In America, today we celebrate the National Day of Prayer. This annual observance is held on the first Thursday of May. Since 1952, it has been designated as a day when people are asked to pray and meditate.
I’ll be honest with you. Sometimes I struggle with my prayer life. It is much easier for me to read and study the Bible. Sitting quietly and praying is more difficult. Meditating is even harder. Honestly, it is easier for me to fast.
Here are some techniques I have found helpful:
- Every day I pray for my husband and children. For my husband, I use the book “The Power of a Praying Wife”. See this blog post for more. For my kids I have daily things I pray for – their friends, their faith, their schooling, their future husbands, their choices, etc.
- I keep a journal with list of what to pray for based on the day of the week.
- Monday – My husband’s family
- Tuesday – My church (the staff, elders, ministry partners, any prayer requests I’m aware of from the church body)
- Wednesday – My family
- Thursday – I ask God to show me things I need to forgive or ask for forgiveness for. I also pray for my “enemies” (this ranges from people who have hurt me to terrorists)
- Friday – God’s direction and for wisdom
- Saturday – Elected officials
- Sunday – My ministry to others and for God to fill me with love
- Pray through the news headlines: Take the newspaper or news headlines and pray for the top issues facing the world. For example, looking through today’s news here are prayer ideas:
- Prayer for elected officials to have wisdom while making decisions on America’s healthcare. Prayers for our elected officials to seek God’s will.
- Prayer for peace in Venezuela
- Prayer for Syrian refugees and peace in Syria. Prayer for Christians in Syria.
- Praise: Make a list of all your blessing and everything has God has done in your life. Go through the list one by one and thank God for what he has done and praise him.
Becoming Mary 