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Experts share their first prayer tip
In 2015, I hosted a podcast called Health Matters where I interviewed leading health experts. Believing that Bible study and prayer are to the spirit what healthy eating and exercise are to the body, I asked each expert for their “quick tip” on the four branches of Bible study, exercise, of healthy eating and prayer.
I share excerpts from interviews with leading health experts about prayer.
1. Pray the prayers of Scripture
“My quick tip would be to pray the scriptures. Prayers of Scripture with strong Bible verses would be a good way to get a biblical mindset about food and life in general.” ~Barb Raveling
2. Pray first
“Before my feet hit the floor, I just wake up and say, ‘Good morning. Thank you Jesus for another day. Before I even get out of this bed Help me make up my mind and get ready to go out there and do whatever it is You set me on the plan to do that day.” ~Rusty Nokes
4. Pray boldly
“This is right from a sermon I heard recently when we go to prayer pray boldly and to beseech God boldly with our petitions. In this sermon, it is just like when a child asks his father to make a toy with daring. They know their dad can do it, and they boldly have no doubts. And so we must come before our Heavenly Father in prayer.” ~Rachel Almstead
5. Take time for deep prayer
“I don’t want us to forget that we should take time for this deep, quiet prayer without interruption. That’s when we go into our room, we can close the door, we can kneel before the Lord and we can cry out to Him. We can be so silent before Him. And I want that prayer advice to be that we don’t forget to go to that secret, quiet place with Him on a regular basis.” ~Jennifer Waddle
6. Keep it simple
“Oh, people are so attached to prayer. I just talk to God like I talk to you. Don’t worry about the position you’re in, whether you’re standing or speaking in Latin. God just wants a, “Hi, how are you? Let me know how things are going today.’ Just be simple with Him and he will treat you with courtesy and listen to you in return.’ ~Brenda Wood
7. Talk to Dad
“If reading your Bible is like throwing down the spine of your soul, then prayer is simple talking to dad. I think if we really start to see this whole thing like daddy just wants us to climb into his arms and talk to him. It’s not about pressure. It’s not, “I have to have this many minutes in prayer or I’m a horrible believer.” It’s really about the privilege of jumping into the arms of a Father who just wants us to talk to Him and share everything on our hearts, our concerns and give Him our praise.” ~CJ Hitz
8. Find a place
“It’s important to have a place to go. For me, at a very local level, it’s my chair. I love lighting a candle, there’s something about it. I like it early in the morning before the sun comes up, the candle goes out, it provides that atmosphere of peace. There is a sense that this is a sacred place. A feeling that puts me in a mode of prayer and just stillness. We need this quiet for our souls. So find your niche. It’s a point where you realize you’re going to leave there with so much peace, joy and strength.” ~CJ Hitz
9. Make it a habit
“Make it a habit like brushing your teeth. You don’t have to get out of bed. Stretch like an animal and say your prayers there. Say your prayer before you even leave the house. Just a few minutes each day. Some people can’t do it or forget to do it, but I think if you do it every day for 21 days, build a good habit. So you can pray as soon as you walk out the door, at lunch, at dinner, and pray before you go to bed.” ~Renee Wiggins
10. Join a prayer group
“You can have a prayer group over the phone. At 5 o’clock the phone rings and everyone prays. So if necessary pray in a grouppray Because prayer helps heal the soul, body and mind. Prayer helps. Trust me, it does.” ~Renee Wiggins
11. Pray for others
“Quick tip for prayer is to keep others in mind. If we can focus on serving others and putting others first, prayer can be much sweeter. And have a journal to write down these and those requests and really show compassion for others. It is very easy to get involved in our own lives when there are others who really need our help. And prayer is a powerful thing when you are focused on the right goals.” ~John Hayden
12. Pray the Word
“Prayer is something we have to do consistently every day and it’s just communication with God. But I like to pray, and the surest way to pray is to find out what the problem is and then pray the Word. Find it in the Word, the solution in the Word, and pray to the Word.” ~ Sabrina Memminger
13. Take a prayer walk
