5 Creative Ways to Pray Throughout Your Day
If you’re anything like me I have a lot of good intentions around prayer. I want to pray more. Pray more consistently. Pray more powerfully.
You probably feel that too–that you should be praying more regularly, for and with your kids, for teachers, for your church leaders, for our country, for sick friends or hurting family members. Today I want to share some practical advice to help you grow your prayer life with five creative ways to pray throughout your day.
5 Creative Ways to Pray Throughout Your Day
1. Prayer Cues
Once upon a time I kept a prayer list in my Bible whenever I had my quiet time, I would just go through this prayer punch list–Laura’s grandma, Joel’s job, spiritual growth for my family, my pastor, Beth’s pregnancy. I love a good list! And my prayer list helped me remember all the things I wanted to prayer for, which was good.
But without my list, I felt a little lost for what to say. And it started to feel weird talking to God through a list.
Around the same time I was reading the book, Atomic Habits. In it the author, James Clear, talks about using cues to trigger habits. Like doing calf raises while brushing your teeth. This seemed like a brilliant concept to apply to spiritual habits I wanted to build. Instead of a list I began to look for “prayer triggers” in my daily life.
- When I fix my coffee, I pray for my kids.
- When I drive past a school, I pray for each of my kids teachers.
- When I see a red car, I pray for my friend who’s battling autoimmune disease.
- When I hear “Reckless Love” I pray for my friend’s wayward child.
This prayer cues practice helps me stay connected with God all day long and stay consistent in the habit of prayer.
RELATED: HOW TO PRAY: A BEGINNERS GUIDE
“Wow, God!” Prayers
I live in a fairly rural area. One of my favorite things about that is spotting animals in their fields. I screech like a four-year-old “BABY SHEEP!!!!”
I am geniunely excited and I’m intentionally creating wonder or “Wow, God!” moments in my day. Like when I see a sunset that streaks the clouds in pink or see a gaggle of baby ducks or a turtle making her way to lay eggs or a hydrangea in full bloom. I take these moments and say, “Wow, God! This is awesome.” These awe-inspired prayers keep me noticing and worshipping God’s magnificence and creativity, all day long.
“Help it, Jesus” Prayers
These prayers may be the opposite of “Wow, God!” prayers. These are the ones I mutter under my breath when I get cut off in traffic or the milk spills or we’re running late and I’m about to lose my cool.
“Help it, Jesus” covers a lot of territory. It’s simple. It’s bold.
In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. -Ephesians 3:12
Worship Song Prayers
I love the way listening to worship music resets my attitude and brings my heart back to worshipping God. As I’m doing dishes, running errands or cleaning the house turning on worship music begins a flow of worship prayer to God, right in my ordinary moments.
As I sing, I visualize singing to Jesus. I take the time to “mean” each lyric and lift it up to Jesus as a “holy aroma” (Ephesians 5:2) and thank offering to God.
(Sometimes when I play worship music, I’m just listening–and that’s fine too!)
RELATED: HOW TO PRAY BREATH PRAYERS
Guided Prayer
I didn’t grow up in a faith tradition that did a lot of guided prayer, but as an adult I find so much peace and joy in using guided prayers throughout my day.
One way I practice guided prayer is through a couple prayer podcasts. As I listen the podcast prompts me to pray–sometimes offering exact wording and others a reflective prompt. Here are some of my favorite guided prayer resources:
- Prayers of Rest Podcast
- Lectio 365 App
- Dwell App
- The Lives We Actually Have: 100 Blessings for Ordinary Days
- The Book of Common Prayer
- Every Moment Holy
If you want to grow your faith life check out my Bible Study Confidence Kit–it includes Bible journaling pages, a prayer journal, coloring coding guide and more! It’s my FREE GIFT to you when you join my Substack community!
