Each day as you read your Bible you’ll be tempted to close it, say “done,” and move on with your day. First, however, let me encourage you to do something that will change your life.

After reading God’s Word, look through these questions before you move on with your day.

Is there any…

Sin to confess?

Promise to claim?

Attitude to change?

Command to obey?

Example to follow?

Prayer to pray?

Error to avoid?

Truth to believe?

Something to thank God for?

I’ve discovered as I read the Bible that any one of those questions can be answered. Write those down in the front or back of your Bible, or keep them on your computer/tablet/phone so you can refer to them each and every day.

Now, read this verse out loud before you move on to our prayer thought for the day:

“How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psalm 119:103 NIV)

Prayer thought:

Jesus, I thank you and praise you! I invite your Holy Spirit to reveal to me any area where you desire change. As I spend each day with you, I ask that your spirit would guide and convict me in any area of my life that is not pleasing to you.

“How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word.” (Psalm 119:9 NIV)

Yesterday we talked about the “how” of prayer. Today we want to look at the “why”. Some people wonder if it actually makes a difference. Maybe you’ve thought that. After all, you’ve prayed about stuff and nothing happened. Maybe, maybe not.

God does listen. He tells us He does. He loves to hear from us like any parent loves to hear from their children. Understand this though: God listens, but that doesn’t mean He always does what you want Him to do in the way you want it done on your timeline.

God always hears us, but sometimes He says:

NO: In His love for us, He knows what’s best, and this just isn’t best.

SLOW: It’s not a bad idea, but the timing is wrong. He sees things we don’t and so we can trust Him while we wait.

GROW: He can use the process, the pain, the wait and whatever else He needs to in order to help us mature and become more like Jesus. Sometimes the circumstances don’t have to change as much as I need to.

GO: We all love this one. He said YES! It’s GO time!!

I got that four-part guide to understanding how God answers our prayers from a great little book by Bill Hybles, Too Busy Not To Pray.

Here’s one quick picture of prayer I want you to see before you go and talk to God.

Matthew 7:7-12

Prayer thought:

I (Maegan) noticed something awhile back. I noticed that I had stopped praying. I had stopped for two reasons. 

1) I got tired of hearing myself ask God for things. The only time I remembered to pray was when I was in need.  

2) I wasn’t focused enough to communicate, I did not know what to say, or was unable to put it into words. I couldn’t slow down my brain enough to even get started. 

So the Lord taught me to trade in my silence for praise! If you are ever stuck, just start with a name, start by saying “JESUS”. Keep saying it like you mean it, “JESUS!” Then add to it as you start to think of Jesus and what He has done for you. We don’t have to do this on our own; the Holy Spirit can accompany our prayers and teach us how to have an effective prayer life. Don’t over think it! Just praise His Holy Name and the words will come! 

“And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Acts 2:21 NIV)

Prayer can be intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. Jesus invites us to do life with Him. Isn’t Jesus like any other friend? And we have no problem talking to them. Well, except Jesus is invisible. Hmmm.

Ok, so Jesus is different, but He still invites us to communicate with Him. Today we’ll look at HOW, and tomorrow we’ll dive into WHY.

The how of prayer is actually easier than you think. Jesus was not born in England in the 15th century, so you don’t have to use fancy “thees” and “thous” to get your point across. 

He’s also not our personal genie. So before you think about trying to get the wording just right in order to manipulate Him into doing your bidding, think again.

HOW? Are you ready? Just talk to Him. I found it helpful early on in my relationship with God to have a guide of things I could pray about so it’s not merely, “give me, help me, bless me.”

Read Matthew 6:5-15.

The example of Jesus’ prayer can be broken down into four parts. They work with the word A.C.T.S.

Adoration. Tell God what you think is so amazing. Worship Him.

Confession. Come clean before Him. Let Him know where you blew it. 

Thanksgiving. Let Him know how grateful you are. Don’t hold back, you have a lot to be thankful for.

Supplication. Ok, that’s a big word, but it begins with “S” (ha). It just means to pray for others. Pray for your family, friends, co-workers…and please pray for me, your pastor!

Here’s a quick prayer thought, then get to it!

Prayer thought:

Dear Jesus, today as I am reminded HOW to pray, give me a burning desire to REMEMBER to pray. Please give me a passion for prayer, the kind of passion that only comes from you. Thank you Jesus.

“Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 NIV)

So, we’re going to be reading our Bible every day for two years. Every single day. That’s 730 days! How does this work?

First, we just need to know how important it is. When Jesus was tempted by the devil, recorded for us in Matthew 4 and Luke 4, He faced the tempter with the Word of God. How much more do we need to know His Word?

Also, this is about a relationship with Him. Jesus shows us how special this is:

“I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” (John 15:15 NIV)

We’re agreed that we need to spend time with Jesus every day in His Word. Now what you need to do is get a plan.

Youversion.com has several reading plans to choose from. Since we’ll be doing this for two years, choose something more than a short-term plan. 

If you’re new to reading the Bible, start by simply reading one chapter a day and begin in Matthew. You can work your way through the New Testament in 260 days. Some chapters are longer, so break it up.

Remember, the goal here is to spend time with Jesus every day…not finish a race.

Prayer thought:

Sometimes we see a spiritual person, usually a person in leadership, and we begin to try and model ourselves after them. They really look like they have it all together, and we desperately want to be like them. While they can serve as an encouraging example in your life, a tool used by God to help you grow closer to Him, trying to look like them is idolatry. Besides, what you are really attracted to is Christ in them. They are most likely seeking after one thing in this life, more of HIM!

 Lord, I do not want to do life without you, give me a hunger for you EACH day that cannot be filled by ANY earthly thing, or anyone besides YOU. My life is shorter than I may realize and I don’t want to waste another day here on earth without YOU. Amen.

“Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” (James 4:14 NIV)

A lot of people claim to be spiritual, but what does that mean if we aren’t really following Jesus?

While leafing through Experiencing Spiritual Breakthroughs, I came across a section I had highlighted the first time I read this powerful book.

Bruce Wilkinson strikes a serious chord with his take on modern spirituality:

“Spirituality has never been more popular, even in secular circles. But it seems to be taken up less and less with God and what He has said, and more and more with human-centered techniques. But these approaches gloss over a big problem–the spiritual climber is trying to make a breakthrough alone.”

Jesus invites us to go with Him. Each and every day is part of the adventure. Each moment is an opportunity to hear His voice and follow.

Let’s eavesdrop on a critical discussion Jesus has with His followers in Luke 9:18-20:

Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?”

¹⁹ They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.”

²⁰ “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “God’s Messiah.”

If Jesus is the Messiah, if He is God, then spending every day with Him should be at the very top of our TO DO LIST!

How could we possibly do life without Him?

Prayer thought:

Spend a few moments right now in the quiet. Just sit and focus on God, don’t speak, do that for a few moments, and prepare your heart for prayer. Now, ask God to reveal to you a plan, one that is personal that will help you be consistent in your time together each day. Now, get a pen and paper (or smart phone/computer) and write it down. Now, write this down, God is good ALL the time, all the time GOD is good!