Establishing prayer as a priority and rhythm of life is about being intentional. Jesus said, “When you pray, go into your private room, shut the door, and pray to Your Father who is in secret” Matthew 6:6. Three intentional acts in this one verse – “Go…shut…pray…” We see the intentionality of Jesus, as he often withdrew to quiet places to pray. Developing intentional rhythms for prayer and communion with God must be a priority for the believer.

One intentional step that has helped me prioritize prayer is using technology to remind me to pray regularly throughout the day. My smart watch buzzes everyday at 7:14am, 10:01am, and 4:02 pm. These times are reminders of three key verses for prayer and intercession.

7:14am

2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

This is my usual devotional time, and this alarm reminds me to pray for humility, desire, forgiveness, and healing for our nation and the nations of the world. I’ll usually pull up the Unreached People of the Day during this time and pray for them as well.

10:01am

Romans 10:01 is the Apostle Paul’s heart for his fellow country men – “my heart’s desire and prayer to God concerning them is for their salvation.”

This is the normal break time for my work, so it’s a great time to pray. This alarm reminds me to spend some time praying for people I know who are far from God. You can develop an active list using a process called Oikos Mapping and pray for those people everyday.

I usually also pray the 10:02 prayer for laborers at this time as well –  “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest. 

4:02pm

James 4:2-3 says, “You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and don’t receive because you ask with wrong motives.”

This alarm, toward the end of the day, gives me an opportunity to stop and ask –

• What have I needed today, that I haven’t asked God for?
• What or who have I thought about today, that I haven’t prayed about yet?
• Where have my motives been selfish?

These three prayer prompts have helped establish times of prayer throughout the day. Consider setting alarms for yourself for 7:14am, 10:01am, and 4:02pm and join me in prayer.

• How have you established rhythms of prayer?
• What verses would be prayer prompts for you?