By Renee Envy

Setting up a routine daily prayer is a powerful way to exercise your faith, stretch it, almost in the same way as you would a muscle in a fitness regimen. Develop a positive habit during the day to sit quietly and share hopes and personal thoughts with God.

Many people find it a challenge with a hectic life pace between work, chores, errands, family, and trying to achieve sufficient sleep to get close with God. Instead of making prayer a "when-you-can-fit-it-into-your-schedule practice," prioritize it on your daily schedule. 

When prayer is a habit in the same way as making your morning coffee, you can rest assured that even a few minutes each day will be devoted to spiritual meditation.

Benefits Of Incorporating Daily Prayer into Each Day

The "Association for Psychological Science" shared a few benefits of adding a daily prayer for today and each day following. Some include the following:

·        Feeling less anger

·        Reduced stress and anxiety

·        Less reaction to negative emotions

·        More positivity

·        Feeling emotionally supported

·        Calming the nervous system

·        Foster a sense of connection

What are some ways in which you can make prayer a habit? Follow along for a few steps you can follow.

Commit yourself to prayer

Sit down in prayer and ask for help setting a realistic prayer goal commitment for yourself. Starting with one time period each day is better in the beginning, and then building on that gradually after this is established as a habitual occurrence.

Schedule prayer into your day

The goal is to set a time during the day to offer God your full attention and the best version of you. You don't want to be rushed or unfocused. Many people like to pray when they first wake up while it's still dark and quiet. 

Some enjoy a peaceful moment away from work, a few minutes break where they can take time to spend with God quietly for comfort and seek guidance for the remainder of the day.

Others reach out at the end of the day to show their gratitude for the day and find solace to then fall asleep. Go here for guidance on creating a daily prayer routine.

Find a regular, quiet place for prayer

The place you share with God should be an intimate space where you can be quiet, sit in the same spot, and your thoughts automatically turn to God. There should be no interruptions or distractions while you're in this place. You should be able to spend as much or as little time without fearing disruption.

Devices should be in another location, use noise-canceling headphones, and ask anyone around you not to disturb you.

Skipping shouldn't be an option

Some days, the schedule is out of our control. That doesn't mean you can't pray; it only means you might need to shorten your time to a few minutes instead of the whole experience. You could say just a few words, maybe a simple word like "grateful," or read some scripture.

It should only be something you do on days when it's either shortening the prayer or skipping it altogether. 

Prayer diary

When praying, God often gives insight that will only take a few minutes to jot down in a prayer diary. In this diary, you can note prayer requests you've been given and individuals you've included in your prayers, and occasionally look over the entries to see where God has responded.

Seeing how He answers and the constant movement of God's Spirit in your life will be incredible.

Prayer partner

Some people enjoy the sanctity of their relationship with God and prefer solitude, choosing not to share that intimacy. Still, others enjoy bringing a partner into their prayer sessions. 

When you pick a prayer partner, this individual should be someone reliable who will join you routinely at the exact scheduled times you agree to and stick with. If meeting in person is challenging, you can use video messaging or the phone.

Less than articulate

Sometimes, prayers seem awkward and less than articulate. In these moments, God is preparing you to be closer with Him. It's essential to be patient with yourself. This could be the ideal time to incorporate Bible verses on prayers as inspiration.

Final Thought

A daily prayer for today to inspire prayer:

"Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18