The following is an excerpt from our daily devotional Fellowship With the Father, written by IFA contributing writer Remco Brommet.

Many years ago, during the of the Concert of Prayer movement, I learned a simple way of praying together that has been my way of organizing my personal intercession ever since. You might say it has become the meat and potatoes of my prayer life.

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A method of organizing your prayers helps express an ongoing mindset of prayer. What we read in Romans is an apt reminder of that: Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer (Romans 12:12 ESV). Wise counsel when you feel beset by quarantine fatigue, Zoom fatigue (yep, that’s a word now), and stress under the turbulence and unrest in the world.

So what’s the method? Praying in concentric circles!

The idea is simple: Do you want to pray for change? For spiritual awakening? For a move of the Holy Spirit? Begin by drawing an imaginary circle around yourself, kneel (or sit) in the middle of it, and ask the Lord for revival to come within that circle — your own heart and soul.

Then draw another imaginary circle around that one and pray for God to move in your family, immediate and extended.

Then draw yet another circle and ask the Lord for spiritual awakening and revival in your church family. Pray for your pastor and elders, your ministry leaders, and your fellow congregants.

Circle 4 represents your city. Ask the Lord to unite the churches in the Spirit and bring spiritual revival and transformation to the communities that make up your city. Pray that through a united, prayerful church, God’s light may shine in your city’s government, and police and fire services; its schools and businesses; its art life; and its neighborhoods.

The next circle (five, if you’re counting) represents your state. Repeat what you prayed for in circle 4, but then statewide.

Circle 6 is our nation. Pray for a nationwide revival, for light to triumph over darkness, for the wounds of division to be healed, and for our nation to attain with new and united zeal to its claim of being one nation under God, with liberty and justice for all.

The seventh circle (I love the number 7, don’t you? It signifies completeness!) represents the world. Pray for the advance of the gospel from nation to nation and from continent to continent, until the gospel has reached every tribe and nation. Pray for mission endeavors to be strengthened, empowered, and provided for, and for persecuted Christians around the world to be strengthened in their faith.

Today’s Prayer Assignment

When you enter into prayer today, organize the things you normally pray for into widening concentric circles, and allocate a couple of minutes to each circle. Start with yourself in the inner circle, then family, friends, church, city, state, nation, and world (if you are inclined to go that far!). It’s amazing how much you can cover in concise, specific prayers when you organize your requests!

You could pray like this every day if you have the time, or you could take one concentric circle per day for seven days. Either way, your prayers, when guided by the Holy Spirit (see Romans 8:26) will be powerful and effective.

And God is pleased when we pray that way: … the prayer of the upright is His delight (Proverbs 15:8 ASV). That alone should be an incentive to keep praying in circles!

Download this entire series in a PDF format.

What do you think of this prayer method? Share your thoughts and reflections below.

Remco Brommet is a pastor, spiritual-growth teacher, and prayer leader with over 40 years of experience in Europe, Southeast Asia, Africa, and the U.S. He was born and raised in the Netherlands and pastored his first church in Amsterdam. He moved to the U.S. in 1986. He and his wife, Jennifer, live north of Atlanta. When not writing books, he blogs at www.deeperlifeblog.com and assists his wife as a content developer and prayer coordinator for True Identity Ministries. Jennifer and Remco are passionate about bringing people into a deeper relationship with Christ. Photo Credit: zbindere/Getty Images Signature via Canva Pro.