These are the eight areas of prayer characteristically seen on a prayer wheel - this offers focus that would assist one during prayer time.

Praise and Worship - “Tell God He is great and He does great work”

The Bible contains many verses that talk about praise and worship. God is mighty!  He is everlasting! 

(I Chronicles 16:29) “Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.” (KJV)

(Psalms 86:9) “All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name.” (KJV)

(Psalms 99:5) “Exalt ye the LORD our God, and worship at his footstool; for He is holy.” (KJV)

(Psalms 145:10) “All your creatures, LORD, will praise you, and all your people will give you thanks.” (GNT)

Repentance - “Ask for a clean heart”

It is important that we ask God to forgive us (to clean the bad things out of our heart) every day. Repenting just once does not cover everything that we do wrong in God’s sight. We must continually search our heart and see if there is anything there that displeases Him.

(Ezekiel 18:30b) “"Change the way you think and act. Turn away from all the rebellious things that you have done so that you will not fall into sin.” (GOD’S WORD)

(Luke 13:3) “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” (KJV)

(Acts 3:19) “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord…” (KJV)

(Revelation 3:19) “I correct and discipline everyone I love. Take this seriously, and change the way you think and act.” (GOD’S WORD)

Petitions/Requests - “Tell God my needs”

God has promised that He would supply our needs. He also said that He would not put more trouble on us that we can handle.  If you have something that is really bothering you, you can tell Him all about it.

(Matthew 6:8b) “Your Father knows what you need before you ask.” (CEV)

(Philippians 4:19) “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (KJV)

(Hebrews 4:16) “So whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God. There we will be treated with undeserved kindness, and we will find help.” (CEV)

(Isaiah 53:5) “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” (KJV)

Intercession - “Pray for Others”

There are many different ways to pray for others. Here are just a few:

Healing: (James 5:15a) “And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up…” (KJV)

Salvation: (Luke 15:7) “I can guarantee that there will be more happiness in heaven over one person who turns to God and changes the way he thinks and acts than over 99 people who already have turned to God and have his approval." (GOD’S WORD)

Unkindness: (Matthew 5:44) “But I tell you to love your enemies and pray for anyone who mistreats you.” (CEV)

Soul-winners: (Luke 10:2) “He told them, "The harvest is large, but the workers are few. So ask the Lord who gives this harvest to send workers to harvest his crops.” (GOD’S WORD)

Faithfulness: (Hebrews 13:18) “Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly.” (KJV)

Thanksgiving - “Thank God for all the good things He has done”

God does great things for all of us. If you're reading this, it's because He let you see another day. What else has God done for you?

(I Chronicles 16:34) “O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth forever.” (KJV)

(Psalms 106:2) “No one can praise you enough for all of the mighty things you have done.” (CEV)

(Psalms 145:4) “One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.” (KJV)

(Psalm 139:14) “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.”  (KJV)

Meditation - “Think about God and listen for His voice”

God would love nothing more than for us to sit and listen for Him to talk to us. Many times, we are so busy telling Him about our problems that we forget to just “be quiet” in His presence.

(Job 37:2) “Hear attentively the noise of his voice, and the sound that goeth out of his mouth.” (KJV)

(I Kings 19:11-12) “And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.” (KJV, additional formatting by author)

(John 10:3b-4) “…the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.” (KJV)

Pray God’s Word

Praying God’s Word is very simple; we just need to open our Bible and choose a scripture to read aloud during our prayer time. The book of Psalms is a wonderful one to use as it contains many verses of praise and worship to Him.

Sing to Him

(Psalms 147:1) “Shout praises to the LORD! Our God is kind, and it is right and good to sing praises to him.” (CEV)

(Psalm 146:2) “While I live will I praise the LORD: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.” (KJV)

(I Chronicles 16:8-9) “Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works.”  (KJV)

(Psalms 30:4) “Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.” (KJV)

You have heard many times that prayer is an essential (or necessary) part of your relationship with God. We often hear that we must have enough of the right food, rest, and exercise to keep our physical body healthy. Spiritually, it is the same! We must keep our relationship with God strong by praying and reading His Word often. 

Jesus loves to hear us pray.  Sometimes, it is easy to become distracted. We all lead very busy lives, and there are times that it is difficult to put aside the things that happened during our day. However, it is very important that we spend time with Him.

Copyright © 2004 Growing with God 2 by Mark and Glenda Alphin

Scriptures marked (GNT) are taken from the Scriptures marked as “(GNT)” are taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition 1992 © by American Bible Society.

Scripture quotations marked (GOD’S WORD) are taken from the Holy Bible, God’s Word Translation. GOD'S WORD is a copyrighted work of God's Word to the Nations. Quotations are used by permission. Copyright 1995 by God's Word to the Nations.

Scripture quotations marked (CEV) are taken from the Holy Bible, Contemporary English Version, electronic ed., Logos Library System, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson) 1997, ã1995 by the American Bible Society.