How to Start Praying

July 1, 2003 - Men of God, whose prayers are recorded for us in the Bible, never read a book on prayer, never went to a seminar on prayer, never heard a sermon on prayer. They just prayed.

by Ruth Bell Graham

Satan fears prayer because God hears prayer. Satan will stop at nothing to distract a person from praying or to get him to postpone praying or, failing to do that, to discourage him in his praying.

This article is simply to encourage you to start.

Start praying where you are, as you are, about whatever concerns you, about whatever is lying most heavily on your heart, about whatever is irritating or frustrating you at present.

Suggestion: Keep a prayer list. Make your requests specific and date them. Then date the answer. Like the ungrateful lepers, we tend to forget.

It may be impossible to date the answers to certain requests. For instance, if I pray for patience, I will not find that on such and such a date I suddenly become patient. But if I pray for guidance in a particular problem, for the conversion of a friend or for the resolving of some apparently hopeless difficulty, recording the answer as well as the request will be a cause for worship and a means of strengthening my faith.

Be pointed. Be persistent. Be patient. But pray.