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I want to pray but I don’t know what to pray for



Perhaps you have found yourself desiring to pray but just when you decide to pray you are not even sure what you should pray for. Many times this happens, it is not really because you have nothing to pray about, but because you have many things you will like to pray for in such a short time that you don’t even know how to prioritize them. This challenge may seem small but it really hinders many people from praying at all. Some even go ahead to substitute prayer with something else they are more certain about simply because they didn’t know what to pray about when they should be praying. There are also times that you feel the burden to pray, you know surely that the Holy Spirit is impressing upon your heart to pray but you refuse to act because you are not sure of what you should pray for. Sooner than later, the burden will lift whether you yield to it or not. The difference is that when you yield to that burden, there is a sense of relief that comes to you, with an assurance of victory. The opposite is the case when you refuse to yield.

The bible teaches us that the Holy Spirit has been given to help us in the place of prayer (Rom. 8:26), He is there to help our infirmities and lead us on what to pray for and how to pray about it. Here is the importance of praying in tongues or praying in the spirit as we often refer to it. As you yield yourself to a prayer burden or a desire to pray even when you don’t know for sure what you should pray about, the Holy Spirit will give you direction. The important thing is to set out in faith even when you are not certain, as you set out in faith to yield to the desire to pray, the Spirit of God will put the item of prayer in your heart and help you to pray it. Now this may not happen at the spur of the moment, it may take some time for you to properly tune-in to the frequency of the Spirit. The interesting thing is that as you practice this over and over again, it will begin to take you much shorter time to tune-in to the Spirit and get what God wants you to pray for whenever that desire or burden comes.

On the other hand, while it is good to depend on the Holy Spirit to lead you in prayer whenever you want to pray or whenever the prayer burden comes upon you, it is also important to take responsibility to structure your prayer life. You can start out with a simple prayer schedule designed like a time-table that serves as a guide for your prayer time. With a simple prayer schedule, you will not have to wait on a burden before you get to pray, and you will not always be thinking of what to pray about when you get to the place of prayer because you have already laid it out on your schedule. This is not to say that the prayer schedule is cast in stone such that you cannot be flexible with it, or such that the Spirit of God cannot impress in your heart to pray for something else outside your prayer schedule, but that if the Spirit doesn’t impress any special prayer item in your heart, you already have something you have marked out to pray for at that time. This will help you to be more organized and effective in your prayer life and you will definitely get more results in prayer.

Some believers think that by setting a prayer schedule you are restricting the Holy Spirit, this is nothing but spiritual ignorance. Why do we set weekly activities in church? Why don’t we just gather on Sundays and during the midweek services before we decide what type of service we want to have? No, it is already marked out, we have worship services, prayer meetings, bible study meetings and so forth. The services are organized, and this doesn’t mean that the Holy Spirit cannot direct otherwise against our planned program, but if He doesn’t, then we stick with the schedule. I remember reading how the Lord directed Kenneth E. Hagin to have a healing service when they had actually gathered for a mothers’ day service but this doesn’t happen in every service.

To say the truth, there are so many who will never get a prayer burden, until they take responsibility to organize their prayer life. It is a privilege for God to meet you in the place of prayer and discuss with you certain things He will like you to pray about, but many have never enjoyed this privilege because their prayer life has never been structured. Stop waiting for a special burden before you get down to prayers, stop waiting for the church to give you prayer points before you know what to pray for, this is typical of the characteristics of babes. Grow up! Take responsibility for yourself and for others in prayer, sit down and workout a schedule that works best for you and get down to business. You don’t have to pray long hours to start with, just set out the little time you have and start out. Don’t let yourself be intimidated by others who can pray long hours, if you keep at it you may soon be praying longer hours than them. Also, remember that your prayer schedule is just a guide to help you, if you miss it once or twice don’t let it bother or discourage you, we all miss it sometimes. As you keep at it, you will notice that there will no longer be any confusion on what to pray for, you will begin to develop a robust and effective prayer life, you will begin to bear the burden of others in prayer, you will stop distributing prayer request from meeting to meeting, you will see yourself dominating in prayers and getting results because you have begun to take responsibility. You will live and walk like the champion that you are. I have personally used a prayer schedule for some years now and it has been instrumental to several personal encounters and leadings I have received from the Lord. I believe that as you take steps to act, you will also experience great results not just in your prayer life but in all areas of your life and endeavor.

Below is a simple prayer schedule format to help you map out yours. Use it to design your own prayer schedule in a way that works best for you.

WEEKLY PRAYER SCHEDULE  9PM – 10PM
Mon – I pray for the move of God in my time, and I intercede for the unsaved.
Tues I pray for the church and the Nation. I pray for my local assembly and pastors.
Wed I pray for the fulfillment of my ministry, for grace and strength to impact in my generation
Thur – I pray for my extended family members and inlaws, for friends, associates, and partners.
Fri – I pray for my immediate family; my wife and children
Sat I spend time to worship and fellowship with the Father
Sun – I thank God for his love, mercy and grace. and make declarations over the week.


N.B
For questions on this subject and other subjects, kindly use the Prayer request/Testimony pane. You can also send me an email or reach me by Phone on 08081249992

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