Spiritual Growth Steps Ministry Prayer Drill Training Material, 2023

SGS PD TRAINING DAY 4

SGS PRAYER DRILL

APRIL 2024 – FIFTEENTH EDITION
Good day, friends!

Today is the fourth day of our training. Hope you've been getting blessed by the
training so far. Hope you are getting fired up to pray. Yesterday’s training is very
powerful. If you came in late, ask your TL to send the compiled teaching to you.
The video version will communicate faster and better to you.

We will go straight to today's lesson.

LESSON 5: PRACTICAL TIPS TO PRAYING LONG

We have taught you why praying long is important. Now, if you want to learn how
to pray for long, you need some of these tools, especially if you are a starter:
Sincerely, the Holy Spirit can take you over and you go on a sprint and not even
mindful of time. You thought you had prayed for 10 minutes. Not knowing you

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have been there for 2hrs. When you begin to enjoy the prayer place, time will be
immaterial. You just enjoy the presence. But for starters and according to the
ministry of a teacher, we have to teach you practical ways to employ in this
journey.

Here are 14 tips that will help you:

1. PREPARE YOUR MIND TO PRAY: If you are going to pray tonight, prepare
your mind in the morning. If you want to pray by morning, prepare your
mind tonight. Inform yourself that you will wake up early to pray. Then, you
may not even need an alarm to wake you up. When your mind is prepared,
your body and schedule will respond and plan towards it for you. Your
body's hormones will respond and keep you active till then. You will
unconsciously condition your plans to that prayer. You may need to
verbalize it.

2. PREPARE YOUR SPIRIT: You may need to keep your heart on God also with
your Bible, a book, a message or what have you. When you are planning to
pray. If your spirit is alert, the devil will not be able to hinder you.
Remember we are at war. Satan will not come with horns to stop you from
praying. But he has his subtle, sweet and tempting ways that lead you up to
"I'll pray tomorrow". or "Let me sleep a little" That will not be your portion
in Jesus' name. Many great people have been destroyed on this insidious
altar.

3. PREPARE YOUR BODY: You need to be alert to pray properly. If you are
too tired, praying long will be difficult unless you receive supernatural
strength or your mind is strong enough to override your body's weakness.
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So, avoid overworking and overeating when you know that you want to
pray long. If you eat too much, your body will be heavy. If you need to rest,
set an alarm, or tell someone to wake you up. It's better if your mind is really
into it: I assure you, even without an alarm, you will wake up. If you also
want to rest first before praying, then try to sleep early. Personally, my sleep
clock is set. If I sleep any time before 10 pm, I will definitely wake up at 12
am or 1 am latest, fully alert. You know yourself better. You need a body
that Is fully alert if you want to pray long and especially at night. Some of
you have very cozy beds. Don't allow that mattress to destroy you. If you
need just a few hours of sleep before prayer, you may choose a less
comfortable position to sleep. That's not the time to wrap yourself in the
arms of your spouse. THE VIOLENT TAKES IT BY FORCE. (This may not
apply to everyone, depending on age, grace and health)

4. INFORM STAKEHOLDERS: If you want to take our 1hr or more to pray at

midnight or whenever. You may need to inform relevant stakeholders or
authorities. This may be your husband, your wife, your children, your
parent or your guardian. This is to prevent agitation if they can't find you or
if for any reason you disturb them in the slightest. They may also suggest
better ways to prevent your time of prayer from becoming a strain on both
your relationships. It may even reinforce your commitment to prayer or
they may remind you if you sleep off. We must be wise.

5. KEEP YOUR EYES OFF THE TIME: One of the most frustrating things to do
when trying to pray long is to look at the time at every minute. This will
render you incapacitated. Don't you assume how much time you have used.
Better to under-assume, than to over-assume. I'm telling you from
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experience. If your mind tells you that you have used 10 minutes, tell
yourself that "It may be just 3 minutes. So, let's keep going". Focus on the
prayer, not on the time and time will pass, you will not know. The goal is
not to pass the time but to touch God. So, focus on God. Nobody is forcing
you. You won't get any medal for this, no certificate. It's better you
encounter God. Don't get into the flesh where it becomes a mere rigour.

6. PROPER PHYSICAL POSTURES DURING LONG PRAYERS: Whatever you

do, DO NOT LIE DOWN, ESPECIALLY ON THE BED or on a couch. No matter
how much you prepare, if you attempt praying long lying down, you have
told your body, it's sleep time and you may fall off. I'm sure there are
exceptions since we are all different. But this is a thumb rule. Practice
pacing or walking long. If you have a safe and serene compound. You can
walk around the house. You can pace in your room. You can kneel (but not
with your head in a resting position on the bed or chair) You can stand, you
can sit, you can sit on the floor instead of a couch that will hug you into the
hands of sleep. Then to keep yourself active, you can change your postures
and positions regularly. You can lift up your hands, you can dance, you can
squat, you can bow. Just pray. This wisdom is particularly important for
those who pray at night, especially after a hectic day.

7. CONTROL YOUR PRAYER ATMOSPHERE: A good atmosphere can keep

you alive in prayer and connected to God. You can get a piece of worship
music or any other music that connects with your desire for God or just
plain worship or consecration songs. This can play while you pray. It can be
a single track or it can be a playlist, this can be really helpful to set the
ambience for a wonderful time in God's presence praying. Do you know that
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the orchestral of heaven was singing while God was making the earth? It's
in the Bible. (You can get our teaching on "Prayer & Singing”) That is to
show you the power of music. You can make use of it but don't depend on it
alone. Choose your music minister and song wisely. Our generation is
blessed with anointed minstrels. You can take advantage of them. As a
starter, you may need this to kick-start your spirit. With time you can move
with the Spirit. There are times when you won't need any music or any help
to enter the spirit realm. With time God will also give you your own spiritual
songs. Be Spirit-led.

