Can You REALLY Sing “Sweet Hour of Prayer” with Gusto?

Mark Virkler's picture

As a young Christian, prayer didn’t seem to work very well. In my prayers I informed God of my situations and asked for Him to help. It all seemed quite rote and redundant and uneventful. It couldn’t be called a relationship because there was no communication back. There was no conversation. Just me talking.



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In the church where I grew up, we used to sing the song “Sweet Hour of Prayer.” Well, it was not true as I didn’t pray for an hour, and I would not describe my prayer time as sweet. Then I got some training from an influential teacher on how to break up an hour to focus on various areas during different periods of the hour. I tried that and it was still just one-sided. Me doing all the talking. That was tiring.

Finally, ten years into my spiritual walk God taught me how to hear His voice. I quiet myself down, fix my eyes on Jesus, tune to flowing thoughts and pictures which is His voice and visions, and journal out our dialogue together. Wow! Now prayer was sweet, because I wasn’t doing all the talking. Actually He was doing most of it!

The Wonderful Counselor would speak to me. He healed my wounds, filled me with faith, gave me passion and vision, healed my body and released divine creativity within me. Prayer times became totally exciting, and could easily go for an hour.

Learning to hear God’s voice happened 40 years ago and as I have sought God since then, He has shown me 60 ways to pray to release His divine creativity, healing power and wisdom into every area of my life. I have taken the time to write 60, practical, how-to blogs detailing these prayer approaches. I describe them to you so you can try them out for yourself.

You say 60!?! I am tired already! How can I learn 60 prayer approaches? Well, the nice thing is you don’t need to. You only need to learn the one that meets your need today. I have categorized them into twelve topical groups so you can go to the topic of interest or need, scroll down through, and find a prayer approach that releases maximum life for you today. You can do the same thing tomorrow.

I grew up doing construction, and I learned how to use a host of tools to build a home. I didn’t master all these tools in one day. I mastered them as I needed them. Sure, it was awkward the first couple of times I would use a new tool, but soon I became skilled in using it and it was a great benefit as I built homes.

At this point in my life I am no longer building physical homes. I am building spiritual homes, for myself and for others. Knowing how to pray effective prayers, which incorporate God’s voice, vision, counsel, healing power and presence, is a key  to building a strong spiritual home to live in.

I offer to you these 60 proven prayer approaches. I have used them all effectively to meet various needs in my life. I believe you will be able to do the same. Some of these prayer approaches have free downloadable music with voice-overs that coach you, thus ensuring the prayer has maximum impact in your life. Especially check out the prayers under the category, “Kingdom Emotions.”

The Twelve Categories of 60 Prayer Approaches... with titles of some of the prayers in each category:​

  1. Hearing God by day and by night - 4 keys to hearing God’s voice, how to interpret dreams
  2. General prayer approaches - Lord’s prayer, evening prayer of thanksgiving
  3. Bible meditation - "Were not our hearts burning within us as He opened Scriptures to us?"
  4. Healing the heart - inner healing, deliverance, language of the heart, cleansing cellular memories
  5. Divine Healing - miracle healing, inner healing for an organ
  6. Spiritual warfare - roaring at the enemy, freemasonry, removing besetting sins
  7. Spiritual Worship - throne room worship, praying in tongues, soaking prayer
  8. Kingdom emotions - replacing emotions & beliefs, putting on Christ
  9. Anointed ministry - stepping into the anointing, commissioning angels
  10. Spirit led intercession - binding and loosing, power of blessing
  11. Interpersonal relationships - hedge of thorns, enriching my marriage
  12. Business and entrepreneurship - creative prayer, Leaders' Paradigm, financial freedom

60 prayers here: cwgministries.org/devotionals


I have seen the sick healed, demons cast out, dreams interpreted, businesses enhanced through divine creativity, and relationships maintained through wise counsel. I promise that if you try these prayers, they will work for you and prayer will become a wonderful dynamic interaction between you and God. Try them and see.

There is more than one way to pray, however, “If all you have is a hammer, then everything looks like a nail."

Related Resources: 

How to Be Empowered by the Holy Spirit!   

Related Blogs: 

Prayer Approaches   Reimagining Daily Devotionals   
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4 Keys to Hearing God's Voice

4 Keys to Hearing God's Voice

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 305 Pages | Retail: $16.99

Have you ever wished you could just sit down and have a long talk with the Lord? Wouldn't it be wonderful to move beyond having a theology that states that God loves you to actually hearing Him whisper words of love into your heart? When you're worried or confused, wouldn't you love to see the situation from His perspective and hear how He wants you to respond?


