I agree, prayer should be at the top of our list. I make it a habit to start my day with scripture and prayer before I do anything else. It has required years of discipline to make it a Godly habit in my life. Thanks for this post, Penny!
Carol, maybe we should pray to keep prayer at the top of our list. 😉 Seriously, one of the many things I love about our God is how when He calls us to do something important to our faith and good for us, He also equips us and helps us carry it out…if we ask Him. And there’s no other god who’s that gracious and kind and giving. Nope!
Love this!! Thank you!! This reminder is awesome! I just e-mailed it to myself so that I can print it!
Glad Penny’s post encouraged you, Trudy. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Great post! I’m convicted to start thinking of confession more in my daily prayers.
That aspect of prayer spoke to me too, Jessica. As Penny relays in this article, David say the importance to confess sin. But I wonder how many times we pass by that aspect of prayer thinking we don’t really need to practice confession ourselves? I’m convicted to make sure and add that in daily as well.
I love this! I am working on becoming more disciplined in prayer, so this was perfect timing for me. I need to be better at spending dedicated time in prayer. It’s easy to throw up some prayers throughout the day and consider that “good enough.” But how beautiful are those times sitting before God’s throne in dedicated prayer!
Dedicated prayer time seems to fall off our radar some days or even many days, Emily. The enemy is sneaky like that, hoping to keep us distracted enough not to pray in a disciplined way and even not to pray at all. Why? He knows the power prayer holds in our lives. Let’s keep what you said in mind, “…how beautiful are those times sitting before God’s throne in dedicated prayer!”
If I could master all of these at the same time, that would be amazing! I tend to struggle with at least one at any given time. Right now I’m working on “Rest in the waiting.”
Hi Josh, I believe all of us relate to not having mastered each of these elements all at the same time. But it’s a goal…a desire to pray with these steps more and more often. And I’m also presently working on “rest in the waiting.” But I have found that the Lord is teaching me so much about himself and myself in the wait.
Love these reminders of ways to enrich our prayer life! One of the most life changing for me as been to worship God as I open my prayer. I find that anchors my soul and lifts my spirit for any other elements that follow in my prayer. God bless you!
Hey Melissa, appreciate your comment on Penny’s article. Just as Jesus began with “Hallowed be your name,” I started earlier this year beginning my prayer with that line which means something like, “Holy are you, Lord.” (From another friend’s article). I don’t want to get into a rut, but for me, beginning with both of these lines, then moving on to more praise and worship to the Lord, really sets the tone for my prayer time. I enjoyed how you said worship anchors your soul and lifts your spirit. Beautiful!
It seems that every few years I have to go back to really thinking about prayer. Worshiping God to start my prayers is something I always try to do but this reminder tells me I have been doing it in more in a rote way, rather than thinking about how my words will worship Him. I will be more conscious of my thoughts of His majesty, victory and glory and pray that this will make my prayer times more worshipful. Thanks for the nudge!
Me too, Beth. It’s almost as if the Lord’s reminding me the importance of prayer in my life. Love how you expressed this desire to worship in your prayer time, “I will be more conscious of my thoughts of His majesty, victory and glory and pray that this will make my prayer times more worshipful.” Amen!
Having a little trouble commenting on each post, but I want you all to know I’ve enjoyed reading and appreciate your comments so much. Thanks for taking the time to read and comment. I’m praying for each one of you. Blessings! Penny
What a wonderful, practical guide. Thanks so much for sharing and for linking up with Grace and Truth this week.
You’re welcome, Valerie. I love how Penny reminds us, “Jesus left us an example of intentionally getting away from it all to pray.”
Thank you for this post, Penny. This was interesting and informative. I typically remember to pray, but I feel self-conscious about what I say.
Hey Robin, thanks for adding your thoughts on prayer. Many believers feel the same about what words to offer during prayer. I love to think about prayer as talking to our Father, and keeping in mind who He is and what He’s capable of doing. Then, at least for me, it helps me praise and worship Him, see Him as my authority, see Him as the one I’ve sinned against, and ask Him for help in living out the Christian life daily. As Penny said, even the Lord’s prayer is not a “formula” per se as much as it is an example for the elements of prayer.
Penny,
Great acronym to remember all the fundamental parts and functions of prayer! I especially liked this line in “Remember”: ““Enter into His gates with thanksgiving…” Remembering generates thankfulness and thankfulness produces worship.” People may say don’t look backward, but when we look back, remember and take inventory of God’s goodness, we can’t help but be thankful…at least I can’t.
Blessings,
Bev xx
Bev, I found Penny’s acronym so practical and powerful. And like what you said here, “People may say don’t look backward, but when we look back, remember and take inventory of God’s goodness, we can’t help but be thankful…at least I can’t.” That’s a good word. Looking back does help us to remember and thank God for the great things He has done. Thanks for commenting.
This is an excellent post with lots of great tips. I especially like the last one about waiting well through intentional rest. Sharing on Twitter and Pinterest!
Thank you for this article. The Lord has been calling me to very intentional prayer this year. He was probably always calling but this time I’ve responded. I want to encourage others to take the same step and go deeper in their prayer lives. Proactively Pursuing Prayer is a key phrase. I pray your book encourages many women and men to make time each day to sit before the Father.
Thanks for your comment, Lucinda. I like how you used words like “intentional” and “proactively” when it comes to prayer. Those are both key to the effective prayer life Penny writes about in this article and in her book.
The last step–Rest–is the most difficult for me! I’m not a sit still kind of gal. But learning to wait is so important. Thank you for the reminder.
I’m with you on that one, Anita. Waiting is hard for me. But the rest that comes and I’ll add, the lessons learned, are always worth the wait.
[…] We see in the Old Testament what happened when the Israelites forgot God and all He had done for them. Psalm 106 recounts much of their forgetfulness and rebellion, even though they had been warned, “…beware, lest you forget the LORD…” and “…you shall remember well what the LORD your God did…” (Deuteronomy 6:12, 7:18) https://www.karengirlfriday.com/six-steps-to-effective-prayer […]
I really enjoyed the article and the reminders hidden within. Hurry up and slow down. Finding time for prayer. Proactive prayer. Gratitude. Good stuff!
Your neighbor #29 on Inspire Me Mondays.
Appreciate you visiting and commenting on Penny’s post, Suzette. I pray we are proactive to pursue prayer with a passion.