“I firmly believe prayer walking. I go to a nature trail near my home at least 3 to 4 times a week and combine my exercise time with prayer for my family, my community, my church, and others in my life who I know are struggling. This is such a powerful time that you can connect more with the Father and really spend time with Him praying for others and then receiving from Him as He speaks to you as you walk through nature. It can be so powerful to combine the two.” ~Lori Graves
14. Pray anywhere
“I say pray as much as possible all day, anywhere, everywhere. If you are driving in the car, turn off the music for a minute and pray. If you go to the bathroom, go ahead and pray. If you’re in the shower, go ahead and pray. If you could start and make it a part of your daily life, it becomes like you get these little bits of energy, little nuggets of energy throughout the day where you connect with the Father and draw from Him.” ~Summer Breskov
15. Do the first thing
“Every morning—even before I pick up the phone, go on social media, or check what’s happening on the news—I try to say my quick Lord’s Prayer just to remind me to be thankful, to be mindful, to stay focused for the rest of the day . And try to keep things in perspective. So do it as often as you can, usually first thing in the morning to start your day right.” ~Nicole Swiner
16. Put on spiritual armor
“Put on your spiritual armor every day when you pray. My daughter and I have been doing it – my youngest daughter – since she was three. We put on our armor every morning and every night before we sleep. The second thing is that we always ask for the fruit of the Spirit. We do these two things and pray for our children’s future spouses, and for our future grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and that our lineage will come to know Christ intimately.” ~Liz Faison
17. Let prayer set the tone
“My quick prayer tip would be to allow prayer to set your tone for the day. This is the time you take time to ground yourself and, as I said earlier, include your health in your morning prayer and let that be the tone.” ~Cathy Morenzie
18. Pray Psalms
“Prayer and praise and worship go together for me, so I will sometimes find myself singing songs or prayerful Psalm just walking around the house doing housework or whatever.” ~Aggelos Barino
19. Be alone
“Stay alone. I have two kids, and we are living at my parent’s house right now while we wait for a house to come, and I find out when I don’t be alone with God, I’m wasting time with my best friend. You think, “Well, I don’t have time for this because I have so many things,” but you need time, you have to find time. Why do you need it? His power cannot be perfect unless you have it.’ ~Kimberly Rae
20. Try popcorn prayers
“Prayer is your time to get comfortable with God. This is not something that happens once every day. This is an all day thing. I go to God all day long. I call them “Popcorn” prayers.. He constantly guides me every step of the way. Whether it’s my business, or my life as a mom, or my life as a wife, these popcorn prayers go up every day, all day long.” ~Casey Sollock
21. Praise God
“Learn to Thank goodness. I like to make a list of God’s attributes and how He treats people, and then I use my list—I call it my God list—to tell Him His attributes. As I learn to praise my God, I find that my heart is filled. He says that He dwells in the praises of His people, Psalm 22:3 KJV. And I truly believe that since He put eternity in my heart (Ecclesiastes 3:11) that by praising Him I am filled in a way that I may not have been before. So praising God puts Him in His place and me in mine.” ~Heidi Bylsma
22. Be real
“When you talk to God, talk to God. When you are in this healing process what you are going to do is go be real with Him about exactly what you’re feeling at that moment because it’s no surprise to Him, but it’s healing for you to be able to talk to Him. Try to see Him as the loving God and one of your closest friends.” ~Linda Williams
23. Pray with joy
“My advice would be to pray with the mindset, motivation, joy and pleasure. In His presence is the fullness of joy. At His right hand are pleasures forever (Psalm 37:4). And when we come to prayer with that sense of just sitting at His feet and just coming and basking in the Presence, that’s when amazing things start to happen. That’s when we really start to see the glory and it’s just a different approach than the liability. Come to it with a sense of joy and I expect that you will experience the goodness of God.” ~Adam Luckey
24. Use a prayer journal
“My quick tip on prayer is something I do every morning. i have one newspaper. It’s very simple, I just start with gratitude and then write down what I’m thankful for and then turn that gratitude into prayer. Prayer for people, answer to prayer. Whatever I’m looking to pray for, it seems to me that writing it down is part of my prayer. his actual writing. And then I can always look back and see when the prayer has been answered, which is awesome, right?” ~Julie Indl
