The Secret To Organizing Your Prayer Life & Growing Closer To God!
Last Updated on 03/05/2024 by Nicky
How To Organize Your Prayer Life
Is it just me or is keeping an organized and intentional prayer life a major challenge? It’s so easy to have prayer lists and requests stashed in multiple apps, random sticky notes, church bulletins, and in your already cluttered brain.
Who can remember everything and everyone they need to pray for? It’s overwhelming!
That’s why organizing your prayer life is so vital. Speaking with our Creator is paramount to our spiritual growth. Prayer is our spiritual cell phone that we can pick up anytime we want and speak to the King of Kings.
What an amazing privilege! Not only that, prayer creates life change for not only you but for those you pray for.
That’s why we can’t neglect our prayer life. Fortunately, with the steps I’m going to share with you today, keeping track of your prayers and petitions to God will be so much easier!
Plus, with one of my methods, you can record your prayers anywhere! So if you’re ready to spend more time with God in prayer, please join me as I share with you how to organize your prayer life.
Let’s get started with learning how to find time to pray.
Oh yeah, and this post contains affiliate links to great products that will help you in your health journey. I will get a commission if you decide to buy from these links but I’m only recommending products that I feel confident about and from companies that I trust like Amazon and others. Please let me know if you have any questions.
– How To Find Time To Pray
Prayer is a powerful way to connect with your Creator. God knows everything about you and loves you. He wants us to communicate with him, but sometimes, we have more “important” things to do (said tongue firmly in cheek).
I totally get that life can get busy, but when we neglect prayer, we miss out on an opportunity to grow closer to the one who made us. It’s not just important to spend intentional time with God. It’s essential! So what can you do if you’re short on time? Here are some tips.
(Related: How To Spend Time With God When Your Super Busy)
There are a lot of different times you can pray. I know people think that you have to just stop everything that you are doing in order to pray but that’s not true.
Of course, you do want to have quiet time with the Lord. However, we are told to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
That clearly implies that we will be doing other things sometimes while we pray.
So try praying while you are washing dishes or doing other household tasks. If you have a long commute you can take that time to pray.
I know I pray at work because sometimes it’s super stressful and I need that communication with Jesus to get through the day. Once you start looking at prayer as an all-day conversation with God you won’t ever feel like you don’t have time to speak to him.
– What To Pray About
Prayer is a daily practice that helps you to grow closer to your Creator. But no matter what season of life you’re in, there are always some things God would like to say to you.
For instance, if you’ve never prayed before and are just starting out, this guide will give you prayer suggestions for different seasons of life. You can also use it if you want to refresh your prayer life. In the list below, we’ve included prayers for different seasons:
– Newborns
– Toddlers
– Teenagers
– Adults
– Elderly
– Why Prayer Is Powerful
Prayer is powerful because it’s not our words that change things, but the power of God. You can pray for people, for situations, and for everything else in the world, but your words cannot change a thing.
And that’s the beauty of prayer — it’s not about you, it’s about God and his power. Prayer also has a way of connecting us with God because it goes beyond just thinking about him. It is a way of actually being in conversation with him.
Prayer is a way to open up to God, receive His love, and let him know what’s on your heart.
I’ll admit that even though I’ve been a Christian since I was a child, I haven’t always understood the power or purpose of prayer.
But the more that I study and ask God for help in understanding the power of prayer, the more wisdom he has shared with me.
I’m so grateful that he is generous with his time, wisdom, insight, and love!
– Why You Should Organize Your Prayer Life STAT!
As with all aspects of your life, organization is key when it comes to your prayer life. If you’re disorganized, you can miss out on the huge spiritual life changes that come with keeping a consistent prayer routine.
For starters, prayer keeps us connected to God. And when we keep our communication with him consistent, it shows him our dedication and commitment to grow as his children and live our lives according to his will.
Organized prayer also helps keep you accountable…well at the very least to ourselves. I mean, when you say you are going to pray for someone, you should do it, and organizing your prayer life the way I’m going to share with you in a few minutes will help you keep your promise.
I will give you a little hint with this next point and say that if you write down your prayers and put them somewhere you can see them daily, you’ll be less likely to forget to take the time to communicate with God.
Finally, when you’re organized, you can capitalize on prayer’s potential for growth.
