This week I’m sharing some thoughts about prayer. Like oxygen, prayer is a life-giving necessity for a vibrant spiritual life.

Yesterday, I talked about how motives matter.

Today, let’s talk about CONSISTENCY.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Paul says to “pray without ceasing.” But if you’re like a lot of people, there’s more ceasing than there is praying. Consistency is hard. Life gets busy. Your schedule fluctuates. Your mind wanders. You get tired.

That’s why, if you struggle with consistency, it’s helpful to set a specific time to pray every day.

Maybe it’s first thing in the morning. Maybe it’s during a pause in your school or workday. Maybe it’s at night.

I once read that it takes 6 weeks of doing something consistently for it to become a habit. After six weeks, kids seem to get the picture that school is a part of their routine. When you go to church six weeks in a row is feels more natural. And when you pray consistently for 6 weeks, you develop a godly habit that will reap untold benefits in your life.

So if you struggle to be consistent in your prayer life, set a specific time to pray each day and stick to it.

Like oxygen, prayer is a life-giving necessity for a vibrant spiritual life. And it’s totally within your reach to make it happen.

By Matthew Ruttan

• Today’s “Up! is partly based on my Sunday podcast called “When you pray like it doesn’t matter.” You can listen in to the 30-minute message here.