I am in the midst of a commitment to pray for a family daily for one year. It’s been going well. I haven’t missed any days and I would say that most days I probably prayer for the family at the very least 2 or 3 times a day. Now that I have been doing this for a couple of months I am having to do some things to stay mindful in my prayers. I don’t want this to become a lifeless routine that gets checked off daily like an item on my to-do list. Prayers without heart and mindfulness are just hollow words. They are stillborn. This family and God deserve better.
So what do you do to keep from becoming numb when you have prayed for someone or something a couple of hundred times?
Pause and write it out.
Monday, I stopped in the chapel at the hospital to pray on my way to work. I would like to think I was being judiciously pious on beginning my week well. Truth be told, I think I was just being pokey. Whatever my motivation, the action was right. I brought a piece of paper in with me and wrote out some prayers for the family I am committed to. The process of writing prayers slowed me down and brought me back to a place of much greater intentionality and attention. I wrote prayers again on Wednesday. I found that this has made me more mindful even when I am verbally or silently praying for the family.
Make it a date.
You may need a prayer date. By that, I mean you may need a special concentrated time of prayer just around a particular issue. I call it a date because I think about how often my wife and I eat together, but every once in a while we need a special meal that is just the two of us. Both scenarios are meals, but there is a qualitative difference between an intentional date and just making sure we get dinner.
Check on the results.
I am going to check on the family for whom I am praying. They live a couple of hours away, so I don’t just run into them. I am going to call and ask how they. I will adjust my prayers accordingly. I may even ask if there are specific prayers they would like at this time.
Pray with someone.
Many people are very intimidated about praying with someone. A lot of people have a fear of sounding stupid or unrefined. They don’t pray “pretty prayers.” I tell people to relax and remember that the person you are praying with is not the audience. God is. He hears your heart. Try to find your finest words. More importantly, just be as raw and real with God as you possibly can be. You may be surprised at how honored some people are that you would ask them to pray with you. Remember, they are probably scared too.
I hope these suggestions will re-invigorate your prayers; particularly, those long-term prayer commitments. If you don’t pray daily for someone, then I highly recommend you do. May be you don’t need to start with a year long commitment. How about praying for someone for a month? Or perhaps, you could pray for someone during the 40 days of Lent. Think about it. Pray about it. Apply it. Blessings to your from the Practical Disciple
Great timing (as usual)! I was sitting at my desk lamenting all the things that need to be done and thinking, seriously, about crawling back into bed for the day. Now, i will make my deck, choose 3, and not stress over the rest. Thanks!!!
Awesome. Isn’t God good and amazing at weaving these types of things together and dropping them in our laps just when we need them. Let me know how your deck goes. You are welcome and thank you.