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James 5:16b – The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. (NLT)
"I'll be praying for you" are words which can be a soothing balm to our troubled souls in our time of need. Alas, though genuine and heartfelt, my promise to pray for others is sometimes soon forgotten. After years of feeling regretful and neglectful about my casual prayer life, I have developed a plan that has helped me to feel much more consistent and organized in my daily intercessory prayer. Rather than feeling as though I have to pray around the world every day, I have divided my prayer concerns into daily divisions which, like the concentric rings which form when a pebble is tossed into a lake, increase in scope and breadth as the week progresses. This not only gives me a good framework for systematically and consistently praying for others, but it also serves as a good memory device. Of course, I am not limited to praying for someone only on "their" day. I can pray for them anytime they come to mind. Prayer is free of charge, unblockable, and goes directly to the throne of God.
Here's what my intercessory prayer schedule looks like:
Sunday: my church – I focus on the ongoing needs of our congregation, specifically praying for my brothers and sisters in Christ and those who lead us.
Monday: my immediate family – I pray for my daughter and son-in-law and for my teenage grandchildren in all the concerns of their daily lives.
Tuesday: my extended family – The needs of my siblings, in-laws, nieces, and nephews are in my prayers for this day.
Wednesday: my friends – This broad category includes church friends, my neighbours, and friends from the various activities that I'm involved in.
Thursday: my community – People on my street, in my neighbourhood, community, city, and state are all an important part of my life and are in need of much prayer.
Friday: my nation – I pray fervently for my nation and its leaders as we face uncertain times which greatly affect all of us.
Saturday: the world – I pray for people all around the world, but especially for fellow Christians, particularly persecuted ones, and for Christian workers who are serving overseas. I also pray for our natural world which God has created with all of its vital resources.
This systematic pattern of prayer ensures that I will be regularly praying for others as I would want them to be praying for me. Our prayer for one another is vital and brings God much pleasure as He sees our love and concern for one another.
Prayer: Dear heavenly Father, forgive us when we are negligent in prayer. Guide us as we pray for our own needs and for the needs of others. Open our hearts as we speak to You about these needs. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.
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Thank you.
A good plan, Gail. Thanks for sharing.
Love the concept.
Thanks for sharing.
What a great system for prayer. Will be trying to follow you. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you, Gail, for a wonderful way to pray for everyone.
Please stay safe and healthy.
God bless you.
What a grand idea, Gail. I find that my prayers are random throughout the day for various situations. I shall adopt your plan and hope I am successful in my attempts.
Thank you.
Thank you so much for your weekly prayer list.
It will surely be in my prayer program. I had a hard time fitting everyone in my prayers and still give my all to their needs. I will definitely use your daily suggestions for my prayer concerns and ease my fear of not giving everyone I pray for my full attention.
God bless.
Thank you, Gail, I like your prayer schedule idea. I know so many of us say I will pray for you and I too often sometimes not verbally doing that, yet it is still in my mind that I am concerned about certain people and/or conditions. I rest assured that God is aware of my good intentions even I do miss doing so verbally. I appreciate your reminder calendar. May you be healthy and safe during our present world crisis.
(British Columbia Canada.)
Hi Gail, Thank you ever so much for that practical format. I am going to follow it as I need to be more diligent in my prayers. During this virus pandemic, one of the pastors is live streaming a morning prayer, a Lenten service and an evening prayer. We can catch it after it is over or during. As I listen to him, I feel as if I am being tucked in for the night with the words of assurance he speaks as Christ uses him to help us stay connected. I shared with my daughter last night a health care worker as she is stressed, and she said it calmed her. Thanks for the devotion.
Hi Gail,
I really enjoyed your devotion today. I’m Presbyterian and we like things ‘decently and in order’! For my work, I help produce a newsletter for my church and another church.
I would like to share your devotion in both churches’ upcoming newsletters.
Praying you are well in all this craziness (that would be Saturday’s prayer for me in Canada),
(ON)
O Gail, I too pray ‘for the whole world,’ as a dear friend once put it every time, we shared a service together. She never forgot. What a privilege we have to occupy these ringside seats for what may be the Main Bout in the spiritual struggle that is our world today! Never have I felt closer to the end times (as so many, many others have, over the centuries). I like your thoroughgoing, methodical approach to getting it all in. The saying, ‘what is FOR me, won’t go BY me,’ came up as I considered, as you have, a way not to overlook anybody in my morning prayers. I believe God guides us to those who need us. I used to be terribly concerned that I would miss out on something but now I rest content to know that doesn’t happen in God’s world. What is happening right this minute is God’s plan for me today.
I like this.
Dear Gayle, I have been using your weekly prayer guide since March 20th.
Never Before have I prayed so consistently and reverently. Thank you for sharing it in your devotion.
(Texas)