Day 18
ROUTINE
Reminder: Yesterday we talked about a prayer list. Did you make one? If so, grab it and use it today.
When constructing a house, a builder first of all erects a frame on the foundation. The frame supports everything that’s hung on it—such as sheetrock, windows, doors, etc.
In a similar way, when building a prayer life, you need a frame upon which everything hangs. We’re calling that frame routine. To be consistent, prayer must be founded on the rock of routine. A prayer routine is a clear format or sequence of steps that puts order and stability into your secret place.
Some people try to build their prayer life on the sands of inspiration. Inspiration is helpful for a moment, but it doesn’t produce longevity in prayer. Routine does. Routine is deliberate not dull. It’s intentional not boring.
There are many kinds of valid prayer routines.
For example, some people build their prayer routine on the Our Father prayer Jesus gave us (Matt 6:9-13). They use each phrase as focus for a segment of their prayer time. Something like this:
◆ “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name” (v.9). Prayer starts with a time of worship, thanksgiving, and praise, and is Father-centered.
◆ “Your kingdom come” (v.10). We call on Jesus to establish His kingdom in our midst. Where Jesus is King, things are done His way by His power. We can ask for His kingdom to come to every need on our request list.
◆ “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (v.10). We ask for God’s perfect will to be done here on earth—for Personal needs, People needs, and Circumstances on our list.
◆ “Give us this day our daily bread” (v.11). This is first of all a request for daily necessities such as food, clothing, and shelter. But we also ask Him to feed us spiritually with today’s portion of bread from His word.
◆ “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (v.12). We labor for reconciliation in all our relationships.
◆ “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (v.13). This is a prayer of humility, acknowledging that we are dependent on Him to deliver us from the tempter. Walking victoriously over sin is our portion.
◆ “For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen” (v.13). We conclude with worship.
PRAY. Take a minute with each phrase in the Lord’s Prayer. Would you like to make the skeleton of this prayer your daily routine?
Personally, I build my secret place routine around what I call simultaneous reading of Scripture. I prefer to #PrayRead daily in four different places of Scripture: Psalms, the Old Testament, the Gospels, and the Epistles. I pace each reading in order to finish the entire Bible annually. Almost everything on my prayer list is incorporated into my language of prayer while reading and meditating in the Scriptures. For more detail on how I structure my routine, see chapter 20 in my book, Secrets of the Secret Place.
If you get dislodged from your routine, just hit the Reset button and get back in.
To see some suggested Bible reading plans, do an internet search or visit:
www.oasishouse.com/pages/plan.
At first your prayer routine might feel bumpy. But as you stick with it, it’ll get refined with time and you’ll develop your own cadence of walking and talking with Jesus. So let’s just get started.
Consider building any or all of these elements into your prayer routine: Repentance. Cleansing. Thanksgiving. Praise. Scripture Reading. The Lord’s Prayer. My Request List (from Day 17). Worship.
PRAY. Pray over the above elements. Which will you include? Write your routine here in the general order you hope to follow:
Keep this written routine before you and tweak it until the sequence feels right and becomes intuitive. I assure you that holding to a routine will help build consistency and permanence into your prayer life.
Rejoice in the Lord today!
RESET: 20 Ways to a Consistent Prayer Life Copyright © 2018 by Bob Sorge Published by Oasis House
Reproduced with permission.
For information on all Bob’s books, go to www.oasishouse.com