- Pray regularly. The fuel of any relationship is communication, and a relationship with Jesus is no different. Praying regularly is vital. Having a set time to pray each day is a great start, but think of ways that you can pray more throughout your day such as when you are driving, when you are brushing your teeth, and when you are waiting in lines. Prayer can turn these rather mundane times into refreshing times with God.
- Read Scripture first. When possible, preface your time of prayer by reading Scripture. Scripture will help you focus your time of prayer properly. Instead of praying through a man-centered lens of what you want from God, spending time in the Bible first will reorient your heart and mind to want to pursue God’s glory in your prayer.
- Don’t confine yourself to a formula. PrayerEverywhere.org offers several outlines and blogs designed to ensure you pray in a well-rounded way. While these can be helpful to keep in mind, do not limit yourself by them. Structure can sometimes lead to a wooden, formulaic prayer life and can hinder its authenticity. There will be times when you will simply want to pray thanking God for who He is. There may be other times when you will need to pray just confessing sin to God.
- Be transparent with God. Following up to the previous lesson, strive for your prayer to be transparent. Be real with God. It’s not like you can fool Him anyway! If you are upset like Hannah, share that. If you are confused, angry, happy, worried, frustrated, or whatever else, let God know.
- Pray for others. Enjoying a vibrant prayer life and deepening your relationship with Christ will greatly grow you as a leader alone. But it is when you also pray meaningfully for your kids, kids leaders, parents, and other church leaders that your leadership will grow to the next level. Develop the habit of asking others how you can pray for them and doing it.
Brian Dembowczyk, Contributor
Prayer Everywhere's Blog 