Organize Your Prayer Life in 2018 (it’s not as hard as you think)

Everybody has their special strategy for their prayer life. Or – wait – no, they don’t! And even if we do, we don’t always stick to it.

But prayer really is an important part of our service as believers. So let me share an idea or two that I’ve found useful.

For many years I had a piece of paper in my Bible that served as a prayer list. I think I got this idea from Canadian pastor/author Erwin Lutzer. You take a letter size sheet of paper, fold it once, and then again (lengthwise). You should now have 8 columns – and you can make a list of things to pray for each day, and then have a “title page”, or a page for daily prayer requests.

Simple, and it can be updated easily every once in a while.

But now I’ve joined the digital age. I tried two or three different apps for prayer requests, and finally settled on what I think is the best – PrayerMate.

PrayerMate basically files everything you want to pray for. You can even include the latest newsletter from that missionary you pray for, a picture of your Mom, and some special details about that ministry you pray for. You can also set prayer requests to “archive”, so that you pray for your pastor up to the date of his surgery, or pray for Aunt Carolyn who asked for prayer for the week’s work at prayer meeting, and then have the request “disappear” from your list.

That’s only a few things PrayerMate can do – I’m including a video below to give you a more visual picture.

Basically, the app chooses what you pray for each day – and you can choose how big a priority a request is (for example, tell it who you might want to pray for every day).

Here’s the video, and then I’ll leave you with one more tip.

One thing I have done even back in the paper days is split up some ideas from “the Lord’s prayer” over each day of the week. It looks like this:

• Our Father in heaven… Praise God for who He is! Think about His attributes, and His power as Creator of all things.
• hallowed be your name… Pray that God’s name would be respected and honoured – set apart as holy.
• Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Just like it says – pray that God’s will will be done on earth. In my life – in everyone’s life – and that He will finally come to reign.
• Give us this day our daily bread… Pray for daily needs, such as food.
• and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors… Confess your sins, and ask for forgiveness. Be specific.
• And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil… Pray for deliverance from temptation, and Satan’s attacks.
• For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen…* Acknowledge God’s sovereignty. He is the one who makes the final decisions. He is the righteous Judge of all the earth.

That’s it – in PrayerMate, just make a category for the Lord’s Prayer, and make each of those things a separate prayer request, and you’re good to go.

So why not sit down today with your prayer tool of choice, and start making a list of things to pray about in the coming year?

* Yes, I know this last part of the prayer may have been a later addition to the text of Matthew, and not in the original. However, the sentiment is very biblical. If you’re in doubt, see 1 Chronicles 29:11 and Psalm 145:10-12.