The Secret of a Holy and Happy Life: Prayer!

It’s one thing to read about prayer, to talk about prayer, to dream about being a man or woman of prayer. But, it’s quite another thing to actually pray! Here’s a thought I want you to consider,

“He who has learned how to pray has learned the greatest secret of a holy and a happy life.” – William Law

Did you catch the word “learned?” Yes, we can learn how to pray, just as we choose to learn other skills for a hobby, for the home, or at work. And prayer is truly the queen of all of the habits we could aspire to as people of faith. I hope you also caught the pay-off to all of your learning and all of your efforts and perse­verance in prayer—”a holy and a happy life”! And the beautiful miracle is that a holy and a happy life can be yours each day, one day at a time, as you answer God’s call to pray on a daily basis.

So Step 1 is this:Start today! Grab a kitchen timer or clock, and go somewhere you can shut the door or be alone. Then pray for five minutes. Use these initial golden minutes to share with your heav­enly Father your heart’s desire to answer His call upon your life to become—and be!—a woman of prayer.

Step 2:Meditate on Jeremiah 33:3 and revel in the fact that the God of the universe will hear and answer you.

Step 3:Look ahead—Look over… and pray over… the next week on your calendar of events. Mark appointments on each day the exact time you will designate as your prayer time each day. It can be the same time each day, or it can be tailor-made to fit the demands and schedule of each indi­vidual day. Then be sure you keep them… just like you keep your dental, medical, beauty, and lunch appointments.

Step 4:Get organized—Round up some kind of notebook. It can be a spiral pad, a legal pad, a three-ring binder, a section in your daily planner, a leather-bound journal. Don’t worry about your choice being permanent. Just choose something that will aid you and inspire you to take your first beginning steps down the path of your journey into prayer. Write out your praises and requests to God each day in your notebook.

Step 5: Finally — Just pray it—daily! Keep a record of the fruit of your commit­ment to pray faithfully by checking off your appointments each day. If you’d like, I have a one page “Quiet Times Calen­dar” you can print out from the Free Resources section of our website.

Is God’s purpose for you firmly fixed in your heart and mind? Be sure to look to Jesus and allow Him to serve as your perfect model for knowing God’s plan, for focusing on it, and living it out. As you steadily make prayer a habit, you will discover God’s plan for your life unfolding as He leads you. As you pray, your days will become pointed rather than pointless, full rather than empty, hopeful rather than hopeless, vibrant rather than vacant.

There is no right or wrong way to pray… except not to pray! So, take up your quest for a holy and happy life afresh today and you will learn more about yourself, your God, and His answers to prayer.

Make 2013 the best year ever for your marriage!

Elizabeth and Jim just released their new book, “A Couple After God’s Own Heart,” which teaches secrets to a great marriage by learning from biblical couples, such as Abraham and Sarah, Boaz and Ruth, Joseph and Mary, etc. Get started by taking their fun free challenge, “5 Ways in 5 Days to be a Closer Couple.”

Read The Secret of a Holy and Happy Life: Prayer! on Elizabeth & Jim George.