8. CHOOSING A PRAYER PLACE: A solitary place is always good for prayer. I

usually love praying in a church building. I can express myself and stretch
my voice the way I'm moved. If you have a vacant room in your house, you
can use it. Try not to disturb people when you pray. Except your neighbours
are like mine. When I was in school in a particular lodge, my neighbours to
the left and right of my room were always happy when I start praying. They
wake up to pray too. They thank me later. In any case, you can pray outside
your house, if you have a compound and it's safe. Try to pray where you are
not too conscious that the next person is listening to you. This doesn't mean
you have to always pray at the top of your voice. The heart is louder before
God than the voice. But many times, being vocal in prayer can keep you
focused and alert. Flow with what is peculiar to you. Get wisdom and get
understanding. Solitary between you and God Is important.

9. YOU MAY NEED A PRAYER BURDEN: Prayer may become difficult if you
have no burden. I trust that when you start praying, God will begin to give
you burdens; people to intercede for, nations, families, treasures of heaven
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and more. Get a burden, you may need to listen to some teachings and get a
burden that you want to place on God or travail upon in prayers. This will
also help you to make long prayers very sweet especially when you go from
burden to burden. One true burden can last for one hour or even more to
deliver or before you feel a release. Sometimes you have burdens that you
can't explain or know why it is there. But burden or not. Spend time with
God

10. PREPARE WHAT OR WHO YOU WANT TO PRAY ABOUT: During the day,
you can ask God or meditate on what He would like you to pray about. Names
can drop, and aspects of your life can drop. Take notes of all these. Preparing
to pray can be very helpful in praying long. Interceding for others is a strong
tool in extensive praying. When you have a list of people and things you want
to pray about, you may find out that your 1hr is not even enough. Ensure not
to fill your list with self. Fill it more with eternal things and intercession for
others.

11. GENERAL PRAYER STRUCTURE: Basically, begin your prayer with

thanksgiving and praises. You can sing it or say it. This aspect of prayer can
be as extensive as possible. Sing and say what you mean from your heart.
Pay attention to the lyrics of the songs you singing. If you accidentally picked
a song that doesn't communicate your heart to God, change it quickly. Say
what you mean and mean what you say. Get your heart and mind fully
involved. This blesses the Lord. Then begin to tell God what you desire. Be
specific and extensive. Don't rush. Also, make sure YOU AVOID VAIN
REPETITION. Vain repetition is not prayer but paganism, do not mumble
words or repeat a sentence or phrase mindlessly. Talk to the Father, like a
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listening Being. You can also pray in tongues all through, this is better but
ensure that your heart is not roaming and your heart is fixed on God or what
you desire of Him. End with thanksgiving and praises.

12. DIVERSIFY AND MOVE WITH THE SPIRIT: When praying long, don't be
rigid. Move with the Spirit, and shout some hallelujah. Sing in the Spirit a
little. Pray in tongues praise God. Sometimes, my spirit wants to pray in
tongues. Other times my spirit just wants to talk and laugh with God. So,
diversify and flow with the Spirit as you fellowship with God.

13. KEEP AN OPEN HEART AND A WRITING MATERIAL: While praying long,
keep your writing material close, it can be a notepad on your phone or your
jotter. But be ready to write everything that comes to your heart. Mind you,
they may not all be from God, but write it down all the same. It will get
clearer by the day. While praying, God may also remind you of the things that
you need to remember. Things that you need to do. This is so because while
the Holy Spirit in you is searching the things of God, your spirit is also
searching the things that pertain to you. All this information can come to you.
So, be open to listening and writing. God speaks in that place. Prayer is meant
to be communication and your spirit is also opened to search the deep things
about you.

14. REFUSE DISCOURAGEMENT: Sometimes when you pray you feel dry. Even
after days, it may look like you are achieving no result. You may not hear
from God or feel anything. Don't stop because of that. We work by faith and
not by sight. If you continue your feelings will catch up with you. Just because
you are not seeing the prayer working doesn't mean you should stop. Keep

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on praying because men ought always to pray and not to faint. Give no place
to the devil. Don't allow him to sway your commitment and you will be
victorious in Jesus' name.

Let us pray,
“Our Father and our God, we thank You. Thank You for everything
You are doing in our lives, thank You because, in our lifetime, You
are bringing us closer to You. Many wished for this opportunity
to seek God closely while they were alive but now, they are not.
But here we are because of Your grace and power to do great in
our lives. We want to see You. We want to love You. We want to
touch You. Encounter us, Father. What You did with the apostles,
do it with us also, draw us closer to You. We rely on You to
complete what You have begun in our lives.
Quicken us oh Lord and we will call upon Your name. Help us to
see all the things of this world for what they truly are: Temporal,
mundane, and destined for destruction.
Help us to see your will and your presence for what it is: Eternal
and glorious. Lord, we trust in You. That area of our lives where
we need Your touch, may this season be our season. Thank You,
Father. In Jesus' name, we pray.
That’s all for today. In our next training, we will discuss the modalities and some
other tips and things that we want to share. By "modalities" we mean the
structure and the form that the prayers will take. REMEMBER THAT WE BEGIN
TO SOAR ON MONDAY.

God bless you richly, Shalom.

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CONTACT US:

Spiritual Growth Steps Ministry, SGS

(AKA: Spiritual Growth Scheme)
7, Eru Oba 3 Street,
Off Oba Adesida Road,
Akure, Ondo State. Nigeria.

Telephone: +2349117838566
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