Last summer I published this blog item about Derek Prime and his great book on prayer, Practical Prayer. As I was skimming through some older bogs, I noticed this particular item was visited more often than any other blog on prayer. And I realized that the system he suggests is still the one I use for my prayer time. It is still effectively helping me sort through and focus my thoughts during my TAWG -- (Time Alone With God). So I decided to publish it again. The only changes I have made on my journal are listed at the bottom.
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Derek Prime has a great book on prayer: Practical Prayer. In it he tells us about his prayer Journal. This is how he describes it for us:
A small loose-leaf book which can take a good number of pages, and it is made up of three parts.
First (Section 1) there is a page that lists urgent and/or current needs. This page is regularly updated or replaced.
Second (Section 2) there are 7 pages, one for each day of the week, on which I write names of people and matters of concern. (I just divide up my list of regular prayer items and list some on each page. In the course of 1 week every one/thing is covered at least once.)
Third (Section 3) there are 31 pages for the days of the month to assist me in praying regularly monthly for people I know casually and yet feel a concern for.
At the beginning of a new year I review the whole of my prayer diary, sometimes even rewriting it.
The benefit of using a loose-leaf book, however, is that it can be reviewed, changed and amended as the year goes on without having to rewrite the whole diary. I find it an invaluable asset to private prayer.
He goes on to say:
On the pages of the days of each week, I may write down regular events that occur on certain days so that I remember to pray for them, like Prayer Meeting on Wednesdays, youth group meetings, etc.
He says that he uses the monthly sheets to list other people he has met more casually and people whose ministry he wants to remember. He prays for them once a month.
So for example, on Wednesday the 3rd, he will pray for the urgent needs (Section 1) and then turn to Wednesday (Second Section) and then to Day 3 in the 3rd section.
Here are some more of his helpful suggestions:
On the weekly pages I have taken the 6 points we have identified from the Lord's Prayer (see Part 2)) and put one down for each day in order, omitting one day. For me that day is Tuesday. That day is my "day off," and so as to not get into a rut I often pray that day without using my prayer diary.
At times I find my praise and worship of God do not flow as they ought, or I feel I am using the same words without freshness. It is a helpful exercise to put at the top of each weekly page of the prayer diary some attribute or characteristic of God for which you can praise and thank Him (faithful, unchanging, just, merciful, loving, holy, wise, righteous, etc).
This means you can praise Him in a different way each day. In addition, every time I come across a Scripture which stirs me up to praise God, or presents a promise which is especially meaningful, I write it out in full under one of the page headings for one of the days of the month. I find this adds freshness to my worship and my petitions.
Note: I'm going to do this -- make this kind of a Journal. I get so lethargic sometimes. Since prayer is such an important part of our lives we should put more effort into it. I know that, of course, but I need to be reminded. So, I am going to give this a try.
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New Note: 05.22.15 - Though this article is months old, I am
still being helped by it....the only change I have made is that my Section 2 (Days of the Week) is 6 days, not 7, because I just never get around to Quiet Time on Sundays --
Also, in Section 1 (urgent for daily reference) I started putting in dates, for the first petition and also for the answers....and I keep these sheets - it is amazing to go back and re-view your prayer items later and see how God is moving!
They say, "The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world" and no doubt that is true - but also, "The prayer that radiates from us to God changes the world!"
Here is how my weekly pages (Section 2) look now:
(As Derek Prime suggested, they correspond to phrases in The Lord's Prayer.)
Monday - The honor of God's Name in the World
Tuesday - The extension of the Church and the coming of God's Kingdom through the preaching of the Gospel. (I put a lot of church/ministry requests here).
Wednesday - The obedience of God's people to God's will and God's overruling control of all events. (Usually I put current events and political issues here and for God's guidance for our leaders - national concerns.)
Thursday - Our daily practical needs and our work
Friday - Our relationships both with God and with each other
(A lot of family needs/requests here)
Saturday - Our temptations and the spiritual battle in which all Christians are involved.
TAWG is something I have to keep working on..maybe you do, too....
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