How long should I pray?

144 mins. (Or use an easy way)

Hi saint,

I’ve no doubt you’re making great use of God’s Telephone Number.

Cool :)

That said,

Is there a specific amount of prayer we should pray each day?

Even a special amount of minutes approved by the LORD Himself?

And if such a thing is true…

• When exactly should we pray these minutes?

• What benefits has this time to pray them anyway?

• Is there an easy way if 144 seems too much?

Well,

Let’s begin with this scripture…

"For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance."

Matthew 13:12 ESV

In such few words,

Jesus reveals that just like compound interest…

The ‘more’ comes to you without you doing anything extra.

If you will just kick things off.

At least set in motion something to begin the wonderful compounding process… ie “To him who has.”

Plus compounding is a kingdom principle too.

(Prayer and faith work in a similar way)...

"All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head."

Mark 4:28 NIV

That being clear enough…

When is the best time to pray so it works like this for us?

I’d suggest (No worries if you disagree btw)…

First thing in the morning.

Specifically—at dawn.

Why?

Because that’s when your ‘Divine interest’ for the day gets applied at source.

For here’s the secret…

If you want GOD to add interest to your daily account.

Then you must show interest in Him…

FIRST.

And you can do so by being faithful in daily prayer.

Dawn is a special time to do that.

So.

First, before all else… be interested in Him.

Him first. What He wants to talk about.

What He wants to share with you.

His ‘Interest’ first.

Open a ’listening prayer account’ too.

Then divine interest accrues and can attach itself to you. It’s automatically deposited there for you by Jesus.

Anyhow.

Here are three reasons to pray first thing in the morning (preferably dawn)…

1. You get what you need most first—Which is… TIME ALONE with GOD. You show INTEREST in Him alone. Practically, time wise; 144 minutes with Jesus before any busy day can fit most routines.

2. You discover the LORD is already waiting for you… And He has a gift to reward you.* His divine interest is ATTRACTED to you by your prayer and worship*. Rewarded. Credited to you.

3. Most importantly: We find if we don’t pray first thing in the morning… and arrive to pray only later we discover… OUR MANNA FOR THE DAY IS GONE.

Personally,

I stumbled across this the hard way.

If I come to prayer after the sun is up…

The close sweetness of the presence of Jesus somehow has already lifted and left. The early morning anointing evaporating as the rays of the sun rise.

(Don’t get me wrong. The LORD’s not left me. It’s just as if I should forget a date with my wife—or even if I’m just late for her. We’re still in love. I just marred things that day a bit. There is always tomorrow… grace is always ours ;).

Interestingly,

I recently read an account of a saint who was shown visions of heaven (and hell). She shared how the LORD showed her this very principle.

Ahead of Church meetings the angels would be sent to sprinkle something similar to white beads glistening in the atmosphere. Saints who were on time for the meetings received the bead-like ‘rain’… ie the blessings the LORD had sent ahead for them.

However, she then watched another group who arrived late.

And sadly…

By the time they got there, nothing was left for them.

The freely available blessing (for anyone) was simply gone. (The LORD spoke with this sister like this because she was often late to meetings).

Interesting eh?

I’d suggest there is a similar blessing waiting for us in early morning prayer.

Don’t miss receiving yours :)

Now,

To wrap up, let’s consider 144 minutes as being a reasonable portion of time to spend with the LORD in morning prayer.

Here’s why…

The principle of FIRST FRUITS.*

Which means essentially…

• Set apart the best to the LORD.

• Bring and offer it before Him.

• And give it to Him FIRST.

Give the best, with joy and without blemish.

First.

Also think of your time in terms of a tithe.

10%.

Think of it as… His portion.

A beginning,

Given first thing.

And a few years ago I began noticing an interesting thing.

A pattern of rewards.

Rewards which even begin compounding before the end of prayer times.

Because, I noticed if I got up early and prayed for an hour or hour and a half I’d be blessed to a certain extent.

On the other hand,

I discovered if I pressed on a bit more and I spent just under another hour (ie two hours and twenty four minutes at least) a nice thing began happening…

I’d suddenly find prayer became super easy.

And I found I was lifted up into His presence swiftly from then on.

Easily.

Tongues, petitions, spiritual warfare all became super easy and filled with power.

I noticed this more and more and wondered why.

It wasn’t a case of being more fervent or strident in prayer either.

Not at all.

For I may have already been praying strongly for an hour or more before, yet still felt weak and as if no ‘breakthrough’ had come.

Yet here’s the thing….

I discovered that IF I SIMPLY STAYED with the LORD until ten per cent of the day had passed. ie By doing so I’d have invested the FIRST-FRUIT of the entire day with GOD.

Something wonderful happened.

Divine interest began to be showered on my communion with Father.

And without exaggeration,

I found I’d receive a definite reward spiritually for staying before the LORD.

My spirit became fat. Full of power and victory.

Righteousness peace and joy in the Holy Spirit flows for as long as I cared to linger… and better still throughout the whole day.

For here’s another observation you’ve probably noticed lately too…

Ten years ago,

An hour alone in prayer with the LORD each morning would suffice well enough for the days battles.

Not any more.

Not by a long shot.

Today the invisible war being waged against the saints of GOD is ferocious.

And overcomers need a greater anointing and more power than ever to live victorious.

Wonderfully,

The good news is Jesus has limitless power to give just that you.

He is taking DIVINE INTEREST IN YOU.

See you in the morning overcomer :)

Bless you.

Dave.

PS I almost forgot the easy way!

What if you are new to this whole ‘prayer’ thing?

Or are a baby Christian just learning your first steps in prayer?

Or want to build up enough stamina to pray for 144 minutes or longer in one sitting?

What to do?

Simple.

Bite sized chunks will have you building spiritual muscle and depositing divine interest in no time.

Here’s what you do,

Because you are offering to GOD the very best.

Let’s say your goal is to aim at giving Him 10% of your day in prayer but you are just not there yet.

So instead use the easy way to get rolling...

Simply divide the 10% portion above by TEN.

And spend one 1% (diligently with all your heart) in prayer.

Thus instead of 144 minutes.

Do 14 minutes.

For example…

• Day 1 Week ONE—Do 14.4 minutes. Do that 14 minutes for a whole week. Aim for CONSISTENCY. It’s another reason compounding is so powerful.

• Day 1 Week TWO—Double up. Do 28.8 minutes. Do 28.8 minutes each morning first thing for a whole week until it is bedded into your daily life.

• Day 1 Week THREE—Triple up. Do 43.2 minutes. Do just about 43 minutes each morning for the whole week. Bed it into your life as week two.

And that is all you need do.

Compounding is consistency remember.

So,

Over and over…

Rinse and repeat.

Keep doing the same each new week adding an extra 14.4 minutes (roughly, I’m not a clock watcher btw!) to your prayer time until you get to spend at least 144 minutes each morning in prayer.

"Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little, there a little."

Isaiah 28:10 NKJV

He’s the truth though...

Jesus will reward you if you start with just 14 minutes.

If you meet with Him first.

Before anything else.

And keep doing it diligently.

Why?

Because He loves you.

Divine eh :)

"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."

Hebrews 11:6 KJV

*Firstfruits

"You shall keep the Feast of Harvest, of the firstfruits of your labor, of what you sow in the field."

Exodus 23:16 ESV

Tithes…

“Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the Lord's; it is holy to the Lord.

Leviticus 27:30 ESV