Psalm 17:6
I call on you, my God, for you will answer me;
turn your ear to me and hear my prayer. 

Are you looking for a deeper, more meaningful prayer time but are unsure how to achieve it? Does your mind wander during prayer, making it difficult to stay focused? Or do you struggle with what to say and begin to repeat prayers that you have already said or those you have heard from others? If this is the case, do not worry, you are not alone. Developing a relationship with God happens through our communication with him during prayer. The Bible says we have been made alive with Christ (Ephesians 2:5) and that we are a dwelling place where God resides by the power of his Spirit (Ephesians 2:22). It instructs us to pray in the Spirit at all times with all kinds of prayers and requests (Ephesians 6:18), to never stop praying (1 Thessalonians 5:17), and that the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective (James 5:16). So, if our prayers have the potential to be powerful and effective, and we have the Spirit of God within us, then why do most of us find it difficult to pray?

The Challenge
In his book Praying the Bible, Donald Whitney claims the reason most Christians struggle with prayer is because we “say the same old things about the same old things” which gets boring and leaves us uninspired to pray (p.11-12). According to Whitney, the true problem is not what we pray about, but rather how we pray (p.20). It is normal to pray for the same people – our spouse, children, family, and friends – as well as the same things – our work, health, finances, or present circumstances, since each of those categories encompass the majority of our lives. Both the people and situations we pray over are important to us so naturally we want to pray about them. The challenge comes when after a few minutes of prayer, we run out of things to say. We frequently find ourselves repeating words and phrases that we’ve previously uttered or heard someone else say. Despite our belief in prayer and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we feel as though our prayers are ineffective. As a result, we become less motivated to pray (p. 17-20).

The Solution
Whitney recommends praying through a passage of scripture to help us communicate with the Lord. He says by employing this method, you will be essentially “sending words that originated in God’s heart and mind back to him through your own heart and mind, making it easy for you to begin praying as well as for you to continue praying.” By praying scripture, you will discover your prayer time becomes deeper and more meaningful as “you aren’t just praying ordinary words; you are praying words of spirit and life (John 6:63)” (p 27,32,43).

The Method
An excellent place to begin praying scripture is the book of Psalms. Whitney uses the twenty-third psalm as an example to show his readers how to pray. He suggests reading the opening verse and sharing your thoughts with God as you consider what he has spoken. Once you have completed praying the first verse, move on to the next. Again, when you reflect on God’s message, speak to him about anything that is on your mind. Continue in this manner until you have completed the psalm. If you reach the end of the psalm before your prayer time is over, simply go to another psalm or passage of scripture to pray.

Following is an example of prayer Whitney provides from Psalm 23:1-3 in Praying the Bible:

1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
“Lord, I thank you that you are my shepherd. You’re a good shepherd. You have shepherded me all my life. And, great Shepherd, please shepherd my family today: guard them from the ways of the world; guide them into the ways of God. Lead them not into temptation, deliver them from evil. O great Shepherd, I pray for my children; cause them to be your sheep. May they love you as their shepherd, as I do. And, Lord, please shepherd me in the decision that’s before about my future. Do I make that move, that change, or not? Lord, I thank you that I’ve never really been in want. All that I am and all that I have has come from you.”

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.
“Yes, Lord, do lead me in that decision I have to make about my future. I want to do what you want, O Lord, but I don’t know what that is. Please lead me into your will in this matter. And lead me beside still waters in this. Please quiet the anxious waters in my soul about this situation. Let me experience your peace. May the turbulence in my heart be stilled by trust in you and your sovereignty over all things and over all people.”

3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
“My Shepherd, I come to you so spiritually dry today. Please restore my soul; restore to me the joy of your salvation. And I pray you will restore the soul of (that person from work/school/down the street) with whom I’m hoping to share the gospel. Please restore his soul from darkness to light,  from death to life.”
By following this method, you will never run out of things to say while you pray (p. 27, 29-32, 42). God put the Psalms in his word especially for us to use when we speak to him, which is the main reason they are so powerful in prayer (p.54).

Source: Whitney, Donald S. (2015). Praying the Bible, pages 11-12, 17-20, 27, 29-32, 42-43, 54.