Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
Philippians 4:6
I grew up in church, and I would always leave services with the reminder to read my bible and pray. I also have ended many conversations with the line, “I’ll be praying for you.” Easy enough, right? As simple as it may sound, I often found prayer more as a chore than a desire.
I understood the importance of prayer, the power of it, and the need to do it consistently. Yet it would fall to the wayside in my weekly rhythms. I realized that the main reason for my prayerlessness was that I would forget to do it. Everyday life would take priority. Work, school, socializing, and family would fill quickly fill my day.
I was recently encouraged to develop a prayer list. Honestly, a prayer list seemed overly simplistic, but I tried it. What I have noticed is a steady growth in my daily time in prayer. Having the prayers visible has helped me to remember the requests during my daily routine.
Here is a simple model of my prayer time:
- Locate places to leave prayer requests (desk, phone notes, bathroom mirror, the dashboard of your car).
- Write down requests (personal, family, non-believers, your church, friends, the nations).
- Take time to pray for these requests throughout the day.
There are many ways to pray. Do not feel pressured to pray all at once or for long periods. I believe the more you make it a daily rhythm, the more you will find the time and desire to pray.
I want to suggest a way that has blessed me recently and would urge you if you have a desire to pray but often forget to – try a prayer list and see what happens.
questions to consider
- What distracts you from praying regularly?
- Where can you place reminders to pray in your daily life?
- Who can you pray for this week?
