Anne Witton on mission

In my previous post - Creative prayer: 19 Ideas to Help You Pray - I shared some suggestions and practical tips to spend more time in communion with God. Since then, I’ve compiled some more simple ideas to kick-start your prayer life. Let me know what works for you or whether you have other ideas to add.

• Pray directly for people via Facebook Messenger, What’s App etc. Maybe work through your list of contacts and send them a prayer every so often.
• Have a friendship bracelet or leather band and tie knots in it to remind you to pray for people.
• Use ‘dead’ time. Pray while waiting at the doctor, in a queue etc. instead of fiddling with your phone. Take note of your surroundings and use them to inspire your prayers.
• Have an app to organise your prayer life. Here are some suggestions:
  - PrayerMate
  - TryPraying
  - 31DayPrayerChallenge
  - 24-7 Prayer
  - Instapray 
• Pray whilst doing something you love. It could be anything from cycling to crafts.
• Pray in the shower. God can see you in the shower, so you might as well talk to him while you’re doing it! The bonus is that you don’t have your phone or other distractions.
• Use Christian colouring books 
• Write a poem to God or explore works by Christian poets.
• Have a prayer box / jar. I have one with the names of various friends and I pull one out at random each day and pray for that person. You could also do one with world flags and country facts on each bit of paper.
• Put prayer requests on Post-It notes and stick them on the microwave / toaster / kettle.
• Pray in circles starting with yourself, then your family, church, community, nation and the world.
• Have a regular personal retreat / day of prayer. Download the free Agapé Retreat Guide, have a look at my Having a Retreat Day - Practical Tips post and my Retreat Location Map  
• Record yourself reading the Bible. This can be a good way of making sure you don’t just skim the Bible. It can also be an encouragement to play it back when you need reminding of God’s truth.
• Memorise scripture so that you can call it to mind when you pray. Bibleminded is a good scripture memory app
• Get an inflatable globe. Throw it around with friends and pray for the country your thumb lands on every time you catch it.
• Put Psalms to music and use them to express prayers to God.
• Make a scrapbook of prayers. You could include photos, drawings, Bible verses and answered prayers. You could even cut up an old Bible and make a collage.
• Write a letter to yourself with Bible promises about prayer. You could even post it to yourself! Use it to encourage you when you’re finding prayer hard.

For further help with prayer, have a look at the following resources

Bible studies

• Praying Like Jesus - 10 Brief Studies in Prayer
• The Purpose of Prayer

Articles

• Prayer for Beginners
• How to Pray Aloud in a Group
• Be Yourself in Prayer
• 10 Questions on Prayer with Tim Keller
• What to Do When We’re Prayerless
• Private Prayer Walk: Praying Outdoors When Praying Indoors Is Difficult
• Inject Your Prayer List with Life

Podcasts and video

• How Does Scripture Serve Our Prayers?
• Teach Us to Pray
• Seven Simple Tips to Refresh Your Prayer Life