Question! Have you ever thought about writing out your prayers? The benefits of taking your most intimate prayers to God via pen and pad are endless. For writers like myself, it allows us to incorporate our passion and love for writing with our love and adoration for Christ or our "Passion For Christ." This manual act of faith adds a NEW dimension to your prayer life. Writing out your prayers causes you to be able to concentrate better and daydream less when praying.
People, in the past, who came before God to express their hearts and requests, utilized this form of prayer quite often. For instance, many of the Psalms were written prayers such as Psalm 17, "A Prayer of David."
"Hear a just cause, O Lord; attend to my cry!
Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!" (Psalm 17.1)
At times when we pray, our minds tend to wander ...writing helps you concentrate and focus on exactly what you want to say to God. Writing also slows you down and quiets your heart before God while preventing you from praying the same prayers every day. For me, sometimes internally speaking my prayers has me speeding through them and doing it out of routine. Writing out your prayers calls for careful consideration for the words you choose and for the thought you have.
One of the greatest benefits I have noticed is having the ability to look back over my written prayers and take an honest inventory of how much and how often God has blessed me. When I read and recollect the experiences and situations that I've prayed over ...and compare them to where I currently am, it's absolutely unbelievable. Writing out your prayers allows you to remember and really take a clear look at how GREAT God has been to you through the months and years.
(Click for source!)
- Continuity. When you write down your
thoughts/prayers you know where you’ve been and where you’re going so
there’s a cohesiveness about them.
- Consistency. In my case, I journal on YouVersion,
so there is a date stamp on each prayer journal entry. So if I haven’t
prayed (at least in this kind of intentional way) for a day or two, it
is apparent. This helps me cultivate a greater consistency in coming to
the Lord with my praise and requests.
- Brevity. We tend to get wordy in our praying, don’t
we? Since writing and/or typing is more difficult we will likely say
what we mean and mean what we say. Thus we are more direct in our
praying and more specific in our requests. That’s a good thing!
- Focus. If you’re anything like me, your mind tends
to wander in prayer. However, in writing my prayers I am better able to
stay on track and on mission.
- Reflection. As with any journal, writing your
prayers allows you the opportunity to go back days, or weeks, or months
to see the things you were praying about, as well as how God responded
to your prayers.
- Praise. Then, you can offer praise for the answers
given. Sometimes we move from one prayer need to the next without
expressing thanksgiving for how God has come through on our behalf.
Write your prayer and you can also record the answer to that prayer.
This will elicit worship and praise!
I encourage you to try it! As a matter of fact, I'll share with you a written prayer that I took the time to jot down about my finances down, a little over a year ago. This is me being transparent with you in an effort to inspire you to just try writing out your prayers. See how much you'll be blessed by it.
Prayer For My Finances
01/23/10
Lord, I'd like to thank you for my current financial standing. You brought me a long way. I thank you for seeing that I went through certain financial storms so that I could value the place where I stand now. Thank you for keeping during the lowest of the lows. I bless your name for keeping my mind when I could have rightfully lost it! I appreciate the lessons I have learned and ask that you bless me with reminders that deter me away from repeating old mistakes and habits. On December 18, 2009, I made a commitment to tithe faithfully without wavering. I pray, Lord God, that you keep me gainfully employed so that I may continue to tithe and bring offerings into your store house! I have plans for my future, Lord, and I pray that you bless me with the knowledge and wisdom to know how to build a financial foundation for my future. Please, Lord, afford me the capability to finance my dreams and the courage to see them though. Teach me to become a better steward over my funds so I will be prepared to receive more. Open doors for me, Lord. Pour out your blessings on me father! I vow to be a good steward over what YOU have blessed me with.
Thank you for hearing my cry, Lord!
Amen!
Until next time, continue to pursue your passion!
Christoph Writes...
