David Diga Hernandez - How to Spend More Time in Prayer

It’s time to move beyond frustration and into the fruitfulness of a lifestyle of prayer. Every believer wants to pray more, but with all the responsibilities of life and the demands that come with it, sometimes it can feel like you’re being pulled in multiple directions and stretched too thin. I want to teach you about two different kinds of prayer that you can begin to use. As you start to incorporate these two kinds of prayer, you’ll see that your prayer life becomes more natural and that you’ll develop a lifestyle of prayer.

So, there are two kinds of prayer: unceasing prayer and intentional prayer. These, of course, are terms I’ve created to help you understand concepts that are, themselves, biblical; however, you won’t necessarily see these terms being used in Scripture, but they are still biblical. So again, unceasing prayer and intentional prayer.

Unceasing prayer is continual prayer; it’s that 24/7 fellowship with God, an awareness of His presence, involving Him in your everyday life, and talking to Him in every moment you think about Him. It’s a commitment to think about Him more often. You can pray with unceasing prayer while in your car on your way to work or school, or you can pray in your mind as you move about your day. You can pray without ceasing, being 24/7 aware of the presence of God.

Then there is intentional prayer. While unceasing prayer is continual and always present, intentional prayer is a more focused time of prayer. It’s a discipline to disconnect from distractions and set aside a specific time and place to seek God. Intentional prayer directs your attention to God, His Word, and worship. Using both unceasing prayer and intentional prayer will help you develop a lifestyle of prayer, but you need both. Some only want to pray without ceasing but never develop the discipline of being intentional about their prayer life. Others prefer intentional prayer but go about their day and forget about God, living as though He isn’t walking with them everywhere they go. We need both unceasing prayer and intentional prayer.

Unceasing prayer is suitable for any atmosphere, while intentional prayer is meant for a specific setting. The undisciplined struggle with intentional prayer, while the structured have difficulty with unceasing prayer. The undisciplined may think intentional prayer is unnecessary, while the structured might view unceasing prayer as strange. Unceasing prayer is spontaneous, while intentional prayer is scheduled. Both are essential elements of praying in the Spirit.

Unceasing prayer will produce longevity in your life; if you are continually praying and constantly aware of the presence of God, this increases your awareness of His presence, allowing you to live in that consciousness. However, while unceasing prayer produces longevity, only intentional prayer can create depth. You see, if I settle for either intentional or unceasing prayer alone and go about my day 24/7, my prayer life may be consistent yet shallow. If I solely pursue intentional prayer, I may find those depths of His presence at times, but I will lack consistency since I do not live in that lifestyle of prayer. Therefore, unceasing prayer produces longevity, while intentional prayer produces depth. Let’s focus on each one so we can learn how to use them in everyday life.

First, I want to focus on unceasing prayer. When you become aware of the Holy Spirit’s constant nearness, every room can become a prayer room. 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, «Never stop praying.» This represents a commitment to be prayerful, to be continually mindful of the nearness of God; it’s about praying about everything, as the Scripture commands us. Philippians 4:6 states, «Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done.» Unceasing prayer is a constant awareness of the Holy Spirit’s presence.

Philippians 4:8 says, «And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing: Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right and pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.» It represents a commitment of the mind and heart. Thoughts are actions of the mind. Scripture would never command us to do something we cannot do. God would never require the impossible of us. He gives us commands that we can fulfill through the power of the Holy Spirit. So, when Scripture tells you to fix your thoughts or control your thoughts, it’s instructing you to do something that is possible.

It is possible to choose your thoughts, and as you begin to do this, new patterns will develop in your mind, leading to the establishment of new mindsets. Thus, it is possible to control your thoughts. You can control your thoughts and choose to commit to becoming mindful of God. Unceasing prayer is all about the commitment to think about God as often as possible, considering His likes and dislikes, as frequently as you are able. That awareness of His presence will change the way you live. When I am mindful of God, I am involved with God; prayer doesn’t necessarily bring God closer, as He already lives within you. Instead, prayer makes you more aware of the presence that is always with you. So there are…