How to Organize Your Prayer Life--Part 2

Hi Everyone!

Did you get last week's assignment done?  You found or purchased a binder, you made or bought ten dividers and you have a little paper to begin with?  Great!  Then we are ready to dive right in!

The whole concept behind this type of a Prayer Journal is the realization that you do not have time to pray for every single thing on every single day.  This type of thinking--feeling like you have to pray for everything EVERY day-- can easily lead to feeling overwhelmed, and kind of a "why try since I always fail?" attitude.  And--of course--if you are anything at all like me, you also have a hard time even remembering the prayer requests that you have heard about at church or been asked to pray about by your friends or even seen posted on Facebook.  You WANT to pray for them. . . you INTEND to pray for them. . . but once the week gets started life is a blur until the next weekend when you see your friend at church and realize that you totally forgot to even pray for their request.  Well, those days are over now that you are going to have your Prayer Journal to help you be organized!

So the big picture of our Prayer Journal is this:  Some areas you are going to pray for daily, and some areas you are going to pray for weekly.  There.  I said it.  And the sky didn't fall.  You don't have to pray for EVERYTHING on EVERY single day.  And it's o.k. to do that!  Now that doesn't mean that if there is a special and urgent prayer need you have to WAIT until the day that is assigned for that area--no, of course not!  But I am going to teach you a method of organizing your prayer life, and you are going to know that if there is something that is a crisis and needs to be prayed for right away you just go right ahead and pray about it--even if it is not the "day" assigned for that area.  Does that make sense?

O.K., now that we have THAT clear, we can continue.  We are going to start the first section in our Prayer Journal.  Our FIRST section is going to be the section that reminds us of what needs to be FIRST in our lives--our Creator!  So our first divider--our Section 1, is going to be the topic of "Almighty God."  If you are using the yellow dividers you can write the name on your paper and slip it in the tab.  If you are using dividers that you made from card stock, you can write your label right on the paper.  And if you ended up laminating some scrapbook paper like I did, you might want to use a label maker to make a label for this section.  I couldn't fit "Almighty God" on my tab, so I decided to shorten it.  I thought about putting "God," but then finally settled on using the term "Father," as it seemed more personal to me.  Put whatever you call God in your prayers--whatever title that will make sense to you and tell you that this section is the section about your Creator-God.

Section 1:  Almighty God

~Start your prayer time off with worship.  You might write out song lyrics or write/read a Psalm.  The point is to ready your heart and focus your mind on Him.

~This is your love section to God and for God—focus on Him, without using “I” or “me”. . . write “You Lord. . . “  For example:

You are my King

You are my Creator

You are my Father

You are my Counselor

You have made all beautiful things (maybe list beautiful things in creation that you have experienced)

You are huge—my mind cannot comprehend your power

You hold the universe in your hands

You are: omnipotent (all-powerful), omnipresent (everywhere), omniscient (all-knowing), immutable (unchanging), eternal (everlasting), love (agape)

~Write your praises to God and list characteristics of God that are special to you

~Tell God of your love for Him and your desire to know Him.

~Include any significant prayers, poems, scripture, or quotes

~Pause for a moment to quiet your heart and mind and just listen

 I like to use this section to collect favorite songs about God and His power.  In our class, we shared four different songs about prayer.  In our class together we sang these songs each night.  On your own, you can sing or hum them to help remind yourself of how great God really is!  I find this is a great way to prepare your mind for the rest of your prayer time.  And don't worry if you don't think you have a great singing voice--God made your voice and I would guess He thinks it's great! :)  If you play an instrument, you could even play a song or scripture song to God as a way to bring your heart in tune with Him!

Here are the prayer songs we shared:

Joseph m. Scrivener, 1855 lyrics

Charles c. Converse, 1865 tune

What a friend we have in Jesus,

All our sins and griefs to bear!

What a privilege to carry

Everything to God in prayer!

Oh, what peace we often forfeit,

Oh, what needless pain we bear,

All because we do not carry

Everything to God in prayer!

Have we trials and temptations?

Is there trouble anywhere?

We should never be discouraged—

Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Can we find a friend so faithful,

Who will all our sorrows share?

