Whenever there is a new year that starts it is usually accompanied by a flurry of New Year’s resolutions. They range from goals of health and fitness to goals of spiritual growth. Maybe this year your New Year’s resolution including getting more consistent in your walk with God by praying more. Here are a few simple tips to hopefully move you forward to achieving your goal:

Find a quiet place where you can be alone.
The Bible talks about the importance of being alone with God.  The gospels even tell us that Jesus ‘went off to be alone with the father.’

Keep it brief at first.
Don’t overwhelm yourself with too much. Don’t set a goal of praying an hour a day when you haven’t been praying an hour a month. It will be too much. Start with 10 minutes a day and go from there.

Talk and Don’t talk.
God wants us to talk to Him about everything. There are thing that you feel like you can’t tell anyone. You can tell Him. God is there to listen to you. He is also there to talk to you. So learn the art of NOT talking just as much as you do talk. Take 5 minutes and talk, then 5 minutes to listen…and remember, it will take time and practice.

Be consistent.
We need to make prayer a habit. Make it something that you do each day. Find a time of day and stick to it. You may have to experiment with different times and see what works best with your schedule but there is no right or wrong time to pray!

Prayer is an amazing discipline we can learn that will draw us closer to God. If you fail one day, remember tomorrow is a new day! Tell me about some of the ways that you have found that help you with prayer…