Friday, February 15, 2019

Putting Together a Prayer Binder

For a long time now, I have been wanting, needing, searching for a way to make my prayer time {sporadic, unorganized, unproductive,pathetic} more effective, more engaging, more meaningful.
**apparently I'm into lists this morning...
I am highly visual and easily distracted, two things which don't bode well for a concentrated period of prayer to a God I cannot see.  My prayers for a long time have been of the fleeting, shoot up an arrow, immediate while I'm reading it, in my brain and out again type.   I know that God hears ALL our prayers, and doesn't require us to pray in a certain way, at a certain time, with certain words, etc.  But now that my season of active parenting is behind me and I have the time, and the burden to pray has grown heavier on my heart, I have felt the NEED to be better at this, more deliberate, more consistent.
The movie "The War Room" made a big impact on me and fueled my desire to be a dedicated prayer warrior.   James 5:16 says "...the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." (NIV).  Or the NKJV version, "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much."  I WANT to be that kind of person - a prayer warrior for God's kingdom.

Well, I just found Stone Soup for Five's blog and tutorials on creating a Prayer Binder - and Eureka! I have found it!   I have seen lots of pictures and descriptions of prayer notebooks, prayer journals, etc, etc,  but none felt do-able to me.  This one does!  I think it appeals to the visual side of me.  It appeals to the creative, can't stick to one method, don't want it to be rote or formulaic part of me.  It offers a solution to the forgetful, easily distracted part of me.  It is adaptable. It can be highly personalized.  Pages can be added, taken out,  redone, decorated, archived.  I can start small and add to it.  I can use it for a few minutes or for an hour or longer.
I am soooo excited to start using this tool for daily prayer.