Prayer, in addition to being a conversation with God, is an exercise in self-reflection and discovery, and when you keep a prayer journal, you’ll be able to look back and see how far you’ve come.
Want to read The Secret To Organizing Your Prayer Life later? Save it to one of your Pinterest boards!
– 3 Super Simple Steps To An Organized Prayer Strategy
Okay, so I think by this time we understand how powerful of a force prayer can be in our lives, right? But with all of the distractions of life, time with the Lord can really be might near nonexistent. That’s why we have to be intentional in prayer time.
Connect with Jesus on a daily basis….but how? Follow my 3 simple steps and your time with Jesus will become a part of your everyday routine!
So are you ready to take your prayer life to the next level? Here are three steps you can take to develop a more consistent prayer routine.
Step 1: Choose Your Prayer Targets
The first thing you want to do when organizing your prayer life is to choose your prayer targets. Who are you praying to and for?
So let me explain what I mean. Who are you praying to? God of course? So that means in our prayer we need to acknowledge who God is, praise him, thank you, and ask him questions about himself so we can understand him and how to serve him better.
I’ll be honest with you and say that I don’t always understand God. I don’t always understand the more brutal parts of the Bible or of the world that we live in. Click To Tweet
This may seem like such a no-brainer but you shouldn’t be surprised that we can treat God like a vending machine when we pray.
If you push the right buttons and say the right things then God will give us what we want. We need to be sure to praise him and thank him for all that he’s done and for who he is.
I also ask him questions that might seem disrespectful but I feel like these questions are on my heart and he already knows it so why not just be straightforward.
As an aside: I’ll be honest with you and say that I don’t always understand God. I don’t always understand the more brutal parts of the Bible or of the world that we live in. Why are little children physically and sexually abused and trafficked?
Why are people who hurt children and humans in the vilest ways allowed to just seemingly run free many times going unpunished?
Yes, I get that we are all sinners. I get that one day these people will be punished if they don’t turn from their sins. I get that. But in the meantime, children are suffering greatly, and even if every Christian worked 24/7 to try to help all of these children we would still fail.
Why does he allow this? I ask him these questions because I truly don’t understand and it sometimes angers me.
I’ve gone on a bit of a tangent but my point is your prayer life won’t be all roses and rainbows. Include all of these questions and frustrations in your prayers anyway, even if you think you shouldn’t.
We should also consider who we want to pray for. We want to pray for ourselves of course. You can include any goals you have, asking what God’s will is for your life, wisdom on paths you should take, sin patterns you want to be broken, etc.
Then we totally want to pray for others. Look at the prayer list at your church, thin of friends who need healing either physically or spiritually, world leaders, the poor, the lost, etc.
Step 2: Choose Where Your Prayers Will Live
Now if you’re feeling overwhelmed with all the potential people you could be praying for then I got you because ummm, yeah, same. Well, a prayer list is just a simple list of all the people, decisions, life events etc that you want to pray for. A prayer journal is like a prayer list that drinks protein shakes. Click To Tweet
That’s a whole lotta people to pray for in step 1. There ain’t no way I’m remembering all of these prayer requests. So clearly you have to write them down unless you have a photographic memory (and hey, that’s a praise if you do).
For us mere mortals, however, a prayer journal or simple prayer list is in order. What’s the difference between a prayer journal and a prayer list you might ask?
Well, a prayer list is just a simple list of all the people, decisions, life events, etc that you want to pray for.
A prayer journal is like a prayer list that drinks protein shakes. With a prayer journal, you have a dedicated space where you write down not only your list of prayer requests but also the actual prayers themselves.
In the next section I will share some strategies with you on how to use a prayer journal but first let’s talk about how to create a prayer journal. There are several ways that I do it. There are 3 main ways you can create a prayer journal.
You can buy a journal from Amazon or Ross or any store you want really that sells stationery. This is a simple and quick way to get started but I prefer the next two ways. One is to use a digital prayer journal.
I created a prayer journal along with a Bible study journal in Trello (you can get a FREE version of my prayer and Bible study journal which I’ll tell you about later). Having a digital prayer journal is so amazing because you can write down prayer requests anywhere!
And you can also write down your prayers anywhere. Despite all of the problems with technology, when used properly, it truly is a Godsend! Perhaps you want to write your prayers down but you don’t want to use a plain journal with blank pages?
