One of the ways to get refilled or rekindled with “joy” is to pray. Pray in the Spirit and rejoicing in the Lord. This is by faith first, not by feeling. But friends, sometimes I think we can overcomplicate prayer. I mean, how many times have you not prayed because you felt you didn’t know the “right” way to pray, or didn’t have a full three-hours of time to pray, or felt like God was far off and unapproachable? Let me encourage you today, friends, that prayer really is simple. It’s basic, if you will! While there are certainly some “rules of engagement” for specific types of prayer, which we can learn from the Bible, today just start! Start praying! Start talking with the Lord every day, start prioritizing your conversation time with Him and don’t let the enemy keep stealing that powerful time away from you.

The enemy knows that prayer pulls down the power from Heaven into your life. He knows that through faith-filled prayers you can experience salvation, healing, blessings, restored relationships, increase, favor, protection, freedom from fear and addictions, the joy of His Presence and so much more. Can you see now why the enemy works overtime to keep us feeling like we can’t pray? Like we don’t know how to pray, are unworthy to approach God, or any other number of lies? Knowing that he’s so actively opposing our prayer time should stir up some passion in you to not let him steal that from your life!

Today, I hope you’ll lay aside any preconceived notions of some lofty and unattainable standard on your prayer life and just get real with the Lord. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17 tells us: “Be happy [in your faith] and rejoice and be glad-hearted continually (always); Be unceasing in prayer [praying perseveringly]” (AMPC). Being “unceasing” in prayer means we can pray all day, all the time, anytime and anyplace. That’s freeing, isn’t it?

This means you can talk to the Lord while driving to and from work, while running the kids to school, while washing the dishes or literally any time throughout your day! He’s your best friend, always with you…and you can talk with Him about anything. And, it’s worth noting that you can talk with Him using real words, truly pouring out your heart — you don’t have to speak in the “King James” words, saying thee’s and thou’s! You can show Him genuine love, respect and adoration using your everyday, “normal” language. Keep your “joy” tank full by staying prayer full!

While having an ongoing conversation with God as we go about our day is terrific, it is also very important to prioritize some dedicated quiet time with the Lord. Carve out a time each day to steal away with the Lord…to get free from the distractions of life and have quality time with Him, offering up heartfelt and faith-filled prayers. Jesus was our example of how to live when He walked on this earth…and we see from Mark 1:35 that He was intentional about setting aside specific time to pray: “Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed” (NKJV). God promises that when we call to Him, He will answer (Jeremiah 33:3)…that time you spend with Him will be so worth it!

>>Don’t miss this! By spending time with the Lord, you’ll grow stronger in your relationship with Him, experience His love for you, get filled with joy, find the answers you’re seeking and be charged up spiritually for your day!

If you have a friend, neighbor, spouse, or other relationship you’re pouring into, what’s one of the number one ways to grow that relationship? Spend time together and talk to each other! In much the same way, you’ll find that as you spend time with the Lord in prayer, you’ll experience more and more the fullness of His love for you and experience the guidance and peace in your life that can only be found in His presence. So pray it up, friends! You can do this!

Pray This and Say This Out Loud: “Father, thank You that I can talk with you anytime, anyplace about anything! Thank You that through Jesus, I can approach the Throne of Grace with boldness, and I know through Your Word that when I call to You, You will answer. Lord, help stir up in me a greater desire to prioritize prayer in my life — I choose to make quality time with You a priority! In Jesus’ Name. Amen.”

We love and appreciate you all! Stay joyful and prayerful.