Prayer

I used to keep a prayer list that I would update every week. I would try to pray for each person on the list every day. My list consisted of family, friends, and miscellaneous items that just came up.

I found myself getting bogged down with this list. I really wanted to pray for everyone, but it just seemed to take forever! And I noticed I would begin my prayers by spending a lot of time on the first few people, but would then get bored/restless/tired and start speeding through my prayers. I felt like the people at the end of the list always got the short end of the stick when it came to my prayers for them.

One day a friend posted something very similar to what I've just said above on her blog. You can read it here. She found herself in the same predicament: She felt bogged down with so many people and things to pray for and she didn't know how to fit it all in.

Her posting challenged and encouraged me. Although I did not go the same route she did with the text message reminders, I did come up with a prayer plan that fit into my life.

I decided that instead of making one big prayer list for every day, I would break it down into daily prayer lists. I assigned each person to a specific day and decided to pray for them on that day. I still pray for them as I think of them throughout the week, but now they have their own day and time that I devote all to them!

This process has worked out so well for me! I keep my list near my bathroom sink and pray while I'm getting ready in the morning. I have three-five people listed on each day, which is totally manageable to me, considering I used to have ten-twelve people on my daily list.

Perhaps you are feeling the same as I did and thinking how will I ever get through my prayer list and still have time left in my day? If so, I hope this challenges or encourages you, too!