Jesus knows our every weakness;

Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy-laden,

Cumbered with a load of care?

Precious Savior, still our refuge—

Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?

Take it to the Lord in prayer!

In His arms He’ll take and shield thee,

Thou wilt find a solace there.

Blessed Savior, Thou hast promised

Thou wilt all our burdens bear;

May we ever, Lord, be bringing

All to Thee in earnest prayer.

Soon in glory bright, unclouded,

There will be no need for prayer—

Rapture, praise, and endless worship

Will be our sweet portion there.

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Words & Music: James D. Vaugh­an, 1908

I need the prayers of those I love,

While trav’ling o’er life’s rugged way,

That I may true and faithful be,

And live for Jesus every day.

Refrain

I want my friends to pray for me,

To bear my tempted soul above,

And intercede with God for me;

I need the prayers of those I love.

I need the prayers of those I love,

To help me in each trying hour,

To bear my tempted soul to Him,

That He may keep me by His pow’r.

Refrain

I want my friends to pray for me,

To hold me up on wings of faith,

That I may walk the narrow way,

Kept by our Father’s glorious grace.

Refrain

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Lyrics and Music: Anonymous

Whisper a prayer in the morning,

Whisper a prayer at noon;

Whisper a prayer in the ev’ning,

To keep your heart in tune.

God answers prayer in the morning,

God answers prayer at noon;

God answers prayer in the ev’ning,

To keep your heart in tune.

Jesus may come in the morning,

Jesus may come at noon;

Jesus may come in the ev’ning,

So keep your heart in tune.

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William w. walford 1845 lyrics

Wm. Bradbury 1861 published

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!

That calls me from a world of care,

And bids me at my Father’s throne

Make all my wants and wishes known.

In seasons of distress and grief,

My soul has often found relief,

And oft escaped the tempter’s snare,

By thy return, sweet hour of prayer!

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!

The joys I feel, the bliss I share,

Of those whose anxious spirits burn

With strong desires for thy return!

With such I hasten to the place

Where God my Savior shows His face,

And gladly take my station there,

And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!

Thy wings shall my petition bear

To Him whose truth and faithfulness

Engage the waiting soul to bless.

And since He bids me seek His face,

Believe His Word and trust His grace,

I’ll cast on Him my every care,

And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!

May I thy consolation share,

Till, from Mount Pisgah’s lofty height,

I view my home and take my flight.

This robe of flesh I’ll drop, and rise

To seize the everlasting prize,

And shout, while passing through the air, “Farewell, farewell, sweet hour of prayer!”

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Another thing that is good to do in Section 1 is to collect Bible verses you come across that tell you how powerful your Creator-God is.  Our problems can seem oh so big to us, but once we take into proper perspective how big they are compared to the King of Kings, well, it just kinda shrinks our LARGE problems down to the proper size--nothing--compared to what God can do!  

So here is your assignment for this coming week:  Start using your Prayer Journal, even just having this first section labeled and going.  Write down songs about God that speak to your heart.  Start a list of favorite Bible verses which give glimpses of God.  If you find a poem about God--or want to write a poem yourself, put that in.  To help get you started, I will share a list of Bible verses about God that I have collected:

“Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear.”  Isaiah 59:1 NIV

“For no word from God will ever fail.” Luke 1:37 NIV

“It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer; And while they are still speaking, I will hear.”  Isaiah 65:24

“Where can I go from your Spirit?  Where can I flee from your presence?  If I go up to the heavens, you are there, if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.  If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.”  Psalms 139:7-10

“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You.  Because he trusts in You.”           Isaiah 26:3

“I lift up my eyes to the mountains---where does my help come from?  My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”  Psalm 121:1-2

I hope your mind is brimming with ideas now! :) 

And one additional assignment--please share with me in the comments section one thing that you are going to put in your section 1 of your Prayer Journal.  Is there a special song or hymn that speaks to your heart?  What song is it?  Are you going to write out a poem that you love?  Tell me about it! Is there a Bible verse that to you tells of God's love or power?  Share it with me!  Even if it is a verse already listed by me or by someone else--let's encourage one another and share special things that we find!

Have a beautiful week with your Beautiful Savior!  And see you again next week! :)

~Susan