Prayer
Prayer is communicating with God. You do not need fancy words or a special formula.
Here are some tips about prayer.
- You can pray anywhere, any time.
- Tell God the truth (about your thoughts, feels, desires, sins, etc.); He already knows so there is no need to pretend otherwise.
- Remember to praise God for Who He is and thank Him for what He has done. Don't only ask Him for things.
- Some people like to use an acrostic to remember to pray for different things.
PRAY can be an acrostic for:
Praise (the Lord for Who He is)
Repent (for specific sins)
Ask (tell the Lord what is on your heart)
Yield (acknowledge your submission to God's will)
- Some people like to use an acrostic when praying for specific things. You can use a person's name as an acrostic to pray for their specific needs. For example, this is what I am currently praying for my church, using the word "church" as an acrostic.
Continual harvest
Holy living
Understand and obey Your will
Revival throughout
Construction and finances (we are in a building campaign right now)
Health and protection
- In addition to their personal requests, you can pray for things by the day of the week. For example, pray for your country on Sunday. Pray for missionaries on Monday, etc.
- Use a cue to pray specifically. When you see/notice a particular thing, use it as a cue to pray. For example, when my fitness device goes off at the :50 of every hour (I know, I need to move more) I pray for my kids. When I drive by the house of the lady from church, I pray for God to bless her. When I pass the memory care facility down the road, I pray for my friend and her mother who has Alzheimer's. When I fold laundry, I can thank God that we have multiple things to wear, and that we will shine for Him wherever we wear it. Whatever is on your heart, look for daily cues that can remind you to pray for them.
Here are some tips about prayer.
- You can pray anywhere, any time.
- Tell God the truth (about your thoughts, feels, desires, sins, etc.); He already knows so there is no need to pretend otherwise.
- Remember to praise God for Who He is and thank Him for what He has done. Don't only ask Him for things.
- Some people like to use an acrostic to remember to pray for different things.
PRAY can be an acrostic for:
Praise (the Lord for Who He is)
Repent (for specific sins)
Ask (tell the Lord what is on your heart)
Yield (acknowledge your submission to God's will)
- Some people like to use an acrostic when praying for specific things. You can use a person's name as an acrostic to pray for their specific needs. For example, this is what I am currently praying for my church, using the word "church" as an acrostic.
Continual harvest
Holy living
Understand and obey Your will
Revival throughout
Construction and finances (we are in a building campaign right now)
Health and protection
- In addition to their personal requests, you can pray for things by the day of the week. For example, pray for your country on Sunday. Pray for missionaries on Monday, etc.
- Use a cue to pray specifically. When you see/notice a particular thing, use it as a cue to pray. For example, when my fitness device goes off at the :50 of every hour (I know, I need to move more) I pray for my kids. When I drive by the house of the lady from church, I pray for God to bless her. When I pass the memory care facility down the road, I pray for my friend and her mother who has Alzheimer's. When I fold laundry, I can thank God that we have multiple things to wear, and that we will shine for Him wherever we wear it. Whatever is on your heart, look for daily cues that can remind you to pray for them.
In addition to these ideas, many people find it useful to have a tool to help them structure their prayer time and to remember all the things they want to pray about. Here is a prayer journal. There are many other journals and strategies that are great for recording or organizing prayers. This is just one option.
Print the document double-sided and have it spiral bound. I added a clear cover and a black plastic sheet for the back to add durability.
Use the calendar pages to record events that happen on specific dates, like doctor appointments or important meetings. Each week, use a 2-page spread to record prayers for each category. Make lists, write Scriptures, write out your prayers -- use the columns however you want. The "Thanksgiving" section is for prayers of praise for things God has done. The "Praise" section is for prayers of praise to God for Who He is. The rest of the columns are self-explanatory. When a prayer is answered in any clear way, I like to highlight the request, put the date of when God showed a response, and write a few words about what He did regarding that request. |