"Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice" (Ps 55:17).

Many of us would admit that although we recognize our need for prayer (or at least we say we do) we struggle to spend adequate time praying to God. Martin Luther, the great reformer once said, "If I fail to spend two hours in prayer each morning, the Devil gets the victory through the day...I have so much business, I can not get on without spending three hours daily in prayer."

Luther sensed his need for God and it showed in his prayer life. But if you're struggling in your prayer life I don't suggest that you raise the bar as high as he did. One of the keys to an effective prayer life is to be persistent and consistent. If spending two of three hours on your knees in prayer every morning works for you, go for it. But if you don't do well praying for an extended period of time, I suggest that you spend a few minutes at a time in focused prayer as the Psalmist did in the morning, at noon and in the evening.

In the morning spend a few minutes praising the Lord. At noon time take a few minutes to petition the Lord for personal needs in your life. And in the evening spend a few minutes in intercessory prayer for the needs of others.