{"id":24013,"date":"2026-03-11T15:30:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T15:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/uncategorized\/30-ways-to-move-forward-in-faith\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T06:17:26","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T06:17:26","slug":"30-ways-to-move-forward-in-faith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gpbookstore.org\/articles\/prayer\/how-to-pray\/30-ways-to-move-forward-in-faith\/","title":{"rendered":"30 Ways to Move Forward in Faith"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many of us\u2014if not most of us\u2014can find the prospect of daily prayer and meditation daunting. There are so many challenges, not the least of which is our own fears of failure. Fret not. Humility about the process can be your greatest friend.<\/a> Your own insecurity is fertile ground. All it takes is a seed, that mustard seed. Here are a few ways you can plant those seeds in a 30-day journey of self-nurture and delight. <\/p>\n

Day 1:<\/strong> Listen. As a kid I used to wonder how those people in the Bible were able to listen to God. How did they do that? Then I\u2019d hear my mom say, \u201cYou have to stop talking all the time and listen to me.\u201d Be quiet. Get silent.<\/a> Schedule a time when you will get silent with God. Even if it\u2019s just a few minutes. Then throughout the day, notice how the silence rings true.<\/p>\n

Day 2:<\/strong> Find a place. God can find you anywhere. But it\u2019s easier to pray if you go back to the same place again and again, making it your holy place,<\/a> even it\u2019s just an old easy chair or a corner of your bedroom. It\u2019s your sacred space. Choose it. Bless it with a prayer or two. Then sit there\u2014or lie there\u2014and make it your own. All the external stimuli will be your call to worship.<\/p>\n

Day 3:<\/strong> Try a word, one word.<\/a> It might be something from Scripture. God, love, mercy, hope, Jesus, sin, forgiveness. Use it to focus your mind. There\u2019s a lot going on in your head. So much noise. Silence has revealed that to you. The word you choose will be a way to bring you back to the heavenly from your worldly concerns and fears. Find the power in a word.<\/p>\n

Day 4:<\/strong> Be in comfortable silence. <\/a>Loved ones can communicate without saying a word. Just by being in each other\u2019s presence. The same for you. God is present, and you\u2019re making yourself present for God. There might be a thousand thoughts going through your head, but you don\u2019t have to say a thing. The shared silence is a mutual blessing. Think of how much it must mean to God.<\/p>\n

Day 5:<\/strong> Notice the distractions. You\u2019ve been doing this for five days now, and it bothers you how easily distracted you are. Not just the noise outside your window but the stuff that flies through your brain. Hear it, see it, notice it. Then let it go. In prayer.<\/a> If you resist the distraction, it will only get bigger. If you pay attention to it, you can do something about it. Give it over to God.<\/p>\n

Day 6:<\/strong> Turn to a Psalm. The Psalms are a rich resource.<\/a> Too often I find myself simply reading them rather than praying them. Your prayer time is a chance. Take just one line of a psalm and meditate on that. Or make it shorter each time you say it. \u201cBe still and know that I am God.\u201d \u201cBe still and know that I am\u2026\u201d \u201cBe still and know\u2026\u201d Till you get to \u201cBe…\u201d With God.<\/p>\n

Day 7:<\/strong> Rejoice in your humility. Jesus tells the story of the publican and the Pharisee, the latter full of self-congratulatory prayers, the publican feeling inadequate, asking for God\u2019s mercy as he approaches the temple. Who does Jesus single out? The latter. \u201cBlessed are the poor in spirit,\u201d Jesus said. The poor in spirit. That\u2019s a place where you are much blessed<\/a>. Go with it.<\/p>\n

Day 8:<\/strong> Breathe a prayer. God gave us humans the breath of life. Using your breath in a prayer<\/a> is a way to re-connect with that. Breathe in the love of God. Breathe out those negative emotions: fear, anger, frustration, worry. Hold on to the love of God with each breath. Then let it go as you let go of those things that get in the way of that love. You can breathe such little prayers all day.<\/p>\n

Day 9:<\/strong> Give to others. Let your meditations open you up to the opportunities. A need will pop into your head, a concern, a way to help.<\/a> A phone call you can make, an email to send, an encouraging word to pass along, a check to write. We express our faith both vertically and horizontally, looking to the heavens and giving to our neighbors. Both are forms of prayer.<\/p>\n

