How Can I Cultivate Private Prayer?

Cultivating Biblical Godliness

by Joel R. Beeke

Prayer is a crucial part of the Christian life, and believers must give it careful attention and cultivation. As they pray, Christians exercise their faith in repentance, in submission to God’s will, and in praise to God. Believers in Christ, then, must grow in their prayer life―in their communion with God.
In this pamphlet, Joel R. Beeke gives readers helpful, practical ways to improve their prayer lives by first disciplining themselves, in dependence on the Holy Spirit, and by then taking hold of God. Learn what a blessing it is to pray!


Take Inventory of Your Prayer Life
Take Hold of Yourself
Remember the Value of Prayer
Maintain the Priority of Prayer
Speak with Sincerity in Prayer
Cultivate Continual Prayer
Organize for Prayer
Use the Bible as Your Guide for Prayer
Refresh Your Prayers with Biblical Variety
Take Hold Of God
Exercise Faith in Jesus Christ for Prayer
Plead God’s Promises in Prayer
Look to the Glorious Trinity in Prayer
Believe That God Hears and Answers Prayer
Seek the Glory of God in Prayer
Develop a Right Heart toward God in Prayer
Rest with Contentment in God’s All-Sufficiency in Prayer

Series Description
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones once said that what the church needs to do most all is “to begin herself to live the Christian life. If she did that, men and women would be crowding into our buildings. They would say, ‘What is the secret of this?’” As Christians, one of our greatest needs is for the Spirit of God to cultivate biblical godliness in us in order to put the beauty of Christ on display through us, all to the glory of the triune God. With this goal in mind, this series of booklets treats matters vital to Christian experience at a basic level. Each booklet addresses a specific question in order to inform the mind, warm the affections, and transform the whole person by the Spirit’s grace, so that the church may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things.

Genres: Prayer, Christian Living, Audiobook, Theology, Christian, Nonfiction

35 pages, Paperback

Published March 19, 2016

About the author

Dr. Joel R. Beeke serves as President and Professor of Systematic Theology, Church History, and Homiletics at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary. He has been in the ministry since 1978 and has served as a pastor of his current church, Heritage Reformed Congregation, since 1986. He is also editor of the Banner of Sovereign Grace Truth, editorial director of Reformation Heritage Books, president of Inheritance Publishers, and vice-president of the Dutch Reformed Translation Society. He has written, co-authored, or edited fifty books and contributed over fifteen hundred articles to Reformed books, journals, periodicals, and encyclopedias. His Ph.D. (1988) from Westminster Theological Seminary is in Reformation and Post-Reformation Theology. He is frequently called upon to lecture at Reformed seminaries and to speak at conferences around the world. He and his wife, Mary, have three children: Calvin, Esther, and Lydia.

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need to make this a monthly read. Very short, very practical, and very encouraging.

[Bambi Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short, concise, practical and very helpful advice on why and how to pray.

[Amy Esslinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend!

[Knowlton Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great advice for taking a hold of yourself and also God in prayer. This is really helpful.

[Joel Rasmussen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Punchy and practical advice on cultivating more prayer through every moment. A brilliant little primer

[Giselle · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a helpful, convicting, and thoughtful little book! There were lots of very applicable suggestions and encouragements for things to pursue in my own prayer life, as well as a guide for how to incorporate prayer for others into my regular routine. (Which I have been doing, but this book gave me a few new ideas to consider!)

I thoroughly enjoyed Dr. Beeke’s exposition of the importance of prayer, and how we can keep prayer from becoming ‘stale’ also! This book is a great place to start for learning how to pray to God’s glory and our edification. 5/5!

[Andrea G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview on prayer. I was looking for something with maybe some more specifics and for practical use; this gives good guidance on the “whys” of prayer and flyover on how.

[Nicholas Potts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hyper practical! Very, very good. Required for all Christians.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good, short pamphlet to encourage you in the why and how we pray.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dr. Beeke reminds us of the value of prayer, to maintain priority of prayer, to speak heartfelt sincerity in prayer, to cultivate continual prayer, to pray God's promises back to Him, and to refresh prayer with Biblical variety (praise, confession of sins, petition for needs, thanksgiving, intercessions for others, our affirmation of our confidence that God is willing and able to answer).

Favorite quotations

"So lean heavily on the Spirit to help you compose your prayers, trust in Christ to make your prayers effectual, and rest in the Father's love that sent both Son and Spirit down from heaven." (p. 23)

"Prayer is not just self-talk, quiet meditation, or coming to God with a shopping list; it is coming humbly in faith to God, desiring to commune with Him--to have serious conversation with the God of the universe. We do not pray to change God but so that He might change us, making us more worshipful." (p. 34)

[Reid · Rating 5 out of 5]

I appreciated this Puritan perspective on prayer and the practical insights which generated an increasing desire to continue in growing in prayer.

"Prayer is a crucial part of the Christian life, and believers must give it careful attention and cultivation. As they pray, Christians exercise their faith in repentance, in submission to God's will, and in praise to God. Believers in Christ, then, must grow in their prayer life in their communion with God. In this pamphlet, Joel R. Beeke gives readers helpful, practical ways to improve their prayer lives by first disciplining themselves, in dependence on the Holy Spirit, and by then taking hold of God. Learn what a blessing it is to pray!"

[antony · Rating 4 out of 5]

without any frilly bits

Short and to the point. I like to read books about prayer, it helps to keep my prayer life fresh and new. This is not a long book, but it uses it’s short time to focus you on what is important in prayer and without any frilly bits just directs you straight to why you should pray and how you can pray.

[David Pendergrass · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most of us struggle to pray. At least to pray WELL. Dr. Beeke seeks to encourage us to see prayer as necessary and efficacious.

His words encourage, convict, and offer biblical solutions to effectively altering the believer’s prayer life.

[Landon Coleman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great booklet on prayer! The “Cultivating Biblical Godliness” series is a tremendous resource for pastors and churches. We will use this booklet as a resource for our men in an upcoming study on prayer.

[Simon O'Mahony · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent booklet that provides theologically rich and biblically grounded motivations to pray. This is one I will return to again and again.

[Dan Dawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book for it's small size.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

(I listened to this on audiobook.)

[Shannon Maddox · Rating 4 out of 5]

NOTE: I read the audio version of this book, but it wasn't an option on Goodreads.

[Cameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audio booked as apart of a 5 part series. Loved the series.

[Leah Goebel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent practical advice on how to pray and what to pray for.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super short little booklet but very helpful and encouraging. I'm trying to get more consistent with prayer!

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Convicting but not as practical as I was hoping for as a mom with many small, loud children. 😅

[Patrick Porras · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great primer on prayer and an encouragement to pray. Serves it's intended purpose well. Nice resource for the church or counseling bookshelf

[James Hines · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prayer

Very insightful to anyone seeking the God of the Holy Bible. Full of wisdom on how to pray a very good tool for a child of God's prayer life.

[Ashley Mayhew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful and concise read on the discipline of prayer

[Mark Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and practical. Listened to this, but instantly thought I should get a copy and pour over it more.

2025 VT Reading Challenge: A book about prayer

[Kristin Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

super short but very encouraging

[Elizabeth Eflin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short, but very practical book (or booklet, I suppose) on prayer, and cultivating a life of prayer. I will definitely be recommending this to others.

[Joshua Horn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Concise, convicting and edifying

[Jordan Carl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this one. Simple, concise, and imminently practical. This will burden your heart with godly guilt that will drive you to your knees, where we all should be.