An hour can feel like a long time to pray.

Most of us have had the experience: we start strong, run through our list in about seven minutes, and then sit there wondering what to do with the other fifty-three.

That's normal. Prayer is like any relationship — it grows with time and practice. And having a simple structure helps a lot.

This guide is built on the same pattern our church uses for our 24/7 prayer ministry. Each week, people who hold an hour receive a prayer guide in English or Spanish. The details change week to week, but the shape stays the same. Use it as a starting point, not a cage. If the Holy Spirit leads you somewhere else, follow Him.

Before You Start: Set the Stage

• Pick a place. Home, your car, a walk outside, or one of our campuses in Lone Tree or Colorado Springs. Somewhere you can focus.

• Put the phone on Do Not Disturb (unless you're using it for your guide or Scripture).

• Have a Bible and a notebook. You'll want to write things down.

• Start with praise. "Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise" (Psalm 100:4). When we skip praise, we forget who we're praying to, our burdens get big, and prayer becomes heavy instead of the place where we lay heaviness down.

Part 1: Testimonies (5 minutes)

Begin by thanking God for what He has done. Recall answered prayers — yours and others'. Read a recent testimony from the church.

Why start here? Because fresh testimonies grow fresh expectation. Fresh expectation produces faith-filled prayers. And faith-filled prayers lead to fresh testimonies.

Part 2: Confession (5 minutes)

"If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear" (Psalm 66:18). Sin is one of the greatest barriers to prayer.

Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart. Confess anything He shows you. Then receive His forgiveness: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).

Don't stay stuck here. Clean the slate, then move forward with confidence. You're coming to a throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16).

Part 3: What God Is Doing (15 minutes)

Pray into the new things God is doing — what we sometimes call the "tip of the spear." In our guide, this means praying campus by campus for what God is building: in Lone Tree and Colorado Springs, and in Mexico City, Quito, and Puerto Escondido.

If you're using this guide on your own, pray for the places where you see God moving in your church, your city, and your family. Ask Him to accelerate it.

A helpful pattern for praying Scripture here is Up, Down, Back, Forward:

• Up: Declare who God is. ("You are the God who does wonders.")

• Down: Admit our need. ("Without You, we can do nothing.")

• Back: Remind Him what He has said. Stand on a specific promise.

• Forward: Ask for future change — anchored in that promise.

Part 4: Listening Prayer (5 minutes)

Prayer is a conversation, not a monologue. Take a few minutes to be quiet and ask, "Lord, what's on Your heart?"

In our guides, we encourage people to write down three things: what you received, how you received it (a verse, a picture, an impression, a thought), and how strong it felt on a scale of 1 to 10. Then hold it humbly and test it against Scripture.

"Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know" (Jeremiah 33:3).

Part 5: The Local Church (10 minutes)

Pray for your church using five simple P's:

1. Pastors — for purity, power, protection from distraction, and fresh fire.

2. People — for hunger, unity, and first love for Jesus.

3. Provision — for everything needed to accomplish what God has called us to.

4. Presence — for God's manifest presence in every gathering.

5. Place — for the buildings and cities God has placed us in.

A preacher without a praying congregation scatters seed without water. Your prayers for your leaders matter more than you know.

Part 6: The Wider Church and the Nations (10 minutes)

Pray for unity across the body of Christ. Pray for the churches in your city — by name. Pray for revival: "Will You not Yourself revive us again, that Your people may rejoice in You?" (Psalm 85:6).

This is where a house of prayer becomes a house of prayer "for all the peoples" (Isaiah 56:7). Pray for nations, for persecuted believers, and for missionaries.

Part 7: Salvations (5 minutes)

Close by praying for people who don't yet know Jesus — by first name. Our church keeps a shared salvation prayer list for exactly this reason.

God "desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:4). Ask Him to draw them, soften their hearts, and send someone to share the gospel with them.

Finish With Praise

We start with praise, and we end with praise. Thank Him for hearing you. Thank Him that no prayer offered in faith is wasted — every one rises like incense before Him (Revelation 8:4).

Praying Offensively, Not Just Defensively

One more encouragement. Many of us pray only defensively — protect me, keep my family safe, help me get through this week. Those are good prayers. But Scripture also calls us to pray offensively: for God's Kingdom to advance, for captives to be set free, for the gospel to go where it hasn't gone.

Think of it this way. A herdsman's prayer protects what he already has. A hunter's prayer goes out and brings back more. A house of prayer needs both.

When you pray, pray until you have peace — until the prayer becomes a promise you can stand on. Then keep praying in agreement with that promise, and keep moving forward.

Tips for Hard Hours

• Feeling distracted? Pray out loud, or walk while you pray.

• Feeling dry? Pray Scripture. The Psalms give us words when we don't have any.

• Feeling sleepy at 3 a.m.? Stand up. Make coffee. The watchmen on the wall stayed awake by staying on their feet.

• Feeling like it doesn't matter? Remember: you're part of a watch that hasn't broken since 2021. Your hour is holding the line.

Your Hour Is Waiting

This series started with Jesus' words: "My house shall be called a house of prayer." It ends with a simple invitation: take an hour.

You don't have to live in Colorado. You don't have to be an expert. You just have to show up.

Sign up for your weekly hour of 24/7 prayer: https://firstloverevolution.com/24-7

Start the series from the beginning: Part 1 — What Is a House of Prayer?