Simple tools for remembering to pray

It is both a privilege and a responsibility to offer to pray for someone, but I've definitely been guilty of saying I would pray for someone and then promptly forgetting, and failing to follow through.

For me, this is partly a season-of-life struggle, since my alone time is limited and I'm often distracted. But I've experienced this struggle in other seasons as well. I'm not by nature, or gifting, a prayer warrior. I have to work at prayer to make it a part of my life. I set alarms on my phone to remind me to pray at set times, and I also do a few other things to keep prayer in the forefront of my mind throughout my days.

I thought I might share them here in case this is an area where you are growing as well.

One way I've fought against this forgetfulness is to simply pray immediately for that person when I receive the request. Whether that means, quietly, or out loud for the person directly, this way I make sure to follow-through by doing it right away.

I also started a note on my phone where I keep ongoing (or obscure) prayer requests I come across, such as praying for my friend Michelle's son Luke (the Brave), who's fighting cancer, or a friend of a friend who's waiting on an adoption, or a long-distance friend's pregnancy. I try to check it regularly to update or remind myself of things I wanted to pray for.

For my CBS prayer requests, I write them on the first page of my commentary reading so that when I start my next lesson, they are right there for me to read and pray through.

prayer cards- tactile reminders to pray

Prayer Cards

The best tool for prayer that we have found as helpful in our small group setting is our prayer cards. This is the most simple, yet effective, system that everyone in our community group has really liked.

It's as simple as this: I bring a stack of 3x5 index cards and a mug of pens to the coffee table. As we hang out and settle in, we write down prayer requests and stick our name on the card. We shuffle the cards and hand them back out. That's it!

As the weeks go on, we acquire a nice stack of cards to remind us what our friends would like prayer for, and we can visually see prayers get answered as time goes on.

I keep my little stack of cards stuck in my journal that goes along with my Bible, so it's always handy. I love reading through them in my friends' handwriting, a personal, tactile reminder to pray for them.