How to Develop a Habit of Praying Everyday

Do you covet a consistent prayer life? Do you wonder if it is possible to pray everyday? Do you struggle with your prayer life?

If you answered yes to all these questions then you’re in the right place.

For the past four months (before the beginning of this year), I have been praying consistently (without missing a day) and I will like to share how I came to develop this habit of prayer.

You might wonder how I know prayer has become a habit.

I know this because whenever it’s time to pray, I lose interest in everything else and only think about going to ‘my prayer place.’

Even on days when I don’t feel like praying, I find myself praying because prayer has now become a habit. 

There are days I don’t know what I want to talk to God about. There are days I don’t know why I’m praying because my mind is blank and I’d rather be doing something else but because I have made prayer a habit, I find myself praying.

And the days I don’t know what to say, I just pray in tongues through and through because I know the Lord knows the right prayer for me.

Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

Romans 8:26 KJV

How was I able to get to this stage and how can you cultivate a habit of praying everyday?

Read on to know.

How to develop a habit of praying everyday

These tips I will be sharing are my personal tips that have helped me to pray everyday. I hope you find them useful too.

Studies show that it can take anywhere from 18 to 254 days for a person to form a new habit and an average of 66 days for a new behavior to become automatic. 

I have prayed consistently for more than 116 days, so you can trust me when I say I have formed a habit of prayer.

So, how can you develop a habit of prayer?

Set a time frame and set an alarm

One thing that changed me from praying occasionally to praying consistently is setting a time frame.

I have a statutory prayer time.

And I also set an alarm on my phone to this effect.

So, when it is time for prayer, I leave everything I’m doing to pray.

The interesting part is that when it is an hour to this time, my mind and body already informs me even before my alarm does.

Because over the months, I have gotten used to praying at that time.

Another thing to note is that there are days I don’t pray at my stipulated prayer time, that is if something comes up and I have to pray earlier or later.

But setting a time frame and an alarm helps your mind.

And also If I’m asleep, my alarm would wake me up to pray.

And if I forget (which is extremely rare), my alarm reminds me that it is time to pray.

There is also something else I do. I set another alarm two minutes to the time for prayer, just to get my mind prepared and also so that I can drop everything I’m doing to prepare.

Go and pray no matter how you feel

There are days I don’t want to pray. And in those days I ask myself, “What will happen if I don’t pray?” 

And then I get an answer almost immediately. “I will lose my peace.”

One thing that has changed since I started praying daily is the presence of peace in me.

I have almost forgotten how it feels to lose one’s peace. 

Those days I wasn’t praying consistently, I always felt this constant struggle and worry in me to pray. 

I was either procrastinating my prayer time or I was wishing I was praying. 

But now, that part of my life is settled. I don’t need to worry about the next time I would pray. 

I pray everyday.

Pray in tongues more 

Just like I wrote earlier, there are days you won’t have anything to say to God.

I’m serious! 

Your mind will be blank and you’d have no words. So, during this time, cultivate a habit of praying in tongues instead of using it as an excuse not to pray.

Pray in tongues instead!!

Also read: How to pray in tongues for long hours

What happened when I prayed in tongues for 6 hours

Set a goal to pray everyday

I am a goal setting addict and it has helped my spiritual life greatly.

 I have a yearly goal to pray everyday.

But that is not all.

I break down this goal into months, weeks, and days.

So at the beginning of this year, I set a goal to pray daily throughout the year.

And then at the beginning of each month, I set a goal to pray throughout the month.

Then at the beginning of each week, I set a goal to pray throughout the week.

Then, as you already know, everyday, I set a goal to pray at a particular time each day.

And that is what I’ve been doing since the beginning of this year.

My trick and tip is to take it one day at a time.

So, instead of thinking, “One whole year is too long, how can I manage to pray for a whole year? How will I do this?” 

I’m thinking “I will pray today” and I make it happen.

Do not visualize the day you won’t pray

The day I became confident that I won’t stop praying was the day I stopped visualizing the day I won’t pray.

I learned about this from Pastor Lawrence Oyor. In a YouTube interview, he said that why a lot of people don’t pray consistently and continually is because they see a day they won’t pray.

You can watch this video to understand more about this.

If you decide to start praying consistently but at the back of your mind you’re thinking “I might not be able to do this,” “I don’t think I can do this,” “It’s hard to do this.”

Then you might find it hard to do.

So, stop visualizing the day you won’t pray.

Take it one day at a time and pray.

Be Intentional about your prayer life

You need to be intentional because there are days you will have a good excuse not to pray.

I remember the days I almost didn’t pray. My prayer time is usually in the evening but on several occasions I had gone out and had to come back home late.

I was still on the bus when my prayer time struck. I started praying on the bus.

Other times, I knew I would come back very late and one time I had to attend a vigil that night. So, I prayed in the morning before leaving home.

It is intentionality.

If you prioritize praying and you’re intentional about it, trust me, you will pray!!

Nothing can stop you from praying.

You will always find time.

Even if you work nonstop for 24 hours, if prayer is your priority, you will pray while working. If you’re stuck in traffic, you will pray on the bus or while driving.

God doesn’t care where you pray or how you pray.

What matters to him is your heart and that you’re praying.

He wants to hear from you. That’s all that matters.

Sometimes, it doesn’t matter what you’re telling him. Because, even if you’re praying the wrong prayers, He will guide your heart to the right prayers.

I’m saying this from experience.

Be Intentional!!

Pray about your prayer life

One thing I make sure I do everyday is to tell God each time I pray to help me to keep coming to him in prayer.

Prayer means a lot to me and it means a lot to God too.

So, I tell Him to help me because if He doesn’t, who will?

So, do the same.

While you try your best to pray everyday, also tell God to help you.

There was a day I got back home late and I had not prayed.

It was a very hectic day for me and by my strength I couldn’t have prayed that day but somehow I still prayed.

 I knew that day that it was not by my strength. I knew God had helped me to pray that day.

So, you can pray to God to help you pray and He sure will.

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One thing I love doing is writing and talking about prayer.

Prayer has always been an interesting topic for me and praying consistently has been my greatest achievement ever.

It used to be a struggle to pray but now something has changed and I’m glad it has.

You too can pray every day.

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Cheers to a generation of prayer champions!!

Please leave a comment or two after reading. It will be greatly appreciated. Thank you!