Dec 13, 2024 Grow in Prayer in 2025 – Words of Grace – December 13, 2025
As I shared earlier this week, the Lord has used the simple practices of prayer, Bible reading, and participation in the church to keep me growing in grace and following him since the day of my conversion.
As we approach 2025, I encourage you to make growing in prayer a priority practice in your daily life.
Don’t be discouraged. You may have determined many times before that you will pray more. Your resolutions to wake up early for prayer lasted only a week or two into January, then you stopped. You are just not going there again. I get it. But there is another way.
Prayer starts with understanding the “why” behind it. The Bible commands us to “be constant in prayer” (Romans 12:12). Why? Because we simply can’t do anything of spiritual value without the life of God in us. Prayer is the lifeline from God to us. When we see the “why” of prayer, it becomes less of a burden and more of an instinct. We find ourselves turning to God because we know our need and we have a desire for him. Discipline and duty still have their place, but only in service of fellowship with Christ and the life of his Spirit in our souls.
My hope for us in 2025 is that we become more aware of the spiritual realities of the gospel and of the warfare in which we are engaged so that prayer becomes a greater part of our lives and our congregation.
Here are some thoughts on growing in prayer for the new year.
Begin the day with prayer. Before you get out of bed, call out to the Lord in thanksgiving, submission, and trust. When you get out of bed, sit quietly for a few minutes praying through the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9) or a psalm. Develop the practice of daily Bible reading and prayer.
End the day with prayer. Look back on the faithfulness of God to you that day and acknowledge his care. Cast your cares on him.
Pray about everything. Even if your prayer is simply, “Help me,” or “Have mercy,” say it to the Lord throughout the day.
Pray with the Bible open before you. If you are walking, driving, or in a situation without a Bible, keep the Word of God in your mind to guide your praying. Psalm 119 is a great example of connecting prayer with the Word.
This year, open your eyes to the spiritual battles raging in and around you. Ask the Lord to teach you more about the kind of prayer we see in Ephesians 1, 3, and 6.
Start prayer walking. A few years ago I was on a walk and met a member of our church on the trail. She said she walks that trail every week and prays. I, too, have enjoyed fellowship with the Lord and have fought spiritual battles in prayer while walking.
Use a prayer journal. This is my wife’s practice. She writes her prayers for me and you. Maybe this practice will help you focus your prayers.
Pray for people “on the spot.” So often people ask us to pray for them, but we don’t. Too often, we feel awkward about praying for people out loud when they ask. But if we start praying for people on the spot, soon the awkwardness will pass, and the peace of Christ’s presence will be with us.
Pray with a group. When the Sunday school class calls for prayer in a small group, do so. Attend your community group or other small group with the expectation that you will, together, seek the Lord in prayer. Our congregation can have prayer meetings seven days a week by praying whenever we are together.
Pray for God himself. Let’s be careful that we don’t make prayer a transactional event. Prayer is not about fulfilling an obligation on our part to obligate God to us. Prayer is meeting with God for his sake. In prayer we receive what God determines is good and in keeping with his will. Let God be our greatest end in prayer.
Most of all, simply and humbly pray as a child to our heavenly Father.
-Scott