An effective prayer list, continued

 

Last week on the day we focus on prayer, we started our discussions on maintaining a prayer list. I'm hoping that as we come back to this each week, we will be motivated to keep a list and to utilize it for an effective and joyous prayer life.

In last week's "installment," we mentioned thanksgiving and personal godliness - striving to be more like our Savior.

I think the next part of our prayer list should probably be our families. We can pray for each member of our immediate family every day. What, specifically? Well, living their love for the Lord is a good start, if they are believers. If not, we can pray for repentance and for the Spirit to call to them. I think that an important part of my prayers for them is that I pray for my role in their lives. As a wife, a mom, a sister, a grandmother, or an aunt . . . . I need to remember to ask God's help in being an example to my family. It's important that I ask for opportunities to influence their lives. They need the Lord to work in them, but I can make certain to be an example of what it means to love the Lord and to love them, too.  Other members of our families that we don't see as often can be remembered, as well, and sometimes when we know of circumstances that they are dealing with, we can pray for specific needs.

The next category on my prayer list is leaders. This encompasses church leaders like pastors, mission leaders, and more. It's easy for us humans to criticize leaders, because after all, they are humans like us. We are all sinners. We need to pray for our leaders and ask the Lord to give them wisdom and protection. We can pray for them to grow in the knowledge of His Word, and we can pray for His blessings on their marriages and families. We can also include local and national leaders in our list, as many of us have done in these tumultuous times. In this category, as in others, it's important to remember our responsibilities to our leaders. How we respond to them, how we talk about them, and how we respect them are things that can bring joy (or sorrow) to them as they do the Lord's work.

Friends and acquaintances can go on our list. Many times this will be as needs are brought to our attention. Sometimes circumstances will affect a larger group of people, and we can pray both for them, and for any role we have in their lives.

The last thing on my own prayer list is whatever is on the slate for my day. I try to start with the Lord's faithfulness to me, and my efforts to live a godly life in Him; then I work my way outward to family, leaders, and friends. At the end, I try to come back to my day. My activities and my work are all subject to the Lord's leading and His blessing. Whether mundane or extraordinary, my tasks all could use the touch of His hand, and my days go much better when I have asked Him to bless my efforts. I pray for specific things that will happen that day, and I ask Him to teach me, so that I can be more like Him.

Next time, we will focus on some practical ways to implement a list like this. I hope it will be helpful.

If you have a prayer request or praise, I hope that you will let us know in the comment section.