We often desire to develop a prayer discipline in our life but may struggle with knowing what to pray about longer than ten minutes. Though I do not believe God has time requirements with regard to prayer, I do believe that the more we pray, the more we get to know Him and the more we change our world as we co-labor with Him. The more we know Him, the more we can pray in His will and He can work through us.

If you desire to build your prayer time, here’s a way to help you. I have taken the Prayer Wheel prayer guide, and expounded slightly upon it to help bring some ideas to you to expand your prayer time easily into an hour.  One hour each day equates to more than six weeks a year. Using this guide of twelve prayer areas of only five minutes each, you can easily reach that hour mark and in the process, change yourself and your world. You can adjust the 5 minutes slots as needed.

1. PRAISE (5 minutes): Psalm 22:3; 63:3; Hebrews 13:15 – Begin your prayer with praise. Praise esteems God for His greatness and virtue, focuses on His nature, and builds our faith as we reflect on His goodness and faithfulness. You don’t have to thank Him for the same things or everything you can think of each day. Rather, consider taking one or two of His attributes and talk with Him about how they have affected your life, or the lives of others. Though we should develop a consistent habit of praise unto God, we don’t want to develop a rote method that becomes more rehearsed than meaningful. Praise is not a method to “sugar-talk” God into listening to us; it’s bringing our mind back to seeing WHO He is, regardless of what’s happening in our life.

2. FORGIVENESS (5 minutes): Matthew 6:14-15 – Nothing blocks your spiritual progress more fatally than an unforgiving spirit. Forgiveness is a complete pouring out and release of any negative feeling that might be held against another person, church, or group. It’s not holding a grudge, or desiring revenge. It’s easy for us to become bitter against someone who has hurt us, but remember that you have also hurt others, including God. We all need to receive forgiveness, and we all need to give forgiveness. Include both of these areas during this time. In addition, accept God’s forgiveness rather than holding onto your past mistakes. When God forgives, He releases, and we need to release ourselves as well. I’ve often prayed for those who were considered my enemies. As I have done that, I’ve seen those enemies and my situation change. There’s too much effort needed to maintain bitterness and strife.

3. CONFESSION (5 minutes): Psalm 139:23-24 Psalm 66:18 – If you hide sin in your heart God will not hear you. Repent of sin and you will clear the road for God to move. When there is nothing to hide or cause hesitation between you and God, you will be free to approach Him without fear and full of confidence. During this time, repent of things you have done that need addressed, but also ask God to show you anything else that He is not pleased with. Wait on Him and open your heart as He shares any issues with you. When He does, don’t revert to feeling condemned. Scripture tells us that God corrects those He loves. He desires to commune with you, so when He shares issues, realize that it’s His love, not Him condemning you for your faults.

4. PETITION (5 minutes): James 4:2-3; Matthew 6:9-13 – This aspect of prayer deals with our personal needs and desires. God is interested in our personal life. He’s interested in more than if we have a job, or good health. He also cares about our dreams, talents, and struggles. When I pray in this area, I talk to God about my frustrations, my thoughts, and things I’d like to do, even if they don’t seem “spiritual”. We need to remember that even the non-spiritual things of life can become spiritual when we bring God into them. When we make all of our lives spiritual, we’ll begin seeing God more involved. He won’t intrude where He’s not invited.

5. INTERCESSION (5 minutes): I Timothy 2:1-2; Matthew 9:37-38 – Intercession is prayer for others. This includes family, friends, our church, city, nation, and world. As you go through your week, write down issues that you hear about in these areas and pray over them during this time. Keep up with the news so you know what issues are happening in your world. Remember that God is bigger than your personal life. He cares about all nations. We co-labor with God to bring about His divine purposes when we pray, give, or go. Consider praying about missionaries, famines, natural disasters, wars, human trafficking. and so on. Try to feel what God would feel in these issues and pray accordingly. I also ask God what He wants prayed for. Sometimes He shares His heart with me about something that never crossed my mind.

6. READ THE BIBLE (5 minutes): II Timothy 3:16; Psalm 19:9 – Read the Bible during prayer. The Word is enlightening to the eyes, giving us direction, understanding, and revelation. It is the primary way that God speaks to us. Don’t rush through your reading. Read scripture slowly, thinking on what you are reading. When you get to a scripture that makes you pause or think, this may be God speaking to you. Reread it again, and ask God to reveal to you what He wants to share. Read scripture for your personal edification, but also be open to scriptures that you can share with others. God often speaks His Word through people to others who need to hear it. We are to be conduits of His truth, in kindness and grace. My bible is full of things I received from God as I read. I write them down in my bible, if possible, so I when I read that scripture later His Word is brought back to my mind again.

7. MEDITATION (5 minutes): Psalm 1:1-2; 46:10; 77:12 – Take time to “think on these things.” This works well right after reading scripture. Ask God to give you understanding of what you read, and believe that He will. You will not hear if you don’t have faith God will speak. You must be open and willing to listen. We have to hear with our ears, and with our heart. Write down scriptures that God is dealing with you about and keep going back to them in your prayer time. I have a notebook full of things God shares with me. Sometimes during my prayer time, I open that notebook and reread those things. Sometimes they speak to me anew, and other times they bring a wealth of thanksgiving as I see how His words affected my life.

8. THANKSGIVING (5 minutes): Philippians 4:6 – Spend time thanking God aloud for His provision and goodness to you. Even the smallest of things are miraculous when we see them as the goodness of God. Consider thanking Him for something  you don’t