I believe prayer changes things and I care about people. So, why do I sometimes forget to pray when I say I will?
Maybe you have, too. Someone shares a need and you promise to pray. You really mean to, but sometime later you guiltily realize you never did. Are there some things you and I can do to help us remember to pray?
5 Ways to Remember to Pray for Someone
I’ve always been a bit of a scatter-brain. When I was growing up there was a Disney movie called The Absent-Minded Professor. And more than once my mother used that term to describe me.
Through the years, I’ve learned to work with the way God made me. I use my GPS regularly since I have a terrible sense of direction and, even when I’ve been somewhere before, I don’t always remember how we got there the last time.
I make lists. To-do lists. Grocery lists. All kinds of lists.
I have formed the habit of putting important things back where they go. My keys and sunglasses go back in my purse as soon as I get home. Medicine goes back in its place. I’m not a perfect housekeeper, but if it’s important, I try to follow through.
So when it comes to prayer, I take advantage of all the help I can get. I write out scriptures I want to pray. I make lists and notes about other things I don’t want to forget. And I use other things as reminders.
Here are some simple things I do to help me remember to pray for family, friends, and others.
Prayer Prompts
Some friends who are on the mission field give out magnets with a photo of their family. It helps those of us supporting them through prayer remember to lift them up to God. Another friend who went on a short-term mission trip gave each of us a little orange sticky dot to put on our watches as a reminder.
But we can also make our own reminders. Try placing a photo of family members in your Bible so it’s there when you open it. Use a smart phone app. Or place a sticky note where you put on your makeup or over the kitchen sink. You can pray while you’re getting ready or washing dishes.
If you want to pray more faithfully for our nation and our leaders, let the flag be your reminder. When you drive by a post office or other places that display the red, white, and blue, take a moment to pray for those in authority and the nation. We need it more than ever.
Driving past a school can be a reminder to pray for the young people in your life. And when you see a church, you can pray for your Pastor, other leaders, and all churches that are faithfully preaching the Word.
The sound of emergency vehicles can prompt us to pray for the person involved in that situation and others in our lives who are sick or suffering.
Get creative. Ask God to help you set up other mental reminders to pray as you go through your day.
A Prayer List or Notebook
It can be an old-school notebook or an online document or app. Writing prayer requests down helps keep them from slipping our minds. I keep mine in my bullet journal. The trick is to write them down as soon as possible. Use a sticky note or a purse size notebook if you’re away from your desk or prayer spot.
Pause & Think
Sometimes in our busy lives, we just don’t slow down long enough to pray or even think about people or things we want to pray about. Make it part of your quiet time routine to stop and think back over the last 24 hours. Was there someone you promised to pray for or something you want to add to your list?
Pray Now
How often do we respond to a text or Facebook message with “I’m praying” and then fail to do so? Make it a habit to stop right then and pray.
If you’re at church and someone asks you to pray, why not step off to the side and pray. It is a church after all!
If you’re at home or visiting someone else’s, why not suggest you pray right then?
Even in a restaurant or other public places, you can often take a minute and pray.
Pray for Strangers
I have a friend who will tell the waiter or waitress, “We’re going to pray for our lunch. Is there anything we can pray about for you?” My husband and I have followed her example on several occasions with surprising results. One young man asked us with tears in his eyes to pray for his father who was undergoing surgery that day!
Pray for the teenager on the other end of the drive-thru speaker. You may be the only one who does. Pray for the clerk who could hardly make change instead of complaining about him or her.
Some time ago I received two ugly responses to a particular tweet. I decided to pray for them regularly by their Twitter handles. I may never know what God does as a result, but a year or so later I continue to pray for their salvation.
Just Do It!
All of us are imperfect pray-ers. Most people I know stumble and fall short of what they want their prayer life to be … starting with me. But let’s remember prayer is a privilege and is about our relationship with a loving Heavenly Father who wants conversation with us. Just as we wouldn’t go through the day ignoring our spouses or family members, let’s not neglect to talk to Him.
Here Is What Has Been Happening this Past Week at Soul Survival:
“Is It Good Advice or What We Want to Hear?”
“Parenting & Praying for Our Nation”
“4 Questions to Ask When Faced with Decisions”
“God’s Super-Weapon for Dealing with Hurt & Rejection”
Most Read This Month:
“Should Christians Drink Alcohol?”
Coming Up in the Daily Posts:
In the coming days, we’ll talk about spiritual gifts, giving and our hearts, how pride shows up in our lives in unexpected ways, the heartbreaking sin of abortion, ask the question, “Could we like the early church turn the world upside down?” and discuss the statement, “What you do in moderation, your children will often do to excess.”
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Blessings,
Donna
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