How to Pray effectively for Long Hours

When I first started learning how to pray I heard this one tip that got almost everyone to pray unfortunately it didn't work for me.

I'll use an analogy to explain the tips so you'll understand better. Let's say Titi and Dara are very good friends. They have been friends since high school.

Today makes it  4 years of solid friendship but somehow Dara is always in a hurry every time she sees Titi.

Your guess is as good as mine. Probably Dara doesn't like Titi enough.

Yeah, this was the tip I was given. See Jesus as your friend and long hours it is but it didn't work for me. I understand the analogy, it's probably true but it didn't do anything that make me feel so insufficient. Yes, I am without God.

Here is what I've noticed consistency takes a lot more discipline than just butterflies in your stomach and songs of love to God. Unfortunately most time we don't like to put in the work to obtain maximum results.

At this point, it is important to note that praying for 1 hour isn't like a standard for God to accept you or even listen to your prayers. 

And nobody took your salvation okay?

To be honest, sometimes I don't pray for an hour at a stretch especially when I wake up late. 

Somehow I just get to catch up for it later in the day but I always bear in mind that if Jesus prayed, then he wants me to pray James 5:16.

Without further ado, let's see the tips.

1. Understand God's nature and Character

God is love and his thoughts towards you are love. God is not letting you waste your energy by praying. If he's not going to answer he won't say you should pray. Our father is always listening to us. He's always interested in what we have to say to him.

Will Jesus hear me isn't the question.?The question is"will you pray"? 1 John 5:14

2. Understand the gravity of not praying

A preacher once said "God will not do anything on the earth if men don't pray. You are God's agent of change and you need to get strength through prayer. If you don't pray you won't harness all of God's intention for you. You will be living below who you are. You will be prone to falling into temptations. You don't want that right? Matthew 26:40

3. Pray in the morning

I know there might not be any specific time that you must pray. However, it has been proven that morning prayers are very effective. This is not to say that other times are less effective. Try to pray in the morning, not just in the morning but make it your first thing every day. Most people have said that once they don't pray that morning they most likely don't pray again. Or do lesser than what they should have done.

4. Pray in the Spirit

 Praying in the spirit is praying in tongues. When you pray in tongues, you can rest assured that you are praying how the Holy Spirit wants you to pray. 1 Corinthians 14:26 makes us understand that a man who prays in tongues is given utterance by the spirit.

Praying in the spirit comes easier for most people. You might not even know what to pray for when you're praying in your understanding alone. 1 corinthians 26:4

5. Pray with Purpose

There is a common adage that states " when the purpose of a thing isn't known, abuse is inevitable.

 Almost all the time, you pay more attention to something when there is a purpose in mind.

You know how you read when exams were close. So pray because you want to talk to God genuinely or you want to intercede for your land. You don't want to be sleeping on people's destinies.

6. Use prayer Aids

Prayer aids are materials that help you to achieve effectiveness when praying. A prayer aid could be a song, a prayer journal, your Bible, a sermon, your prayer partner, or a spiritual chant.

Most of these items spur and stir you up in prayer. You can download chants by Folajimi Lawal, Theophilus Sunday, Pastor Lawrence Oyor, Victoria Orenze, or Dunsin Oyekan.

Remember your spirit loves prayer but your flesh is weak. As for your prayer partner

If you want to get a prayer partner, make sure there are times you pray individually separate from your cooperative prayer time.

You can tell the person to wake you up by a definite time. Make sure you stand up so you don't sleep back. I have people that did this one for me. 

7. Follow a prayer Wheel

One thing that keeps me long in prayer is the fact that I have many things to pray about and I do them separately. So I want to pray for my school, disciples, friends, family, mentors, enemies, and classmates. I also want to talk to God genuinely about some things too. I want to confess God's word over my life. Then suddenly, I remember we have a church program I need to pray about, a sick friend to pray for and personal issues bothering me.

Trust me by the time you're done with this list one hour has gone.

Finally, study the word, listen to messages, and maybe you should follow the news. There were times I was just strolling on Instagram and I started praying.

Conclusion

The Holy Spirit calls every believer to a level of deep intimacy with Him. So yeah if you need someone to help you pray. Send a chat to me here. I'll be willing to help.