Add PIZZAZZ to Your Prayer Life

by Harold and Bette Gillogly

Ok, we’re going to get real honest here. Sometimes our prayer life gets ho-hum…same-o, same-o. Does yours ever seem that way?

We wish we could say that we are always pro-active and take immediate action to do something about it. But the truth is, this time we became challenged one Sunday morning by our pastor to pray three times a day with three people for three weeks. For us, praying together is one of the most important foundations of our marriage, so we decided to ask one other couple to commit themselves to pray with us three times a day for three weeks.

This has brought such a spark to our prayer life, we simply have to share this simple, yet incredible process with you!

First thing you have to do: find another couple who will commit themselves to pray three times a day with you for three weeks, or however long both couples decide. You need a start day and an end day. If you don’t have this, you will probably peter out over time. It is far easier to commit to… say, three or four weeks and keep your commitment, than commit for several months or an unspecified period of time.

Second thing: Each couple lists three things they want the other to pray about. This keeps it real simple. The four of you are not actually praying together at the same time and place, but each couple is praying three times a day for each other’s three requests.

Remember, Daniel prayed three times a day. That was his commitment to God no matter what. Don’t take your commitment lightly. Set your mind and heart to keep your commitment. If you are one of those people whose schedule is static, you have it easy. Just set your phone’s alarm for three times a day, and you’ll be reminded each day. If your schedule is different every day, you’re going to have to be more creative. We’re geezers. We take pills three times a day. So now, every time we take pills, we pray. Pills and Prayer. Easy.

Third thing: Broaden your prayers for your partner couple’s requests. Don’t let them become simply, “Bless so-and-so, and so-and-so, and so-and-so….” Here’s what we do. We read a chapter in God’s Love Letter to us – the Bible – First. We read in the Old Testament one day. (Right now in Psalms.) And on alternating days, we read in the New Testament (We started with Romans and then continued on to 1 Corinthians.) There’s always at least one verse that God grabs our attention with. Like this morning, we were reading 1 Corinthians chapter 3. Verse 8 and 9 really grabbed us. The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose…For we are both God’s workers. So as we prayed for the folks our friends had requested, we prayed that they would realize they were God’s workers and needed to water – be like water to thirsty plants and help the people they came in contact with that day to grow in the Christ Jesus.

We’re almost at the end of our three weeks. During this time, our “prayer” couple experienced great loss. The wife’s grandmother, with whom she had a very close relationship, passed. None of us knew what would happen during our three weeks. But God knew our friends would need concerted prayer for this sad and difficult time in their lives. And there we were, already praying for them three times a day. One would almost think God planned it that way! (Wink,Wink)

Now that you know how easy it is, we hope you will take up this challenge and find one couple to pray with you for three weeks…three short weeks. You will be surprised at how much PIZZAZZ it will add to your prayer life!