By Lydia Rule, RTF Staff Writer

It seems everywhere I go, the same Christmas tunes are ringing in my ear. I can’t count how many times I’ve been told by these songs that Santa Claus is coming to town, it’s lovely weather for a sleigh ride, and that chestnuts should be roasting on an open fire. I feel like a humbug when these songs begin to play. There never seems to be any variety; just the same old jangles that I heard last year, and the year before that….

Don’t get me wrong—I don’t dislike these songs, but after awhile, they become rote, meaningless. I robotically sing the words without thinking about them. Repetition makes these songs seem weary and stripped of meaning.

It can be the same way in our prayer life. Often, we get stuck in a prayer rut, repeating essentially the same prayer each time… “God help me to do this and that, bless everyone in the world, amen,” or the famous “Now I lay me down to sleep…” Praying becomes robotic, repetitious. It becomes a meaningless habit. Instead of tuning into God and really seeking Him, we tune Him out with our hurried, repetitious prayers.

But prayer shouldn’t be that way! I’m sure God gets tired of hearing the same old things over and over! Talk to Him like you would a close friend… tell Him your honest feelings, and ask Him for wisdom to handle each situation you find yourself in. Be specific about your problems!

The Bible says in Psalm 144:9 that, “I will sing a new song unto thee, O God: upon a psaltery and an instrument of ten strings will I sing praises unto thee.”

We shouldn’t be satisfied with repetitious prayers; we should be willing to let our hearts sing out new praises to our King!

I challenge you this Christmas season, to break away from traditional repetition and try praying to God in some different ways:

1) Thank-You Prayers… Instead of praying for your needs, spend your prayer time just thanking God for His blessings. It’s amazing how many things you’ve never thought about thanking God for!

Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Ephesians 5:19-20

2) J.O.Y Prayers…. This acronym stand for Jesus, Others, and You! Spend time more time praying to God about other people’s needs! When you take the focus off of your problems and onto other people’s needs, you can see past your pain and onto what you can do to help those around you.

Brethren, pray for us. I Thessalonians 5:25

3) Throughout the Day Prayers… Instead of just praying once each day, pray to Him a little bit throughout the entire day! Make it an ongoing conversation instead of just a short chat.

Pray without ceasing. I Thessalonians 5:17

Merry Christmas to everyone!

Lydia Rule is a freelance writer and author. She is currently working on her church’s Christmas puppet play, as well her various writing projects!

From RTF: We have an exciting announcement about Lydia that will be shared in a couple of weeks on RTF!