Price: $14.95

Dialogue with God

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 296 Pages

This top seller for 30 years from Bridge Logos provides a narrative, right-brain presentation of the principles of how to hear God's voice. Especially enjoyable for personal use, it makes a great gift for introducing a loved one to the voice of God. This book teaches the four keys to hearing God's voice in readable style, and also devotes two entire chapters to moving samples of people's journaling (i.e. their two-way dialogue with God).

Price: $17.95
Hear God's Voice Guaranteed Package

Hear God's Voice Guaranteed Package

9 Books | 10 CDs | 10 DVDs | Save Over 20%

Have you ever wished you could just sit down and have a long talk with the Lord? Wouldn't it be wonderful to move beyond having a theology that states that God loves you to actually hearing Him whisper words of love into your heart? When you're worried or confused, wouldn't you love to see the situation from His perspective and hear how He wants you to respond? When things don't seem to be going your way and your prayers aren't answered the way you had hoped, wouldn't it be great to hear Him tell you where He is in the midst of it, and what He is working out in your life? Are you ever just a little bit jealous of others who say with such confidence, "The Lord said...."?

Price: $175.00

How to Hear God's Voice

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 317 Pages

We recommend that you order the newest revision of this book titled 4 Keys to Hearing God's Voice. It includes 95% of the content of How to Hear God's Voice but is reorganized so it fits perfectly with the 10 DVDs on this subject by Mark Virkler. In addition, it gets you started using the four keys earlier in the book and gives you more journaling samples and exercises. Since we have removed the large margins, it is a smaller and less expensive book.

Price: $24.95

Prayers That Heal the Heart - Revised & Expanded 20th Anniversary Edition

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 320 Pages

Prayer counseling that breaks every yoke! Everything you need to experience deep healing of your soul and spirit.

Did you know that you don’t need to be continually plagued by negative thoughts, feelings, pictures or memories?

It is not part of the "human condition" to feel the constant nagging of doubt, insecurity, or anger. No matter what sin you are trying to overcome, what lie you think you’ll always believe, or what traumas your heart has suffered in the past, you will receive total freedom and restoration by praying these prayers in faith. 

Price: $19.95

Twelve Weeks to Spiritual Mastery - Group Coaching

A group coaching experience with Mark Virkler

Because I could not find a Spirit-anointed teacher/coach, I spent ten extremely frustrating years seeking to hear God’s voice!!! Suggestions offered did not help me, things like: “You just know that you know. It is a still small voice. He speaks from your heart.” No one could give me the answer I needed which was: Hearing God’s voice is as simple as quieting yourself down, fixing your eyes on Jesus, recognizing His voice as spontaneous, flowing thoughts and writing down His flow as it is coming. Test what you have written after the flow is done, NOT while it is occurring.

Price: $1,200.00

Counseled by God

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 146 Pages

Have you ever been defeated by negative emotions such as anger, fear, guilt, inferiority, condemnation or depression? Have you tried to fight them off unsuccessfully? Is there an answer that is deeper than simply trying to mentally reason yourself out of these emotions? Is there a way that Jesus can speak a word of life into the depths of your emotional despair and bring healing on a deep level? Is there a form of Christian counseling that begins and ends with the movement of Christ within your heart, rather than simply with the words of man?

Price: $10.95
Hear God Through Your Dreams Workbook Cover

Hear God Through Your Dreams Workbook

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 92 Pages

A newer book has been released that accompanies this workbook: Click here for Hearing God Through Your Dreams by Charity Kayembe and Mark Virkler (featured on Sid Roth's "It's Supernatural", with almost a million views just on YouTube).


Do you often wake up feeling there was a significant message in your dream, but you’re just not sure what it is? Like Daniel and Joseph, do you long to be able to help others understand their own dreams and win them to Christ as you explain His night messages to them? Wouldn't it be nice if you could receive mid-course corrections from the Lord while you sleep? Do you wish you could be receiving divine inspiration, creative solutions to problems, and direction from the Lord during that third of your life that you’re “just” sleeping?

Price: $11.95

Hearing God Through Your Dreams

by Mark Virkler and Charity Virkler Kayembe | 292 Pages

Learn How to Hear God’s Voice, Even When You Are Sleeping

It is always fun to be on the winning team. Well look what God has done with Charity's new dreams teaching. It has taken off like a rocket with a live TV interview on Cornerstone Network and her Sid Roth interview which has almost a million views on YouTube!

Price: $16.99

Everyday Angels

by Charity Virkler Kayembe and Joe Brock 289 Pages

You can partner with Heaven’s angelic hosts!

Do you have guardian angels? Does God want you to know them? Find out what Scripture reveals and how YOU can interact with the company of Heaven!

The supernatural realm permeates our natural world! Therefore, experiencing angels should be an everyday occurrence–we simply need to open our spiritual eyes to their reality and role in our lives.

Price: $16.99

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