Part of the seeking God lifestyle involves incorporating frequent and fervent pray into our daily lives. There are no ‘quick fix’ prayers that can replace the important process of learning to pray to God from the sincerity of our hearts. However, as humans, we need initial guidance, since we are innately formed to learn through example. In an article entitled ‘Seven Simple Daily Prayers’, writer Marshall Segal lays out seven ideas to help enrich and enliven our personal prayer. He pulls his tips from the Psalms, citing verses and then detailing them with explanation and personal experience. First, Segal suggests the prayer category ‘Listen to My Prayer’:
Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; listen to my plea for grace. (Psalm 86:6)
God Almighty, the sovereign and infinite Maker of heaven and earth, hears your prayers. Don’t ever, ever take God’s ear for granted. Know his holiness, and your sin, well enough not to presume he will listen, but for Jesus’s sake. Ask him to hear one more prayer.
Second, Segal suggests the ‘Save Me, and Keep Me’ prayer.
Preserve my life, for I am godly; save your servant, who trusts in you — you are my God. Be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all the day. (Psalm 86:2–3)
You were saved, and you are being saved every day. You are being kept. But not without prayer. Each day is another new confident plea for protection and keeping:
The third prayer is the ‘Make My Heart Happy in You’ prayer.
Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. (Psalm 86:4)
God commands us to have that kind of joy in him. But any of us who have tried know we cannot put on joy like we put on a pair of pants. Something supernatural has to happen in our hearts, and the supernatural only happens one way: with God’s help.
Fourth, is the ‘Teach Me Your Ways’ prayer.
Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth. (Psalm 86:11)
As un-American as it may seem, God doesn’t expect us to just figure it out on our own. He wants us to ask him for wisdom and guidance — “God, teach me your way” — and he wants to do the work himself, by his Spirit, through our working. Paul says, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:12–13).
The fifth prayer genre Segal suggests is the ‘Give Me Your Strength’ prayer.
Turn to me and be gracious to me; give your strength to your servant. (Psalm 86:16)
Along with our prayers for guidance and direction, we need the physical and spiritual resources to walk and work well. Nothing of any real, spiritual, lasting value happens in our strength.
The sixth prayer topic which Segal pulls from the Psalms is ‘Unite My Heart to Fear You’.
Unite my heart to fear your name. (Psalm 86:11)
If we set our souls on cruise control, they do not move toward Christ, but in a thousand other directions. Remaining sin divides our attention and affection. Our frequent prayer should be that God rid us of that kind of spiritual divisiveness and unite our hearts in him.
Lastly, the article suggests a ‘Reveal Yourself Through Me’ prayer as the seventh category:
Show me a sign of your favor, that those who hate me may see and be put to shame because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me. (Psalm 86:17)
We want our faith and our whole life to mean something to the watching world. We want unbelievers to know that our God is the one and only God. Even more than that, we want them to know him and be saved…. we ask God to take what he is doing for us, and in us, and do something dramatic through us in the hearts and minds of others.
Overall, Marshall Segal’s prayer ideas and their accompanying descriptions serve as good pointers for when we are at loss as for what to pray. As Christians, prayer is an essential part of our lives, and we should pray frequently, addressing our deepest thoughts, fears and dreams. The Bible is a deep well of inspiration for those who need help expressing words of adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication. If you are in a rut, try incorporating songs, prayers, and words of wisdom that fill the pages of Scripture, to enrich and deepen your prayer life!
