Last week, we considered how to build a habit of prayer, but if we don’t have a good pattern or rhythm to our prayers, then we will tend toward focusing on ourselves. If we aren’t careful, prayer can quickly become a wish list brought to a cosmic Santa Claus rather than a time of conversation with our God and Father. In sports, one practices drills over and over again to hone particular muscles and skills so that unnatural motions become natural and even automatic. Similar to athletics, we need some drills to develop the fundamentals of prayer. Here are a couple of helpful resources that will help you develop a holistic relationship with God through prayer:

A.C.T.S

A simple acronym can go a long way to help guide your prayer time and make sure you focus on more than simply making requests to God. Each time you spend with God in focused prayer. Work through the following aspects of conversation with God:

Adoration – Begin your time with God reflecting upon who He is and praising Him.

Confession – Next, consider who you are-a sinner saved by grace. Be authentic with God, confess your sin to him, and express your need for him.

Thanksgiving – Flow from your need for Him to thanksgiving to God for His provision of grace and salvation in Jesus. Then thank Him for the many other blessings in your life.

Supplication – Wrap up your time of prayer with requests for both yourself and others.

Face to Face by Ken Boa

Another great tool for growing in your relationship with the Lord through prayer is learning to pray the Scriptures. Meditating upon God’s truth can go a long way toward expanding how and what you talk about to God. The best resource I have found and use on a regular basis is Face to Face: Praying the Scriptures for Intimate Worship by Ken Boa. It works through a similar rhythm of prayer as the A.C.T.S. paradigm above, but it also provides Scriptures to guide your thoughts and give voice to your prayers. You can buy it on Amazon by clicking on the image below: