This week I want to help you start adding some content to your prayer journal. We will do this over several posts as it will take some time to get them all set up, but we can begin putting some things to prayer for in your journal now.

If you haven’t read the first blog post where I share some practical ways to enhance your prayer life, you can find that by clicking here.

If you have your digital journal (iPad, computer, phone, etc.) or your paper journal and Post It notes, then grab those and let’s get started.

Prayer Categories

I told you last week that I have 10 different lists that I pray through every day. Here is my “list of lists.” My journal has a page (or two) devoted to each of these categories:

• Praise - This is where I think about and thank God for who he is.

• Confession - Here I confess my own sin and ask God for help in avoiding those particular sins to Which I am prone.

• Thanksgiving - I thank God for things he is doing in/around me and for things that I get to enjoy in His good creation.

• Intercession - Here I pray for myself. I’ll explain later why I pray for myself first.

• Family - I pray for my wife, kids, and other family members here.

• Petition - This is praying for the needs/requests of others.

• Evangelism - Here I pray for people I want to know Jesus.

• Missions - Here I pray for missionaries that our church supports and the girl that my family supports in Haiti.

• Church - I pray for the ministries, leaders, and general characteristics that I want the church to embody at this time.

• Church Members- I pray for 8 families in my church by name and with specific requests here.

Setting Things Up

Whatever type of journal you use, go ahead and set up a note, tab, page, etc. For each of these categories. If you are using paper, then put some of the Post It notes that I recommended on the pages. The purpose of this is so that when your journal starts to fill up, get messy, requests change, etc… you can just peel the Post Its out and start again. Otherwise your journal just gets too messy.

Don’t Pray For Everything Everyday

That may sound strange. But I don’t pray for everything in every category every day. In some lists I pray for one thing a day, in others I pray for a few. God isn’t a curmudgeon who we are trying to pray things from His hand unwillingly. It is His delight to give us good gifts. He gives them in His time. In His ultimate wisdom he knows when not to give what we ask for. Shoot for faithfulness is your prayers. God will not be more likely to answer your requests if you beg Him every day. So feel free to work through your lists regularly, but don’t exhaust them every day.

30 Minutes

For some of us the idea of praying for 30 minutes a day seems daunting. But think of it this way… if you pray for each list for three minutes, then you have just prayed for 30 minutes. So if three minutes is a long time for you, push yourself a little. If two minutes is where your are at, wonderful! If five minutes seems better then start there. I think that you will find your prayer life growing immensely.

Short and Meaningful

Our prayers don’t have to be long, but they should be specific. God won’t answer us more if we use lots of words. But be specific about what you are asking. Don’t just ask God to bless you. Tell him specifically how you want him to bless you, your family, your church, etc. Short is okay for prayers as long as they are specific. Aim for short prayers that are meaningful and biblical.

More specifics to come soon! I’ll start helping you fill those lists as quickly as possible.