



By Anna Moore
Ask the most mature person of faith you know about their prayer life, and they likely have something they want to improve about it.
Prayer is an essential spiritual discipline of the Christian faith. We have the privilege to make our praises and petitions known to the Lord. We find comfort in knowing God hears our prayers (1 Pt 3:12; Ps 34:17) and witness how He answers them.
But, sometimes we can get out of sync with our prayer lives.
We get tired of praying the same words every time, interceding out of habit instead of a desire to commune with the living God.
Sometimes when we pray, our hearts and minds aren’t in the right place. Occasionally, connection to the Holy Spirit takes a while. Or, perhaps we don’t feel anything at all.
Whether we admit it or not, nobody possesses a perfect prayer life, except Jesus—who prays for us even now (Rom 8:34). But we can find simple ways to move toward the Lord in prayer again.
8 Practical Tips to Reset Your Prayer Life
When you find yourself in a season of unsatisfactory prayer, try some of these practical tips to restore confidence in communing with God in intercession.
1 – Lean Into the Holy Spirit
We all experience times when we don’t know what to say in prayer. Jesus knows us as we pray in every season of our lives. The Holy Spirit is our helper in moments of weakness (Rm 8:26–27).
Word counts aren’t required for prayer. Proclaiming His name, “Jesus,” is a prayer. Uttering short words like, “help,” “why”, “thank you,” “when”, and “hallelujah” qualify as prayers.
Even silence before the Lord’s presence can be a prayer because the Holy Spirit knows our every need.
The Creator of the Heavens and Earth desires to commune with us. He’s not critiquing how well-spoken or well-versed we are.
Don’t overcomplicate it. Let the Holy Spirit help you pray.

2 – Pray God’s Word Back to Him
God’s Word contains all truth and tells us everything we need about Him on this side of eternity. When praying, we can say, “You tell us in your Word…” or, “As your Word says….”
When we declare His truths and attributes in our prayers, we remind our hearts and minds of truth, express faith in our Lord, and pray words in line with God’s will so we don’t second guess ourselves.
God graciously gave us an entire book in the Bible—Psalms—to guide our prayers.
Find a psalm to pray to Him today. Or, try the prayer Jesus taught His disciples—the Lord’s Prayer (Mt 6:9–13).
We can pray the Lord’s Prayer as a template, declaring God’s glory, expressing our needs while trusting His provision, and asking for forgiveness.
Try praying God’s Word back to Him today.
3 – Make Prayer Cards
Paul E. Miller’s book, A Praying Life, teaches how prayer cards can enhance our prayer lives. This method works great with specific requests we continue to ask the Lord to answer.
For example, if we have a relative or friend who doesn’t know Jesus, we can write her name on the top of an index card, then jot down our prayers for her and pray over these things.
We can make multiple prayer cards, each for different people, and choose a day each week to pray over each one.
Prayer cards can change with our seasons of life—you can add or subtract as needed. You can also add dates for when God reveals His answer for a specific prayer.

4 – Start a Prayer Journal
A prayer journal offers a way to write out the desires of our hearts, but structure the pages however we want.
We can pen a prayer just as we would say it aloud, or jot down our thoughts to express to the Lord.
Prayer journaling helps us recall God’s faithfulness because we can look back and remember how God responded to us in our times of need.
5 – Get Alone With God
Find a quiet place, whether in our homes or elsewhere, and sit at Jesus’ feet.
Take the time to get alone with God and experience His loving presence.
Go to the Lord and find true rest (Mt 11:28–30).
6 – Add Prayer Into Daily Rhythms
Most of us tend to be creatures of habit. So we can add prayer into our day-to-day rhythms.
Let those regular patterns become a signal for prayer—loading the washing machine, doing the dishes, waiting in the school pickup line for children.
Choose one daily rhythm as a reminder to pray.
Consider setting a reminder on the phone to pray at a certain time or once an hour.

7 – Ask a Friend to Hold You Accountable
God gives us friends to live life alongside us.
Talk to a friend and ask her to be an accountability prayer partner.
This person can check in to see how your prayer life is going or gently remind you to intercede. We can even pray with our accountability partners in person or send specific requests to one another.
Having an accountability prayer partner can be powerful and encouraging.
8 – Ask God for Help
Ask the Lord to help you connect in prayer more often and intentionally. Ask Him to give you the desire to pray. There is no shame in asking God for help with prayer.
We can share with the Lord the struggles that may be hindering our spiritual lives and seek His guidance through prayer.
No matter what our prayer lives look like currently, the Lord desires to hear from us.
He doesn’t hold expectations for how our prayers are constructed or how many “uhhs” we say.
When we pray, we’re speaking to the One who knows us better than anyone. We can commune honestly with Him, and offer praise and worship while wholly trusting Him to meet our every need.
Prayer is not a chore; it is a beautiful gift to enjoy! May you take full advantage of this everyday opportunity to build a stronger relationship with God.
Anna Moore

Anna Moore is a writer and editor living in West Virginia with her husband, Blake. A journalist for many years, Anna is excited to now share her love of Jesus and God’s Word through her online writing. She enjoys reading, taking walks with the Lord, serving others, and being a part of her local church. Connect with her on her website and Instagram.
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