David Diga Hernandez - 3 Keys to A Stronger Prayer Life

Here are three keys to a stronger prayer life. Let me know in the comment section where you’re watching from. Number one, discipline. Here’s what the Bible says in Matthew 26: «And He cometh unto the disciples and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, 'What, could ye not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.'» The spirit man desires to pray, but the flesh desires to do things that are of the sin nature. The spirit man loves the things of God. The flesh loves the things of this world. The spirit man is never lacking in passion for prayer. The flesh looks for entertainment, looks for gratification in the things of this world. This is why we as believers must implement this first practical step, which is discipline. Yes, prayer is a delight. Yes, prayer is a spiritual act, but we must implement an element of discipline if we are to be consistent in prayer. You must choose to subject the flesh to say no to the desires and the cravings that are of this world, and to instead choose that which is spiritual. We as believers must make a practice of saying no to the flesh and yes to the spirit man. And the spirit man desires to pray. The spirit man enjoys worship. The spirit man enjoys devotion to God, but the flesh is pulling us away, constantly distracting us with the cares and the concerns that surround us and vie for our attention. This is why you and I have to prioritize prayer. The Holy Spirit will give you the desire to pray, but you must make the decision to pray. We must learn the discipline of disconnect. The Bible says in Luke 5:16: «But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer».

Now, I’m not talking about a lifestyle of isolation where you have no communication with anyone. Rather, I’m talking about a lifestyle of discipline where you implement prayer as a priority to where daily you’re taking time out of your schedule to devote only to God. And on that, you must not be moved. You must stubbornly resist distractions and you must choose to make prayer a priority by choosing to make it a part of your schedule, by choosing to implement it on days even where you’re busy, by choosing to pray on days even when you’re tired. Yes, the spirit is willing. You have the desire to pray. You have the desires of the Holy Spirit, but you must make the decision to say no to what the flesh wants. You must choose discipline. Now, this doesn’t mean that prayer is a religious act, and I’m not trying to come at this from the perspective of religion, nor am I saying that it’s an obligation that we must begrudgingly fulfill. No, but I am saying that there is an element of discipline that must be implemented if we want to become people of prayer.

So that’s number one. Number two is awareness. Now here, we must learn to slow the pace of life, and this is what we do, especially in this day and age. We go so fast that we forget the things of God. You know, I heard a quote, and I don’t exactly know the attribution and I don’t even know the exact quote, but it went something to the effect of, «I have so much to do today. I’m so busy. My scheduling is especially filled today, and therefore, I will pray an hour instead of half an hour». You see, you can accomplish more in a prayer-filled day than you can in a prayerless week. Why? Because when you implement prayer, you’re doing it with God’s strength. When you remove prayer from your life, you’re telling the Lord, «Lord, I can do this without You. I can take this day without prayer so I can take it without You. I can accomplish things this week without prayer so I can accomplish things this week without You». When you pray, you are actively depending upon God. When you pray, you are actively aware of the presence which abides in you and around you. Acts 17:27–28: «His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward Him and find Him, though He is not far from any one of us. For in Him, we live and move and exist. As some poets have said, 'We are His offspring.'» I think we make the mistakes sometimes of imagining as if God is a million miles away or that we’re talking to Him on a cell phone connection. He’s off in the distance and we have to work really hard and making sure that connection stays strong. But in fact, the presence of the Holy Spirit abides within you. God is not off in the distance. He’s right here. I pray that we would become more aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit, His nearness, His abiding nature. He is not off in the distance. He’s in the room with you right now. He’s looking at you right now. You have His attention. You’re the apple of His eye. He’s listening to you right now. He is near. He is present. And when we become aware of the nearness of God, it transforms the prayer life. Why? Because when you’re aware that the presence of the Holy Spirit abides with you wherever you go, not just intellectually, but in practice, as a deep rooted revelation in your spirit, that inner knowing, that inner witness that He abides with you, when you’re aware of that, that’s when prayer becomes constant. Why? Because if I know He’s in the car with me on the way to work, I’m gonna be communing with Him in the car. If I know that He’s with me at work, I’m gonna be communing with Him at work. He’s with you in your home. He’s with you in your school. He’s with you when you go out to eat with friends. He’s with you when you go to church. He’s with you on every car ride, every train ride, every plane ride. He’s with you when you’re with family and friends. He’s near to you even when you sense sorrow. He’s near to you in your triumphs and He’s near to you in your defeats. He’s near to you when you’re angry. He’s near to you even when your faith is lacking. He is faithful even when we are not for He cannot deny who He is. So instead of coming at prayer as if you have to work for a connection, realize that He has established the connection, and that you’re not praying to connect with Him, you’re praying from that connection with Him that already and eternally exist. You can be aware of that presence that abides with you every moment of every day, and your every moment of every day can become filled with the influence of the Holy Spirit.

Number three, prayer must be spirit-led. Now, if you’re like I was at the beginning of my walk with God, then you approach prayer quite mechanically. Maybe sometimes you wonder about the posture or the protocols. Do I stand? Can I pace? Is it okay to lie down while I pray? Should I play worship music when I pray? What should I say exactly? And what about all those teachings on prayer that I’ve been given? When do I implement intercession? When do I do spiritual warfare? When do I rebuke demons? When do I pray for others? When do I pray for myself? When do I pray in tongues? When do I pray with my own understanding? It’s possible that you’re becoming frustrated because you have this long list of truths and protocols and keys and tips that you want to implement, but you don’t know how or when to implement any of these truths that you’ve learned. And in that, prayer can for some become frustrating when it should just be a flow of the spirit. Here’s a simple key that will help you to tie together all the threads of prayer that you’ve learned, and that is simply this: You must be spirit-led. Sometimes when you pray, the Holy Spirit will have you start with worship. Other times when you pray, the Holy Spirit will have you start with intercession. Maybe he might have you begin prayer in one instance with prayer requests and in another instance with praying the scriptures. But this is why it’s important that we are attentive to the voice of the Holy Spirit, so that when we are praying, we’re being guided by the Holy Spirit, moving not through ritual, but through relationship. The Holy Spirit doesn’t just call you to prayer, He guides you through prayer. 1 Corinthians 2:10–15 says this: «But it was to us that God revealed these things by His Spirit. For His Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets». So the Holy Spirit shows us the depths of God. «No one can know a person’s thoughts except the person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit». And we have received God’s Spirit, not the world Spirit. «So we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us. When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it. For only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others». The Holy Spirit guides you in understanding the ways of God. The Holy Spirit guides you in all truth. The Holy Spirit guides you in all matters that are spiritual. And prayer is included in this. He knows the mind of God, the will of God, the power of God, the ways of God, and He communicates those things to us. And even in those moments of prayer where we’re surrendered and postured and focused on Him, in those moments of prayer, the Holy Spirit can speak to you about what to pray next. In fact, there may be times when you’re praying and maybe you’re worshiping, and the Holy Spirit will suddenly put someone on your mind. You should pray for that person when He does that. Or maybe you’ll be praying and suddenly a certain book of the Bible will come to mind. Turn to those pages of scripture because the Holy Spirit likely wants you to be guided in your prayers by what the scripture says. Listen for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Listen for His instructions. Don’t just approach 'em with protocols, with your list of the things you’ve learned about prayer. Yes, accept those truths. Embrace those truths. Use the teachings on prayer that you’ve heard, but at the same time, remember to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and let Him guide your prayer life.

So number one, discipline. Number two, awareness. And number three, it must be spirit-led. Discipline, awareness, spirit-led.