Some of my brothers and sisters in Christ spend a great deal of time in prayer. They love to dwell in the Lord’s presence. They faithfully bring their requests before Him—and the requests of others. When they say, “I’ll be praying for you,” you can count on them to do so.

And then there are those of us who want all these things to be true of us but … well, we’re not quite there yet.

Today I was reading in John 2 about Jesus driving the moneychangers and their livestock out of the temple. I’ve read this passage dozens—if not hundreds—of times. And yet, I’ve never considered these two little words: drove out.

This morning God challenged me to drive out those things that keep me from becoming more prayerful, those things that keep me from learning to love prayer.

And so, I made yet another list. (Making lists is something I’m proficient at. Following through on said lists … not so much.)

Here are 12 suggestions for developing a love for prayer / driving out that which keeps you from becoming more prayerful (feel free to check in with me from time to time to see how I’m doing):

1. Before you roll / spring out of bed, commit the day to the Lord.
2. Do the same as you begin each new task.
3. Create a prayer schedule. On Sundays devote yourself to thanksgiving and prayer. On Mondays focus on the needs of your family. On Tuesdays pray for friends and neighbours. That kind of thing.
4. Give yourself permission to journal your prayers. (I’m better able to focus when I do so—although I do edit as I go along, a “hazard” of my craft.)
5. Remind yourself that it’s about developing a relationship not reciting a “laundry list” of requests.
6. Remember that prayer doesn’t always include words. (Stephanie, are you listening?)
7. Pray through your devotional reading.
8. Deliberately marvel at creation. (I’m reading Margaret Feinberg’s Wonderstruck and highly recommend it.)
9. Develop an attitude of thanksgiving, choosing to give thanks even when / especially when you face challenges.
10. When you become aware of a prayer need, take it before the Lord immediately.
11. Seek out opportunities to pray with others even if it means shuffling your schedule, driving out the busyness that keeps you from praying.
12. Leave everything with Him when you crawl into bed at night. He’s got this!

How are you developing a love for prayer?