Prayer Method Intro

Guest Post: by Trista Pagel

When I was 10 years old, I learned this practical prayer method from a missionary who spoke on establishing a productive, God-honoring prayer life. It doesn’t technically have a name, but for the sake of clarity we will just call it a “prayer binder”. I have used this method for many years with the intent of having meaningful and intentional communication with God, as well as to address some of this issues I presented previously, such as:

-articulating more specific requests from God

-recognizing answered prayer

-being committed to daily prayer

-remembering all the people/things I want to pray for

To use this prayer binder all you need is a mini accordion file with at least 12 dividers and a bunch of note cards. You can buy these mini file folders and Wal-Mart or Target for under $5.

Here’s a glance at how I will explain the different parts of this prayer binder over the next week:

Tomorrow – Preparing our hearts for prayer through Praise

Sunday – Daily Prayer

Monday through Sunday – weekly prayer

Following Monday  – wrap up with monthly prayers, prayers answered, and helpful tips

Each each of these days I will in specific, practical details explain what I pray for and how I pray for them. Before going any further, though, here are some important things to keep in mind when learning not just this prayer tool, but any tool:

– This particular tool does NOT take the place of other kinds of prayer, such as spontaneous prayer, group prayer, etc. It’s not just something to check off your daily to-do’s for the day. We should be in constant prayer throughout our days!

-Just as with every tool, this tool doesn’t work for everyone. Don’t let it become a crutch, but rather an enhancer to your prayer life. Don’t conform yourself to this tool, instead change it around to make it work for you.

– “Our hope is in the Lord, not in methods. Power is in the Lord, not in tools. The Spirit works through men, not methods.” E.M. Bounds on Prayer