How to Build a Powerful Prayer Life That Anchors You

Learn how to build a powerful prayer life, stay consistent in prayer, grow your faith, and experience God’s peace every day.

The Lord is near to all who call out to him, all who call out to him with integrity.
-Psalm 145:18

Prayer is how we seek the face of the Lord. Building a powerful prayer life will allow you to experience God every day. It is a two-way conversation. God’s word is living and active, and reading Scripture is part of a conversation with God. Prayer also involves responding, speaking, and listening. Your response to Him (and His to you) is a living and active relationship. The more you pray, the more you understand the character of God. You won’t understand all His ways, but you will come to trust Him more and more as you seek Him consistently.

Pray for Your Enemies

Prayer is how we treat our enemies. Today, when we consider the word “enemy”, it doesn’t need to be in the context of an earthly war. Maybe there is someone in your life who has been or is hurtful to you consistently. Someone who triggers you at the mention of their name. Someone who gives you anxiety when you’re in the same room. It is also a powerful tool against principalities.

Enemies are not just flesh and blood. Our real enemy is the spiritual forces of evil. The world lures us in with its enticing temptations with promises of delivering happiness, comfort, and relief. But they fall short and are more destructive. This is why we pray. To be able to resist what’s not best for us in the end.

Pray in Secret

When you pray, pray in secret. There isn’t anything wrong with corporate prayer. But prayer is not meant to be something to show off so you can prove yourself holy or receive recognition. Ohhh and this is a tough one with social media today. We all want to prove ourselves and be found worthy in the eyes of others. But the real reward comes from God when we pray in secret. This is humbling but it’s also so very sweet because it’s just you and God. You have nothing to prove. You don’t need to use a lot of words to convince him or impress him. Just be with Him.

3 Simple Steps to Make Prayer a Powerful Anchor

Start small. You don’t need to start your prayer time off with a long list of things or people to pray for. You don’t need any supplies whatsoever—except, maybe your Bible. Everything is extra. Maybe there are certain tools, like a journal and pen, that will help you focus if you write your prayers down or what God is speaking to you. But don’t get distracted by all the fanciness of an Instagram quiet time. Cute highlighters and special journals aren’t bad, but they aren’t necessary for a fruitful time with God. However, if they help you get started, use them! Start with 10 minutes. If you don’t know what to say, just listen. You can even turn on some worship music and just get in His presence. Read His Word. He speaks through it.
Be consistent. Guard your time with God as precious. Take that small ten minutes and do it everyday. Make it a sacred time for just you and Jesus. The only way this can happen is if you make it a priority; if you make it non-negotiable. Don’t allow your to-do list to steal this time from you.
Consistent prayer has changed my life. It’s both a discipline and a necessity—something I genuinely look forward to every day. Talking with God unleashes His power in my heart and life. He speaks amazing things to me, gives me peace when I’m anxious, and answers powerful prayers while doing deep work in my heart. On the rare occasion that I don’t take time for intentional prayer in the morning, I feel it all day—not because He has left, but because we haven’t connected personally yet. I rely on prayer to hear from Him.
Endure through the hard seasons. Don’t allow life’s challenges to rob or distract you from spending time with Jesus. Instead, let them drive you to seek Him even more. When we are faced with a struggle or seemingly impossible situation, these are the times you’ll need your precious time with the Lord even more. He wants to comfort you and give you wisdom. Withdrawing will only bring worry and fear and you will try to handle things in your own strength and wisdom. In the end, you waste so much time and energy. Jesus wants to help you, you just need to let him.

When we commit to making prayer an essential part of our lives, it becomes an anchor for everything. When we are stressed, we go to God. When we are happy, we go to God with gratitude. When we are heartbroken, we take it to God. When we need wisdom or provision, we ask God. When we desire understanding, we seek God. Prayer becomes our first response rather than our last resort.

Additionally, the more we pray, the more we know God’s heart. Prayer has several facets, and learning each one just takes you deeper and anchors you more in Christ.

God unleashes supernatural power when we pray. Can you imagine if we prayed consistently? The more we see God move, the more we trust Him. The greater our sense of the spiritual, the more we will see.