Every now and then, I feel discontented with my prayer life. Sometimes it’s because I feel far from God, can’t find the right words, or keep saying the same old things about the same old things. In moments like this, I like to switch things up. I have long observed that doing something new can inject energy into rusty habits. As C.S. Lewis observed, we naturally desire both change and permanence, and God designed life under the sun with rhythms that satisfy both desires. So if you’re in a season where you want to try something new in your prayer life, here are ten ideas to get started.
1. Pray through the Bible
Praying Scripture is simply praying God’s word back to him. You can accomplish this by praying the prayers found in the Bible or by turning biblical texts into prayers. Praying Scripture was a hallmark of Puritan prayers. Matthew Henry, a Puritan minister famous for his Bible commentary, wrote a book on praying according to Scripture. In the book’s introduction, he advises that Christians use the “sacred dialect” when dealing with sacred things. The advantage of praying the Bible is that you never run out of things to pray!
Helpful Resources: Praying the Bible by Donald Whitney, A Method of Prayer by Matthew Henry.
2. Pray the Psalms
The book of Psalms is the Bible’s own hymnal and features 150 songs written in a way that makes them easy to pray. Furthermore, biblical psalms encompass a wide range of human emotions, including anger, loneliness, joy, praise, despair, and hope. John Calvin described the Psalms as “an anatomy of all parts of the soul.” There are several ways to pray the Psalms. You can recite them verbatim (many psalms are essentially prayers), pray them with a few tweaks to make them more personal, use each verse as a springboard for brief prayers, or mix the above. I recently prayed through the entire Psalter, and it was a refreshing experience that blessed my prayer life.
Helpful Resource: When You Don’t Have the Words: Praying the Psalms by Reed Dunn
3. Pray the Lord’s Prayer and the Ten Commandments
The Lord’s Prayer is the Bible’s own method for prayer. It’s how Christ taught his disciples to pray and the model he wants us to use. It is not a prayer per se to recite verbatim to the Father, but a guide to shape our prayers. In his book, A Simple Way to Pray, Martin Luther also recommended praying through the Ten Commandments. For this method, you take each command, discern its instruction, and then turn it into a thanksgiving, confession, and prayer.
Helpful Resources: A Simple Way to Pray by Martin Luther, Prayer by Timothy Keller, How to Pray Using the Lord’s Prayer
4. Pray the Prayers of Others
One blessing of living 2,000-plus years into church history is having the works of faithful Christians who went before us. This includes their prayers. Praying the prayers of others can bless our prayer lives—especially biblically rich prayers. It’s helpful for occasions when you don’t know how to pray, and provides examples of how fallen but striving pilgrims pray. I recommend, in particular, Puritan prayers, as they are rich in Scripture, edifying, and beautiful.
Helpful Resources: The Valley of Vision, Piercing Heaven: Prayers of the Puritans, Fount of Heaven: Prayers of the Early Church, Grace from Heaven: Prayers of the Reformation Into His Presence: Praying with the Puritans, Cloud of Witnesses: A Treasury of Prayers and Petitions Through the Ages
5. Use Pre-written Prayers
Most Christians pray spontaneously without preparing in advance what they will say. However, you can pre-write your prayers and pray them later. Using pre-written prayers is no less authentic than using pre-written notes during a sermon. This method ensures you know what to pray and that your prayers are based on Scripture. You can also pray spontaneously and write them down as you pray. I started writing out my prayers last year because writing helped me stay focused during prayer.
Helpful Resource: Prayerfulness by Peter Adam.
6. Pray Backwards
Most—if not all—Christians end their prayers by saying “in the name of Jesus.” But you can transform the way you pray by beginning with Jesus’s name instead. It’s more than merely moving a phrase from the end to the beginning. This change will remind you to pray according to Christ’s will and to keep him as the focus and priority of your prayers.
Helpful Resource: Praying Backwards
7. Pray God’s Names
The Bible mentions several names for God that reveal his character and attributes. And we can pray through his names to worship and praise him. For instance, one of God’s names is Yahweh Yireh, meaning “the Lord will provide.” You can pray this name by praising God for his faithful provision, asking him to meet your current needs, and expressing your hope in his future provision. You can also pray through Jesus’s names in the Bible.
Helpful Resource:10 Names of God And How To Pray Them
8. Use Prayer Cards
This method of prayer originates from Paul Miller’s popular book, A Praying Life. Here is how it works: take an index card, assign it to a person, and write the scripture you want to pray over that person on it. The advantage of this method is that it helps you prioritize who you are praying for rather than what you are asking for. That is, it makes you focus on one person or area rather than having scattered prayer requests. As you keep praying for that person and adding scriptures, it provides a snapshot of your prayer request.
Helpful Resource: A Praying Life by Paul Miller
9. Use Prayer apps
Technology has provided immense opportunities for Christians to grow in various spiritual disciplines. Prayer is no exception. You can refresh your prayer routine by using prayer apps that help you stay organized or support your prayers. For example, PrayerMate enables you to create a prayer list and ensure you pray through it. I used it a few years ago and appreciated how it helped me pray more widely. Another app is PrayMore, which allows believers to pray more and stay organized. It’s also collaborative, so that you can pray with your small group or church. There are many other prayer apps, but these are the two I am familiar with and that people I trust recommend.
Helpful Resources: PrayerMate, PrayMore
10. Use a Prayer Journal
Prayer journals, digital or electronic, have been a staple in many people’s devotional time. If you have never used one, then now is the time to try. I specifically recommend the Pour Out Your Heart Praying Journal from Crossway. This is not a typical prayer journal but rather a prayer planner designed for use over many years—a lifetime even (See my full review). I have had it for a couple of years now and love it.
Helpful Resource: Pour Out Your Heart Prayer Journal
Prayer is best measured by weight rather than length and breadth; and in proportion, as you grow in grace, you will grow in prayerfulness.
Charles Spurgeon
You don’t have to use all these methods or stick to only one way of prayer for the rest of your life. Your prayer life is living, and different seasons may call for different methods of prayer. If you have a prayer routine you are happy with, you can stick with it and ignore this post. Or you can try something new and see how it affects your prayer. What matters in the end is that you pray—and that you pray in a manner pleasing and acceptable to God.
Grace and peace to you!
