I have found that as I pray daily, I am more prepared when crisis hits. I also have greater sense of well-being after I’ve allowed God’s goodness to pour over me. I don’t have to wait until a problem occurs to enjoy time with God. My relationship with Him is deepened, and I’m filled with His goodness each new day as I rest in His presence. I have experienced times of deep discouragement, which opened me up to intense spiritual attack in my weakened state. If we don’t seek God daily, the heavy cloak of discouragement, hopelessness and fear will cause us to be too weak to resist the enemy’s schemes (James 4.7). It is so much better to turn to God during daily prayer and Bible reading, so we are prepared for every high and low of life. We can appreciate the good times more, and the bad times won’t expose us to the enemy’s lies when we have a habit to spending time with God.
Although I pray constantly during the day, I do have a special time with God that is more intentional. Here is what I do. You can use my time with the Lord as a blueprint to kickstart your prayer time. The more you learn in Christ, the more tools you will have in your prayer-time arsenal to live a victorious life.
1) Prayer Nook: I have a place in my master bedroom right under the windows that I use as my prayer nook. I used to use to pray in my closet, but I wanted a place where my kids could go when they weren’t feeling well–physically and emotionally. I have a floor divider that separates my prayer nook from the rest of my bedroom. I have pillows, blankets, a candle, a speaker for “soaking” music, my Bible, a journal, anointing oils and Eucharist elements in that space. My hope is that the area becomes so saturated with God’s presence that it permeates the rest of the house. I also want my anointing oils to become saturated, so I can anoint people, homes and other items that need a blessing (Mark 6.13 & 1 John 2.27). Plus, I try to do communion every day as I receive the bread of Christ (His provision) and the Blood of Christ (His forgiveness and cleansing) each day (1 Corinthians 11.26).
2) Release the Isaiah Spirits: Every promise in the Bible is ours, but we have to learn to identify and claim them. There are 7 spirits found in Isaiah 11.2 (NASB). 1)The Spirit of the LORD 2)The Spirit of wisdom 3)The Spirit of understanding 4)The Spirit of counsel 5)The Spirit of strength 6)The Spirit of knowledge 7)The Spirit of the fear of the LORD. I begin my time with the Lord releasing these spirits into my life. I want to make sure my time with the Lord is profoundly effective. I’ve spent years whining to God and being counterproductive during my prayer time. Now I’m very intentional to start my time on a more powerful, productive setting.
*Read the rest of this article by purchasing my award-winning book, Reframing: 40 Days to Reframe & Refresh Your Life, on Amazon.
Leave a Reply