7 Ways to Cultivate a Healthy Prayer Life

Thankfully, we have the perfect example, Jesus himself. Through the Spirit, we can behold and focus on him and his role as the true High Priest from Hebrews 4. The Bible encourages us to “hold firmly to the faith we profess” because we have a “great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God.” Jesus stands as the mediator between God and humanity, particularly the church, the children of God. Christ’s time on earth prepared him for this role, as he was “tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.” As fully divine and fully human, he suffered every temptation and overcame them. Who better to relate to our struggles and advocate for our grace and help? 

Beholding him, our prayer life transforms. We already stand before the throne, as our lives are hidden in Christ, so we come boldly before the Father as sons and daughters, without any fear or shame. Prayer ceases to be a ritual to earn anything but a dynamic relationship with the Son who understands our difficulties. Looking at Christ, our prayers aren’t about our ability but his perfect work. 

Finally, as Christ intercedes for us, we learn our prayers aren’t only for ourselves but to bless and transform our families and communities. Our intercession through the Spirit becomes a way to see God move in powerful ways in the lives of others. Jesus disciples us into this. 

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Not only can we look to the High Priest, but we also realize the Spirit of Christ lives within us. With such a pure and holy intercessor living in us, we take on the identity of priests. Every born-again believer becomes part of the priesthood of all believers. 1 Peter 2:9 declares, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” 

In Exodus 19:6, we read this was God’s original plan for all of Israel: “And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” The Levites only became a tribe of priests after a major sin ran through the camp (Exodus 32). In the new covenant, God gets what he desires. Every believer becomes an intercessor between the world and God. In Christ, we have direct access to the Father, leading to a powerful and intimate conversation with the Creator. We are his chosen representatives on earth, carrying his light and truth to every situation. 

As children of the King, inheritors of the Kingdom of God, we receive this amazing identity from Jesus—a royal priesthood. We simply learn how to step into his purpose to intercede for others, offering sacrifices of praise, and seeking wisdom from the Spirit for every situation. His Spirit grants us the power to minister to the world through prayer. 

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It matters how we approach the throne. Yes, boldly and with confidence. At the same time, our confidence comes from God’s love and finished work, not our ability. All has been done for us, and God invites us into a world-changing act of prayer. This should humble us. Pride has no place before the throne. In fact, God actively resists pride. “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (1 Peter 5:5) No one wants God’s opposition. We need his grace. 

Humility recognizes our absolute need for God and his work. We can’t handle our situations, solve any problems, or find lasting peace on our own. We come as we are, since we couldn’t earn his love, fully trusting him. 

We must choose to humble ourselves. Our flesh naturally seeks pride and self. Yet when we come in humility, we get grace, the power of God to actually change things for the good in real and sustainable ways. God changes things at the root, not just the surface. So we pour out our hearts, our fears, our anxieties, struggles, and failures. We trust he hears us. Not due to our awesomeness, but his love and mercy. 

Praying with humility gets answers and revelation for ourselves and others. At the same time, it disciplines our own hearts, corrects our thinking, decimates our pride, and we get his peace and joy. Through humility, we find deeper fellowship and intimacy with our Father, finding him to be our refuge and real help. 

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It’s no coincidence that while Paul says “pray without ceasing,” just before this statement, he says, “rejoice always.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). Praise leads the way to encountering God. Philippians 4:16 shows this. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Praise and thanksgiving change our focus to the one God who has power, reminding ourselves of what he’s done in the past and what he’s promised for the future. We praise him for his love and character. 

In the Old Testament, when the camp of Israel moved, the tribe of Judah went first (Numbers 10:14). Judah means “praise.” And God is enthroned on our praises (Psalm 22:3). We approach a Father and the Lord of all creation to ask of him. If he does nothing more, he’s already worthy of praise, for his character and being alone. All creation longs to worship him (Romans 8:19-22). As his new creation, our proper relation to him begins with praise. His answers rest on his character, love, and goodness. This praise sets the right tone and mindset for our requests. We engage with faith instead of doubt. 

Gratitude recognizes reality and guards our hearts against bitterness and pride. We endure, knowing we can trust God to work for good since he has done so much for us in the past. His presence, promises, and work will bless our lives in this life and the eternal. As Philippians 4:7 promises, praise leads to peace. 

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In other religions, prayer includes ways to impress the god, manipulating them in different ways to get them to give people what they want. In the ancient world, gods weren’t nice. Instead, they were generally selfish beings. 

Fortunately, we don’t pray to that kind of god. The Father loves us, and he longs to give us good things, the best things (Matthew 7:11). He owns all creation and needs nothing from us. He longs for relationships, reconciliation, and partnership. Our God sacrifices self for our good. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) He invites us into the same love for others, promising rewards of glory and inheritance for our choice to love him and others in the same way. 

When we understand and experience God’s love for us, we pray differently. We don’t approach in fear or duty. We approach him knowing we are wanted, welcomed, and heard. Knowing his heart to give us the best, we ask for the best. We pray big. 

Sometimes we pray for a long time before we get answers. Understanding God’s love helps us to endure in prayer. We trust his love never changes. We believe his promises for all things to work out for good for those who love him and walk in his purpose (Romans 8:28). Then we interceded and asked toward those ends for us and others. 

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God’s power accompanies his word. When he speaks, things happen. His word doesn’t fade or return empty (Isaiah 55:11). He accomplishes his will. Therefore, part of healthy and effective prayer includes aligning our thoughts and requests with his will. 

We must intercede to the Father with the character of the Son and the Word of God, over ourselves and others. Jesus teaches in John 15:7, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” Abiding in the person of Christ, letting his words and truth transform our minds and desires, our prayers echo his will and character. And God responds. 

Again, this has a twofold effect. We not only see God move in power and transform lives and situations, but our own hearts become more like his. We don’t ask according to our whims or random desires. As James says, we don’t get from God this way (James 4:3). Prayer is serious, and when we approach God, we don’t ask for our own selfishness but for God’s purposes to be fulfilled. In this, we also find our lives in abundance. 

We pray for others to experience the Father’s peace, healing, forgiveness, and radical change. We declare the Bible’s promises over situations and people, trusting the living and powerful Word of God. 

We stop guessing what God might want and instead seek his revelation to have effective prayers. 

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If and when we commit to pray, here’s a guarantee. We’ll want to quit. Some prayers take a long time before we get answers, and we get discouraged. Or life gets busy. The devil attacks in other areas to distract us. Or we get tempted into sin. Whatever the reason, we will either want to quit or we actually will. 

Yet a secret to powerful prayer remains not giving up. Jesus emphasized this through a parable, the Persistent Widow (Luke 18:1). A widow seeks justice from a wicked judge, who only responds to avoid her annoyance. But we have a loving Father who longs to give us the best. 

So we don’t give up. Our persistence and consistency have more power than we realize. God works a host of things together to answer prayers, and with spiritual resistance in the unseen realms, things take time (Daniel 10:12-13). 

Consistency also trains us to be long-suffering like God. He was patient with us and any who come to salvation, giving mercy and waiting for the perfect time to bring the best he had. For us to develop God’s character, he invites us into this loving, waiting period of time. It hurts, and we long for change, as God experiences. Yet we also experience more of his peace and joy in the waiting, because God doesn’t lose his peace while he suffers long. 

So if we do give up, return to the call of prayer and intercede with the Father, who changes hearts and the world. 

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