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How You Can Pray Effectively

Norman Vincent Peale shares 10 simple steps to get more out of prayer and improve your relationship with God.
A woman's hands clasped in prayer rest on a Bible
Credit: Halfpoint
Prayer is a powerful force for good. At Guideposts, we believe in the strength of prayer to bring comfort, hope, and healing. Your generous donation today will help us continue to share the power of prayer with those in need. Together, through prayer and support, we can make a difference.

1. Affirm

Believe that God is good and wants to help you, affirm that you are now in the process of receiving His goodness. The flow of blessing is constant and is happening to you now. Affirmation is a powerful factor in effective prayer.

2. Listen

Arrange for selected moments when you can become quiet mentally, relaxed physically, and receptive spiritually. Practice deep listening, reaching for contact with God. This form of prayer requires no words; simply listen until you hear inwardly.

3. Fractional

When you pray in little snatches, you are praying fractional prayers. In the form of brief prayer while waiting for a bus, or for the outcome of a conversation about to take place, fractional prayers add up to an enhanced prayer attitude.

4. Natural

Talk to the Lord using everyday language. The simpler your words, the easier it will be for you to express your thoughts. Talk to God sincerely in your own natural language. He understands.

5. Surround.

Deeply believe that you can send out a spiritual force that will surround your loved ones with protective and positive influences. Prayer is the transmitting carrier of affirmative faith.

6. Blockade

The number one blockade of spiritual power is resentment. To overcome it, pray for people you do not like or have mistreated you. Love always dissolves resentment.

7. List

Have a definite number of people for whom you pray daily. Pray by name for everyone on your prayer list. You will help them by your prayers, and the by-product will be additional blessings for you.

8. Surrender

Practice surrendering everything into God’s hands, believing that He will help and guide you. Prayerfully try to do your best about things and then, confidently, leave the results to God.

9. Relationship

Conceive of prayer as a personal relationship with the Father. Not asking for anything, but simply wanting to be with Him in a loving relationship, is perhaps the ultimate value in prayerfulness. It is the establishment of an in-depth relationship between the individual and God.

10. Mind

Prayer may be defined as a methodology by which we may contact the Divine mind. Then the knowledge and wisdom of God can flow unhindered into our human mind. Thus, we are on an operational level with the power, wisdom, and goodness of the Heavenly Father.

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