A Practical Plan for More Consistent, Heartfelt Prayer

Monica McConkey shares an excerpt from her new book, Prompt Me to Pray.

I have realized that despite good intentions to practice the Presence of God, surrender to divine Providence and pray without ceasing, my human weakness gets in the way and sometimes I simply forget to pray. I struggle on my own, mistakenly thinking I can somehow keep control on my own strength, forgetting that I need to faithfully rely on Him, seek His Will and trust in Him to work through me.

I wrote Prompt Me to Pray as I began to discover a practical plan for more consistent heartfelt prayer. By relying on visual cues, daily tasks, habits, and frequent events as Prompts to Pray, I can build a stronger habit of prayer. I can even use my littleness, my struggles and my sin as Prompts to Pray when I most need to!

prompt me cover with shadow

Enjoy this excerpt from Prompt Me to Pray:

I started to consider that these insidious, perpetual struggles could be my best Prompts to Pray! The truth is that there are many opportunities for me to recognize my sin, my weakness, and my littleness; and they happen all day long. I don’t need to feel discouraged by my struggles, especially if I am remembering to pray through them and allow God to use them for good.

Recognizing my sin makes me humble, reminding me of my desperate need for God. I can’t do anything without His Grace working in and through me.

My littleness and my sin endear me to God because He loves children and He loves sinners: and I belong to both camps.

I have also discovered that my sin, my weakness and my struggles can be used positively, drawing me closer to Jesus, in yet another way. Every time I feel frustrated, impatient, or resentful, I can use that struggle as a Prompt to Pray: to surrender, to call out to the Lord, and to admit that I need Him, and that I need Him now. I can choose to offer up my struggle to God, trusting Him to use it as only He can…for good.

So, I have a new inexhaustible source of prompts to remind me to pray; and they're all in-house. I don't even need to look as far as the next person for pet peeves or sacrifices. Littleness is the key prompt I’ve discovered as I navigate my own little way to pray consistently, and to pray from the heart.

My littleness and my need for God make me more pliable in His Hands. They soften my heart, open up my will to seek Him, and open my heart to gratefully receive the unearned Gift of His Love. Those consistent and blatant reminders of my littleness, bubbling up within feelings of frustration, discouragement, and resentment, are ready-made Prompts to Pray:

Jesus, I’m too little to do this on my own. Please carry me the rest of the way.