When you think of prayer most of us think about taking time specifically set aside. We get alone, we get quiet, and we pull out our list of prayer requests. You might pray some scripture, you might think through some people you’d like to pray for and then you spend a good amount of time bringing those requests before God.

Arrow prayers are drastically different from this type of prayer. All prayer is of course a powerful and important discourse with God. But arrow prayers are short quick prayers that we “shoot” to God for something specific and often situational. Getting ready for a tough conversation? You might pray something like, “God help me to speak with love.” Feeling afraid and alone? You might say, “God let me know you are with me.”

These are arrow prayers. It’s a way of constantly bringing our minds and hearts back to God often throughout our day. It’s a good way to remember that He is always with us. In 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Paul famously writes, “pray without ceasing.” If you’ve spent time meditating on what that verse means you’ve probably concluded that this is more an attitude of prayer. An awareness of the closeness of our Father. It’s a realization that at any time I can “shoot” a prayer to heaven.

Arrow prayers then, help us take up this command from Paul to “pray without ceasing” as we realize that our quiver is full of arrows that we can quickly shoot to heaven. One of the deepest ways we can demonstrate our humility and show our dependence on God is through these short quick prayers to God throughout the day.

They don’t need to be long, but they can be truly powerful.