Day 10:<\/strong> Let go of the self-criticism. My head can be full of words of self-congratulation and just as full of niggling critiques. Sometimes I wonder if the former is an attempt to make up for the latter. Prayer is an opportunity to reset. If God can forgive me for my failures, why can\u2019t I?<\/a> We are to love our neighbors as ourselves. As ourselves. \u201cForgive me, God,\u201d I pray.<\/p>\n

Day 11:<\/strong> Praise God. Praise is rich, fulfilling and good for the soul. It\u2019s a chance to give credit and thanks to God for all the good things <\/a>that have come your way. Come up with five things that you are especially grateful for. Write them down. Hold them in your head. Then praise God. As we used to say at church camp: \u201cRub-a-dub-dub, thanks for the grub, yeah God!\u2019<\/p>\n

Day 12:<\/strong> Don\u2019t look at the clock. You might start worrying about how much time this is taking. That yearning to open your eyes and check the clock. To look at your phone. Or your watch. Two options: set a timer to keep track of the time so you don\u2019t have to. And set your phone on \u201cdo not disturb\u201d for that time. You\u2019re going into a place beyond time and space.<\/a> And your phone.<\/p>\n

Day 13:<\/strong> Pray through anger. It\u2019s perfectly natural to have moments of anger when you pray. Don\u2019t run away from them. You might replay some perceived injustice\u2014from yesterday or long ago. It might still infuriate you. Don\u2019t bury it. Notice it. Express your anger, even if it might be addressed to God.<\/a> God can take it. Then experience His infinite forgiveness and love.<\/p>\n

Day 14:<\/strong> Keep at it. We often call it the practice<\/em> of prayer. Practice, the operative word. Sometimes you\u2019ll wonder if you\u2019re getting anywhere, growing at all… It seems like so much work. Why bother? Remind yourself: trying to do it is <\/em>doing it. In prayer, the trying is<\/em> the doing. You cannot fail. Practice makes perfect because the practice is<\/em> perfect.<\/p>\n

Day 15:<\/strong> Let your light shine. \u201cYou are the light of the world,\u201d Jesus said. Let it shine. No light shines without being hooked up to electricity. Guess what? That\u2019s what you\u2019re doing. Every day. Plugging yourself into the power source. Picture that source. God\u2019s light is there, waiting to illuminate you as you linger in prayer. Plugged in.<\/p>\n

Day 16:<\/strong> Pray without ceasing.<\/a> The Apostle Paul\u2019s admonition to \u201cpray without ceasing\u201d can feel intimidating. How to do that? How to pray in the middle of a busy day? Getting into the habit is what sets you there. The words you use, the powerful silence you have given yourself, can be called upon in little bits and bursts throughout a day. God\u2019s love is without ceasing.<\/p>\n

Day 17:<\/strong> Pray for others.<\/a> \u201cHold a good thought\u201d is how my father put it. Holding a good thought is enough. More than enough. Your compassion for whatever someone might be going through\u2014a scary surgery, marital troubles, financial losses\u2014is part of that prayer. Your compassion will stay with you long after your prayer time is over. Those good thoughts will be passed along.<\/p>\n

Day 18:<\/strong> Change the world. Did you not realize that\u2019s what you\u2019re doing? We change the world by changing ourselves, by growing. Each day of prayer is a step towards that. Picture all the other people who are doing the same thing as you are. Countless souls. We might not see each other or hear each other but God hears all of us. Together.<\/p>\n

Day 19:<\/strong> Go for a walk. Go for a prayer walk.<\/a> Get in touch with the Creator by taking a meditative walk in the Creation. Stare at the sky, the clouds, the trees, the grass. Breathe the air. Don\u2019t listen to a podcast. Don\u2019t make this a time to call a friend. Just walk. And feel the wonder of the Creation. Let yourself be transformed and inspired by that.<\/p>\n

Day 20:<\/strong> Acknowledge any pains. You are sitting quietly in a meditative moment\u2014and all at once you can feel that ping in your back, something you\u2019ve been ignoring for a while. For too long. Notice it now. Ask God to be part of your healing. Maybe it\u2019s something you need to see a doctor for. Or a physical therapist. They are collaborators in your healing. With God.<\/p>\n

