Have you ever told yourself, I'm going to start praying more often?

Maybe you decided you would wake up earlier to pray. Or spend thirty minutes with God every morning or evening. You were serious about it, and for the first few days, you prayed like you said you would.

Then one morning, you woke up late. On another day, you were exhausted. Something came up at work. You missed a day, then another, and as time went on, you only prayed whenever you remembered.

And the frustrating part is that you really do want to pray. You know prayer is important. You know you need God. But somehow, staying consistent has become harder than you expected.

So how do you change that?

Sometimes we make praying difficult for ourselves.

We say, From tomorrow, I'm going to pray for an hour every morning. There's nothing wrong with praying for an hour, but if you haven't been praying regularly, that might be a difficult habit to maintain. And when you can't keep up with the plan, you start feeling like you've failed.

What if you started with ten minutes?

Ten minutes when you wake up. Or before you leave for work. Or in the evening when the house is quiet. You can read a Psalm, thank God for something, tell Him what's on your mind, and pray about your day.

Jesus often withdrew to pray. Luke 5:16 tells us, “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”

Prayer was something He made room for regularly, even with all the demands on His time. And perhaps that's something we need to learn. If we only pray when we happen to have spare time, there will always be something else competing for that time.

Start small if you need to. But make room for praying intentionally.

Some days, you'll genuinely look forward to praying. Other days, you won't.

You might be tired, distracted, upset, or simply not in the mood. And if you only pray when you feel like it, your prayer life will depend on how you're feeling that day.

Think about the other important things you do in life. You don't always feel like going to work. You don't always feel like cooking or taking care of your responsibilities. But you do them because they matter.

Your relationship with God matters too.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, “Pray continually.” That doesn't mean you have to spend every minute of your day with your eyes closed in prayer. It means prayer can become a regular part of how you live.

You can talk to God while getting ready in the morning, on your way to work, or when something is bothering you.

And when you want to pray but don't know what to say, pray anyway. Tell God you're tired. Tell Him you're distracted. Ask Him to help you. You don’t need perfect words to speak to your Father.

Sometimes, the hardest part of staying consistent with prayer isn't starting. It's starting again after you've stopped.

Maybe you were doing well for a while, but life got busy and you slowly fell out of the habit. Now every time you think about praying, you remember how long it's been. You feel bad about it, tell yourself you need to do better, but somehow another day goes by.

And the longer you leave it, the harder it seems to get back into the habit.

But here's something worth remembering. You don't have to make up for all the days you missed before you can talk to God again. You don't need to pray for a longer time because you want to make up for the days you didn't pray. You don't need to wait until you have more time or feel more spiritually prepared.

If it's been a while since you prayed, let this be your reminder to start today. Even if all you can have is a few minutes, use those few minutes. Talk to God about what's been happening in your life. Thank Him for something. Ask Him to help you become more consistent.

And tomorrow, make time to pray again. Consistency doesn't mean you'll never miss a day. It means that when you do, you don't allow one missed day to become a reason to stop altogether.

Think about someone you love.

You don't build a close relationship with them simply by deciding how many minutes you'll speak to them everyday. You grow closer because you keep making room for them in your life. You share things with them. You listen. You want them to be part of what happens to you.

Our relationship with God should be the same and not just another task on our daily checklist.

Yes, having a prayer routine can help. Yes, discipline matters. But don't become so focused on completing your prayer time that you forget Who you're spending that time with.

The goal isn't to become someone who proudly says, I haven't missed a day of prayer in six months. It's to become someone who values their relationship with God. Someone who keeps turning to God, whether life is going well or falling apart, whether you have an hour or only a few minutes.

Because prayer isn't just something you need to make time for. It's an opportunity to spend time with the One who knows you better than anyone else.

✝ Kingdom Mantra

How has your prayer life been lately? Is there something you've been struggling with or something that has helped you stay consistent? I'd genuinely love to hear your thoughts and experiences, so feel free to reply to this email or leave a comment on our website.

And as always, if there's anything you'd like me to pray with you about, I'd be happy to. God bless you. ❤️