I prayed for 30 hours in July. No, not all at once, but every day for one uninterrupted hour. It was grueling and hard at times and beautifully humbling at others. At the end of this post, I will be challenging you to do the same and providing a playlist to help. What changes when you pray for 30 hours?

1. Your perception of time – To be honest when I first started, 10 minutes felt long and by an hour I wanted to chew my foot off! I found myself looking at my clock constantly and wondering if I could possibly make it. What changed in me was some small adjustments (look below in the challenge) in the way I approached the hour. I also learned to still my heart and dwell in the moment. After 30 days, my perception of my time sped up, the time goes quickly. Your ability to pray in meaningful ways will grow as well as you learn to talk with God. Psalm 84:1-7
2. Your sense of God’s presence – After the first session, I felt a change in myself. As I walked around, I saw that God was speaking to me not just as I prayed but as I walked into Starbucks, Wal-mart and staff meetings. It is not that God was speaking to me more because I “paid my dues” in prayer but I had learned something. I learned to hear the voice of my father in heaven. I recognized his voice when he spoke in prayer and so I heard him in the buzz of life. John 10:27-28
3. Your prayers shift – At first my prayers were about me. The doubts that I had and the hopes I felt were missing. The challenges of life and the brokenness I couldn’t seem to overcome were always the first things I brought to God. And to be fair, the best connection to God in the midst of pain happened during these precious hours praying but something shifted. My prayers changed towards other people and towards my city. As I shifted my focus off me, I started crying out for Jesus Christ’s name to be made great. I think my prayer life became much more well rounded as I began to focus on the greater scope of God’s plan.
4. Your identity is challenged – This is a big one. In fact, #4 leads to #5. So much of our struggles in life, work and family are based on one thing: our confidence in our identity. If you walk around thinking “I am not good enough” it sabotages everything in your life. My prayer time usually ended with God confronting in me some wrong ways of thinking. He then met me in the pain of realizing how much I am compensating for my insecurities. My identity is challenged everytime I pray, and it is the best thing for me.
5. Your life changes – Here is the best part! You overcome. Some of my greatest struggles of decades are fading away because of prayer. They were smoke from a deeper fire burning me up inside. I didn’t know who I was and so I coped. I got mad at my coping mechanisms and tried to treat the smoke instead of the deeper issue. Have you ever tried to beat smoke with your hands…it doesn’t work. The deeper issue is my connection with God. If you feel like you are perpetually stuck on the 6th lap around Jericho and the walls won’t come down spend some hours on your knees before God and see if he doesn’t transform you from the inside out.

Here is the truth….we are called to pray

1 Thess 5:16-18  Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

When we do, God changes us. I challenge you to take this 30 hours of prayer challenge!

30-hour prayer challenge

• Complete 30 uninterrupted one-hour sessions of prayer within a 30-day, 60-day, or 90-day time span.
• The prayer time can be a mixture of prayer, worship, and journalling as long as it is uninterrupted. (Journaling is helpful to see the transformation!)
• Share when you have completed the challenge!

Simple right? Not so much. This is a true challenge and you will get what you put into it. Here are some helpful tips

Successful Tips

• Find a designated place to pray. We are creatures of place and it can help in focusing your mind.
• Turn off your notifications and ruthlessly get rid of distractions. If you have to keep a piece of paper nearbye to jot down things you need to do it helps you quickly get rid of the thoughts and allow you to focus.
• Create a 1-hour playlist that you can play and allow it’s ending to signify that you are done praying.
  • Here is a playlist I created for August 2017. https://itunes.apple.com/us/playlist/hour-prayer-2/idpl.u-jE49hkbWY9
  • Here is a youtube playlist….not as helpful because of ads but you get the idea. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2s_WWR4smu-zcWmi6VLoc04FyNboeFBg 
• Get up and move! Pace and dance and jump when you are excited. Lay down and kneel and lay on your face when appropriate. When we physically respond to our emotions our connection with God can become clearer.
• TELL SOMEONE. When you make a post on social media you create a mini contract with the world that you will be more likely to complete. #30hoursofprayer

As always, leave a comment with a question or how you are doing!

UPDATE March 2018: So I started praying for 1 hour a day in July 2017 and I have not stopped. My time with God has become integral to every step he has for me. I dwell with Him everyday and it has been the most important discipline of my life. After a year, I will share all that God has done in 365 hours of prayer!