Day 21:<\/strong> Go without words. Can\u2019t even find the words to pray? Not even sure what to put before God? <\/a>As Paul reminds us, \u201cThe Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words\u201d (Romans 8:26). Being wordless is a powerful place to be when you let the Holy Spirit do the work. That\u2019s what prayer is. Letting God take charge.<\/p>\n

Day 22:<\/strong> Notice the noise. Every morning when I sit on the sofa, trying to get quiet, I can hear all sorts of noises. Birds chirping, cars going past, a dog barking, a distant siren. We talked about how distractions can get only bigger if you ignore them. Same with those noises. You hear the birds? Think of what Jesus said about them. Hear that siren? Pray for any souls in distress.<\/p>\n

Day 23:<\/strong> Hear the world\u2019s suffering. <\/a>It can be overwhelming at times. But I\u2019m reminded of how the women who stayed to the end, watching the Crucifixion (how awful that must have been), were the first to see the empty tomb, that sign of the Resurrection. When sadness and mourning interrupts your prayers, know that we worship One who suffered and suffers with us.<\/p>\n

Day 24:<\/strong> Repeat your prayers. A concern, a need, a difficulty, a challenge can linger and force us to come back to God over and over again with the same desires, the same request. That\u2019s not bad. Persistence is everything. Be like the importunate widow in Jesus\u2019s parable (Luke 18:1-8). Stick with it. The asking is what brings us to this godly place. Again and again.<\/p>\n

Day 25:<\/strong> Lose your life for God. \u201cFor those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it,\u201d Jesus said (Mark 8:35). Losing track of your agenda, your long list of things to do? Good. The list will be there when you\u2019re finished with this time. You\u2019re in the prayerful daily practice of losing yourself.<\/p>\n

Day 26:<\/strong> Think about death. You didn\u2019t really want to, but death popped into your head. Your own death. <\/a>The death of a loved one. The mortality we all face. Take this as an opportunity to make each day count, each day matter. \u201cMake each day your masterpiece,\u201d said legendary basketball coach John Wooden. Facing your mortality is a gift to be found in prayer.<\/p>\n

Day 27:<\/strong> Love the Lord your God.<\/a> The first and greatest commandment, to love the Lord our God \u201cwith all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind\u2026\u201d Luke 10:27). It\u2019s so simple and so great. How do you show someone your love? You spend time with them. You listen to them. You do what they say. You enjoy their presence. Like this.<\/p>\n

Day 28:<\/strong> Don\u2019t give up.<\/a> The pleasures of doing this are never over. As are the challenges. When and if you stumble into what is called the dark night of the soul, know that it\u2019s an opportunity, not a dead end. Because God will reveal what\u2019s beyond that dark night, the sunrise that\u2019s happening already. As you let go of what is finite, you uncover what is eternal. In prayer.<\/p>\n

Day 29:<\/strong> Tap a prayer. In your silence, with your eyes closed, you might try this. Using the fingers of one hand, tapping at your heart, tapping at your free hand, tapping at a knee, tapping your cheek. External expressions of an inner prayer. To feel God\u2019s love (the heart), to find your strength (the hand), the let go (the knee), to forgive (turning that other cheek). Quiet expressions.<\/p>\n

Day 30:<\/strong> Be bold. As the old expression goes, \u201cBe bold and mighty forces will come to your aid.\u201d Be bold in love, be bold in service, be bold in creativity, be bold in prayer.<\/a> The impossible is only possible with God. That\u2019s what you\u2019re finding out. We are all co-laborers with God. And God can do the most for us when we step out in faith. Make that your prayer.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many of us\u2014if not most of us\u2014can find the prospect of daily prayer and meditation daunting. There are so many challenges, not the least of which is our own fears of failure. Fret not. Humility about the process can be your greatest friend. Your own insecurity is fertile ground. All it takes is a seed, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":30646,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[251],"tags":[35,15,16,55,30],"ppma_author":[476],"class_list":["post-24013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-how-to-pray","tag-encouragement","tag-faith","tag-god","tag-inspiration","tag-prayer"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n30 Ways to Move Forward in Faith - Guideposts Articles<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"30 Ways to Move Forward in Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Many of us\u2014if not most of us\u2014can find the prospect of daily prayer and meditation daunting. 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