Praying is an important part of every person’s walk with Christ, but it can be a hard thing to start if you’ve never done it. Job 22:27a says, “you will pray to him, and he will hear you…” But many times, it’s just hard to take that first step and praying or growing your prayer life. We know it can be tricky, so we made five tips for growing your prayer life or maybe praying for the first time.

Here are some tips when it comes to praying:

#1. Find a consistent time and routine.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 

The first step to growing or learning how to pray is to just do it. If you don’t have a specific time set aside to pray every day, you might go through your day only praying at dinner time. God tells us to pray continually, and so to do that, we have to set a consistent time and routine in our day-to-day lives. Maybe for you it's waking up early, setting alarms on your phone, or staying up late.

#2. Pray through scripture.

Psalm 86:1a “Hear me, Lord, and answer me…” 

So much of scripture, especially Psalms, are prayers to God. If you are struggling with what prayer should sound like or be like, the best place to go is scripture. Not only can you just read their prayers, but you can also pray it as well. You can also pray scripture that is not prayers. Here are some tips as you pray through scripture:

• Find a verse that sticks out or is relevant to your situation.
• Read the verse to God.
• Rephrase the verse with your own words.
• Rephrase the verse to include YOU.

#3. Journal to God.

1 John 5:14-15 “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.” 

It can be easy to feel like no one is listening to your prayers or knowing the progress of your prayer life. Journaling includes not only journaling your thoughts and highlights of the day but also writing your prayers to God while listing and writing what you hear down. When we journal our prayers, we are able to look back and see the move of God in our lives and see all that he has answered.

#4. Pray in lists.

James 1:16 “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” 

When you have a routine of praying in your life, it can be easy to not know what to pray for. The Bible tells us to pray for one another, and list praying is a wonderful tool to make sure you cover certain prayer targets. Some find list praying boring or monotonous as you hit the same things over and over again. Here are some tips to liven up your list prayers:

• Get 50 or more specific things on your prayer list
• Make a day to pray about a specific target or group
• Write down what you see or hear God doing
• Use an app like Echo Prayer or Notepad

#5. Don’t give up!

Luke 18:1-8 “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.”

God is looking for people who always pray and not give up. If prayer isn’t “clicking” for you, don’t give up! God wants us to keep striving for Him and will love your diligence and dedication.  Keep trying and know we are all in this together. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself to get it perfect, but just speak from your heart. Though, if you ever need any help, reach out to The Vineyard Staff or the Prayer Teams.

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This post was written by a group of volunteer writers who strive to share God's truth through an online platform, but may not reflect the views of The Vineyard Church as a whole. To learn how you can get involved, email us at

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