And so I decided I needed to become more serious about my prayer life. I decided to commit to dedicated and strategic prayer.

Satan wants you committed to casual prayer.

Because when you think casual prayer is enough to fuel your faith, you will be far from God’s true will for you.

Don’t let your heart be convinced that praying just when there is something on your mind or when it’s expected is enough.

This sort of prayer is important, but it isn’t enough to grow and nurture a powerful and life-giving relationship.

Imagine growing a relationship with a significant other or friend just in short, one-sided snippets of conversation. This would take a VERY long time to build intimacy. And yet that was where I stood in my relationship with God.

I’d spend a few minutes in prayer when I needed something or when I thought of it. But it wasn’t intentional and it was committed. It was circumstantial and one-sided.

Our relationship with God needs to be nurtured and one of the most powerful ways to do this is dedicated and fervent prayer.

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Your Personal War Room

At the time, I didn’t have space to dedicate to a “war room”. Our tiny apartment was just too small. So I decided my space would need to be something I could use anywhere. Something I could go to and shut out the world.

For this, I choose a journal.

I grabbed one of my many empty journals I’d collected over the years. You can see some of my favorites below.

Whatever you choose to use as this portable war room, make it your own. Whether that is choosing something with your favorite quote, your favorite style or space to decorate, make it a personal place to come before the Lord in prayer.

I will go through the 3 sections I love having in my prayer journal. These 3 sections have been used in so many different ways over the years, but each provides a different way to intentionally come before the Lord in prayer.

Section One: Written Prayers

In this section I dedicate a page or two to a prayer on a specific topic. I sometimes look up prayers online and other times I write my own.

Sometimes the Lord places a strong urge to spend more time in prayer on a specific topic. This is the place to do that. I write out a long prayer that I can pray daily, weekly or when I feel led. And I can come back to this prayer and commit it to God with a fervent heart.

Some examples of prayers in this section:

A Prayer for the Morning

A Prayer for My Husband’s Faith

A Prayer for When I’m Angry

A Prayer of Surrender

A Prayer of Commiting my Ministry to the Lord

A Prayer for Discernment

I’ve included a few pages for a table of contents. This was helpful in the beginning, but the more familiar I became with my “war room” the less I used this. Now I know exactly where certain prayers are in my journal because I pray them often.

Section Two: Praying the Word

This section has morphed for me over time. I begun with choosing a Scripture and making it a prayer.

For example, Romans 12:1-2:

Lord, in view of your mercy, I offer my body as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to You. This is my true act of worship. I will not conform to the pattern of this world, but I will actively renew my mind so that my heart will be transformed into your likeness.

Then I began collecting Scriptures that were close to my heart or about a particular topic (my identity in Christ) and would write the Scripture and a prayer to follow.

Both of these methods have been powerful. Praying the Word of God is one of the most powerful ways I have found to stand against Satan and truly align my heart with the Lord.

Section Three: Requests and Praises

This section I set aside to record the prayer requests and praises that I have. Sometimes I come to this section daily and others I don’t visit it as often. It is so powerful to record the requests we have presented before the Lord and see when He answers prayers.

Be sure to record when the Lord has answered a prayer in your life. It brings power and hope when we do this regularly.

I hope that you will be able to find the encouragement and refreshment to your faith that comes from dedicated prayer before the Lord. When we come to Him daily in prayer, we will find encouragement, hope and strength to stand firm in our faith no matter our circumstances. Our hearts and minds will be steadfast and at peace.

What have you done to create a space or “war room” to come before the Lord in dedicated prayer?