Bridget A. Thomas
Every day is a gift!
Prayer ~ Part 5
I have read many books on prayer lately. But one thing that I learned is that you can read all the books in the world on prayer, but you still have to put it into practice for it to be useful! For me, forming a habit and staying organized were essential. Here are some methods and tools that I have used in my prayer life recently.
Stay Organized
I like to keep a prayer list. I simply use paper and pen to write out names of people who need prayer, as well as particular concerns in my own life. I find a list to be helpful because I might not always remember different people or topics that I intended to pray about. And I also have this list on my phone so I can access it anytime and anywhere. A list can become quite long. So don’t feel obligated to get through all items every day. You could categorize high priority items that need prayer daily. Then some of the other items you can rotate through during a week’s time.
Prayer Prompts
I am not a talkative person. So even in prayer, I struggle to find words to say. I might not always know what to pray about, or I might not always have the words. So one thing I have been using periodically is the prayer I posted at the beginning of the year. It is a comprehensive list of different needs which we might pray about. I have used this to pray for myself and also for loved ones. I printed this post out on paper to keep it handy, and I also added the hyperlink to my favorites on my phone so I can access it electronically.
There are many wonderful prayer devotionals as well. These are excellent resources to help you focus on prayer and to add a little variety to your prayers.
Stay Focused
Most often I pray silently. But I confess that my mind does wander sometimes. So I also like to pray aloud as a means to keep myself focused. Usually I will only do this in the car when driving alone, so that only God will hear me!
Side note: One important thing to remember about prayer is that it is a conversation. When we converse with others, it is a two-way street. We will talk some, and the other person will talk some as well. As it is in prayer as well. So we have to remember to include listening to God anytime we communicate with Him.
You might consider incorporating prayer into your exercise routine. If you walk, jog, or cycle – those are all great times to pray. I especially like praying outdoors because I feel closer to God in nature. But this works on indoor equipment as well. And it will help your exercise time to go by faster and not be quite so boring!
Journaling
Some people like to keep a prayer journal. This is another good way to keep yourself focused. However, personally, I don’t normally write out my prayers because it takes longer to write than it does to just speak to God. But I will write out certain prayers, if something in particular is weighing on my heart or if it is something I wouldn’t mind keeping record of.
As I mentioned in a previous post, during Lent I did write out prayers in a Write The Word journal by Cultivate What Matters. In these journals the majority of my prayers were focused on particular Bible verses. This was a good way for me to combine Scripture and prayer. Doing this has so many benefits. It helps the Bible to have more meaning as we apply it to our lives. And it helps us make our prayers more meaningful as well.
Reminders
I do keep a gratitude journal and there is one way that this helped me to stay on track with my prayers recently. On days when I prayed, I have been putting a check mark and the word “Pray” next to it. This is a simple way to keep myself accountable. Another option is to put a sticky note somewhere that you will see it every day. I fear that many days we hit the ground running and prayer can easily become an afterthought. So try to think of ways you can remind yourself to pray each day, or even throughout the day.
These are a few things that I have had to keep in mind over the last several months as I’ve tried to improve my prayer life. Different things work for different people. For me, I like to keep things simple and keep tools handy, otherwise I might feel overwhelmed. I hope you will give this some thought to see how you might make changes in your prayer life. Doing so will help you to make prayer a daily habit, which will result in cherished moments with the Lord.
The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. – Psalm 145:18
© 2021 Bridget A. Thomas
Bridget A. Thomas 
Prayer is definitely a conversation. When I was a young Christian, I used to always think all my prayer had to be at a specific time but later realised that it does not have to restricted to only my quiet time but I can have open communication with the Lord throughout. That changed my prayer life and it also helped me pray for things as they came to my mind.
I pray silently too, And oh yes, the mind can wander.
I do not prayer journal but it helps to write down verses that speak to me at the time. It somehow sinks in deeper and stays with me.
It is so good that you write about this because it gave me pause to think about what I do or can further do to enrich my prayer life.
Blessings to you my friend 💙
May the lord enrich your prayer time with Him 🌺🤗.
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I love that we can have an open-ended conversation with God all throughout the day. God is always near and always eager to turn an ear to us. I love the idea of writing down verses that speak to you. I can see how that would help them to sink in deeper. I will have to find a way to incorporate more of that. I am so glad this post was helpful. Blessing to you too, dear friend! And I pray the Lord enriches your prayer time as well! 🌺💕🌸
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Great stuff, ideas, and encouragement…
Sidenote: I love that you mentioned you’re not a very talkative person because (like we’ve talked about before) I can sometimes not have words for a conversation which translates in my mind to feeling “not enough” BUT it’s simply that I’m just not always talkative..and that’s okay!!!!! Sorry I know this isn’t the point of your post but this just resonated with me in the way you put it so simply and reasonably…with that I can trust that even though I may have few words God understands what I’m praying over and that my heart is deeply committed to those prayer requests and praises!
Great post friend!❤️
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Please don’t feel the need to apologize. When I write, I leave the outcome in the hands of God. Different people will pick up on different things, and that’s okay because maybe that is the message God had for them that day. So in this case, I am glad you picked up on the “not a very talkative person” comment! God made us who we are, so that means if we are not talkative, that is definitely okay. Many times people will not understand us because we don’t say much. And that probably plays into our feelings of “not enough.” But how amazing that God always understands us, even if we say nothing at all. He hears our hearts! Thank you for sharing your thoughts, my friend! 🌺💕🌸
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That’s so true, love what you’ve replied here. Much needed encouragement over this topic. I appreciate it! ❤️🙌
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You are so welcome! You have encouraged me too! So thank you too! ❤️
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❤️🙌praise Him for fellow Christian encouragement 😉
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Yes! God is so good! ❤️🙌✝️🙏
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Such great tips, Bridget. I started keeping a prayer journal because my list became too long. I divided my journal into days of the week so that I pray for certain people each day. Then I can still keep my list long without prayer becoming like it feels like a chore. But I need to re think some things, so your post has a lot for me to consider. Blessings. I hope your week is going well. 💕🏵🌺
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I was hoping you would comment, because I knew you had started a prayer journal, so I was interested to see what your thoughts were! I really like your idea of breaking it out into different days of the week. A big list can be overwhelming, for sure. And our prayer time will evolve into new processes, which is okay. We have to do what is best for us at the time, as we listen to the Holy Spirit for wisdom. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts. Blessings to you too! And I hope your week is going well too! 🥰🌸
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My mind wanders when I’m praying, too. Sometimes I need to speak out loud just to stay focused. I also love to go to the park to walk and I usually listen to Joyce Meyer. She always makes me laugh. 😀 I love the idea of prayer prompts!
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I definitely understand! I do the same with speaking out loud so I can keep my mind on track. I like the idea of walking in the park while listening to Joyce Meyer. That sounds like a nice way to refresh your soul and mind. Prayer prompts really help me a lot when I feel lost on what to say. Thanks for sharing your thoughts! ❤️
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Pingback: Prayer 2021 Recap – Bridget A. Thomas
I too have tried to make sure I am listening to what God has to say when I pray instead of doing all the talking. Praying should be a dialogue not a monologue. Great post!
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I agree. I think it can be so easy to fall into a pattern of doing all the talking. But taking time to listen to God can truly transform our prayers and our Christian walk. Thank you for reading, Dawn! 🌸
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