As our family reads selections from Lisa Whelchel’s Busy Mom’s Guide to Prayer together…
we’re learning to:
- Praise God together
- Pray for each other
- Pray for those who impact our lives
- Pray for those beyond us
Though we’ve prayed together in the past, using my handy-dandy prayer journal (which I’ve owned for several years now) has made us more intentional about our family prayers now. The boys take ownership in knowing that their parents need their prayers. They realize that we have so much to praise God for beyond just the physical things in our lives. They know that Gary and I are praying specific prayers for them (like for their gifts & callings). I recognize my responsibility in praying for our nation’s leader, the public school system, the military, and people like Beth Moore. And now we not only “pray for Daddy while he is at work”, but we also pray for his health, for his personal walk with God, for his opportunities to witness to others….
Pictured above: Piles of prayers awaiting their turn in our prayer pocket chart
I share our Family Prayer Chart Inserts, just in case anyone else would like to do the same. The Busy Guide’s Mom to Prayer contains scriptures and sample prayers, though you can search for related scriptures on Biblegateway or even use this Praying in Victory booklet.
Pictured above: Prayer Pocket Chart (from the $1 bins at Target). The prayer categories are tucked into the left side; the prayers are tucked into the right side. The cards will slightly overlap.
And… if we are praying for someone in particular, I try to jot it down on a piece of paper and send them a Pocketful of Prayers.
Because, no matter how inadequate I feel, praying is really the most meaningful and powerful thing I can do for anyone else.
For my family. For my friends. For the world.
My friend Tina at Chasin’ Raisins has shared her family’s story as they’ve traveled to Boston for their seven-year-old son’s open-heart surgery – a surgery required to save his life. I list these here so that you can read and witness the miracle I have seen unfold this past week. From nights of prayerful weeping for my friends, to days of rejoicing praise over the miraculous results… words just cannot explain….
The Night Before
The Day Of Surgery
Things Don’t Go So Well
The First of Miracles
Ups and Downs
Moving Forward Slowly
Miracle of Miracles!
Praise God, Our Great Physician!