5 Ways to Incorporate Prayer Into Everyday Life

Nineteenth-century theologian Charles Haddon Spurgeon stated, “Prayer can never be in excess.”

Considering his words I’ve been growing in my understanding of prayer and how it can be an ongoing dialogue throughout my day, available while walking through the neighborhood, or washing dishes, or standing in line at a store, or parked at a traffic light. The possibilities are endless. Prayer can be incorporated into every area of my everyday life.

As well, scripture encourages me to integrate prayer into the everydayness of my life such as Luke 18:1 where I’m encouraged to pray at all times. Likewise, David states in Psalm 109:4 how he is a man of prayer.

Acts 6 outlines how the Apostles purposefully incorporated prayer into their daily lives by making sure to continually give attention to it.

The German reformer Martin Luther compared the necessity of continual prayer with the need to breathe when he wrote, “To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.”

Below are five ways I’ve been discovering how to include prayer into daily life, unconfined by time, place, or the schedules of life.

5 Ways to Incorporate Prayer Into Everyday Life

1. Change Your Thinking

Replace thoughts of, “I’ll pray about that during my prayer time” to taking the time to pray while in the car, store, and other locations.

2. Change Your Timing

Practice how to pray in the moment with people instead of giving a promise to pray later. Trust God to lead with words that will encourage, comfort, and touch hearts.

3. Change Your Method

Let the Holy Spirit lead how to pray throughout the day. Be open to praying in new ways for things and situations that you may not have thought to pray about in the past.

4. Make the Most of the Present

Go ahead and email or post on Facebook when someone asks for prayer. Take a few minutes for a thoughtful response to requests for prayer, trusting God to minister through your words.

5. Be Open to the Unexpected

Ask God for opportunities to pray, offering to be on-call in any situation. Be open to unexpected opportunities. I’ve been surprised to pray with individuals offside in an amusement park and during a Christmas party.

One of my favorite passages concerning prayer is Philippians 4:6 where I’m urged to be anxious for nothing and include prayer in every situation.

And I like how evangelist Billy Graham sums up prayer stating, “Prayer is simply a two-way conversation between you and God.”