No problem, love!
Prayer journaling printables are the answer that you seek! Prayer journal pages can be downloaded and printed from the comfort of your own abode. It’s super simple.
I love this solution because writing is my boo thang. It makes the prayers more personal and I feel more connected to God when I write with an actual pen. The prayer journal pages actually guide you and prompt you with what you can write.
Blank pages can be overwhelming but with prayer journaling printables you don’t have to worry about this. I have a prayer journal that you can print out for free that I’ll tell you about at the end of the post so stay tuned.
To keep your printable pages nicely organized, punch holes in them and keep them in a binder. You could even number the pages if you wanted so that they can always be in order! But how exactly do you use a prayer journal? We will be covering that next!
Step 3: How To Use Your Prayer Journal
Now that we know who we are praying to and for and where we will be housing our prayers, now we need to know how to use our prayer journal.
One way I like to use a prayer journal is to write down a prayer entry and date it so it’s like a diary to God.
Then you can read over your prayers from years ago and see just how much progress has been made since you started praying over a certain person or situation.
I love this especially when you’re praying for something that requires multiple prayers like weight loss or overcoming anxiety. One way I like to use a prayer journal is to write down a prayer entry and date it so it’s like a diary to God. Click To Tweet
If your goal is to lose 50 pounds, it will not happen overnight.
You will need consistent prayer to reach this goal, and your prayer journal entries will remind you how much the Lord supported you in your journey!
Of course, this is just an example…you can pray about anything you like!
Another idea is to write down a daily prayer that you read and pray over daily. I have a daily prayer that I typed and it has a category for relationships, health, sin freedom, business, finances, my relationship with God, prayers for others, etc.
The prayer is in Google Docs so what I do is update my prayer as I go. I’ll add a dated prayer entry under the appropriate category when progress has been made or changes in whatever I’m praying for.
You’ll also want to make note of answered prayers. Sometimes the answer is yes and sometimes the answer is no.
Whatever answer God gave you on a particular prayer, write it down. Sometimes I worry myself to death about something and then I look at a prayer entry and see that God had brought me through a similar situation before.
This reminds me that I just need to trust God no matter what, even when (or especially when ) I don’t see how things will work out.
– Conclusion: The Key To Organizing Your Prayer Life
Bottom line, the key to organizing your prayer life is to make sure that you keep track of your prayers and that you keep your prayers in one place so you always know where to find them. Does this mean that every prayer has to be written down?
Of course not.
That’s not realistic. I don’t write all of my prayers. But certain prayers needs resurface over and over again. This is when I feel like I really need to unburden my mind and heart on the pages of my prayer journal.
I love knowing that I have one central place that I can turn to when I need it! What about you? Do you have a prayer journal?
If not, you can download my free digital and printable prayer journal …just keep reading to learn how.
– Organize Your Quiet Time With This Prayer & Bible Journaling Bundle
We know we need to spend quiet time with God in Bible study and prayer.
But it can be a struggle to find the time, keep your Bible study notes organized, or even know where to begin once you do find the time.
That’s why I created the Renew Your Spirit Prayer & Bible Study Journaling Kit!
And best of all you can download it completely free!
Here’s what you get with the Renew Your Spirit Bible Study Mini Bundle:
Bloom & Grow Mini Journal: Use this printable journal to write down and memorize your favorite verses, to write down journaling prompts, jot down Bible study questions for further research, and pour your heart out to the Lord on the quiet time reflections page.
Trello Bible Study Journal: If you’re about that digital life, then the Trello Bible Study Journal is probably right up your alley!
Now you can keep your Bible study notes & ponderings super organized!
And even better than that?
With this digital journal, you can do a Bible study wherever you have internet access!
Finding time to do your study just got so much easier!
With this mini version of the journal, you’ll gain access to the first 3 sections (Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus) of the digital journal completely free!
Each section comes with sections to write Bible study, devotional, and sermon notes…plus so much more! And even better, there is a checklist for every chapter of each book that you can mark off as you go through your Bible reading adventure.
You must use the free app Trello to use this digital journal but it’s super easy to use!
And this app syncs across all devices so if you make a change to the journal using the mobile app, it’ll also make the change on your laptop too!
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