2018 – Prioritize – one of my five goals

This is day 2 of 2018 – I’m attempting another 100 days! I started one in 2011.

Today, I’m going to talk about how I set up a priority prayer calendar.
It’s not that difficult…and to be honest, if I utilized it more, I would be praying so much more!
I guess first, we have to decide that praying is important – a priority!

In 2018, I’m going to be focusing on doing the work God has placed before me.
I’m still not sure what my word for 2018 will be…hmmmm.

I’m going to be focusing on the important things upon which to focus:

  1. Prayer
  2. Praise
  3. Promises (Bible READING)
  4. Purpose (writing)
  5. Priorities(those things that God brings to mind each day – family, self care, others, etc.)

My first priority, as led by my Savior, Jesus Christ, is to pray.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18English Standard Version (ESV)
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

WAIT! HOLD THE PRESSES! CORRECTION!

Actually – I”m going to confess a bit of a change right here….based upon 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18!

Praise, Prayer and Praise(Thanks for the promises)

  1. Praise
  2. Prayer
  3. Promises (Bible READING – PRAISE FOR THE PROMISES)
  4. Purpose (writing)
  5. Priorities(those things that God brings to mind each day – family, self care, others, etc.)

And yet – today I’m going to talk about prayer.
As 1 Thess 5 tells us – PRAYER is crucial…and we should do it ALWAYS! WITHOUT CEASING!

Recently, a friend of mine was wondering how we do such a thing, pray without ceasing.

We all know about how Jesus taught us to pray:

Matthew 6:9
“This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,

Here’s a print for you from The Catholic Resource

There is a nice little study about the Lord’s Prayer in many versions at The Lord’s Prayer Words.

I admit that this is our guide line for prayer.

  • Our Father – declaring WHO our Father is
  • Who art in Heaven – declaring His Kingdom Home
  • Hallowed(Holy) Be your name – declaring our reverence for His name.
  • Thy Kingdom Come – declaring his Kingship
  • Thy Will be done – declaring his Soverignty
  • On earth as it is in Heaven – declaring his rule over heaven and earth.
  • It goes on – to request our needs –
    daily bread
    forgiveness (with admission of OUR responsibility both for our sins and to forgive)
    help to avoid sin
  • Then PRAISE
    THINE IS THE KINGDOM
    THINE IS THE POWER
    THINE IS THE GLORY
    FOREVER!

so does Jesus mean for us to be praying the Our Father without ceasing?
I don’t think so. I know the Catholics do their rosaries with this and the Magnificat…and I admire the tenacity of their focus. They keep themselves focused, with these prayers and others in the common prayer book. I guess I just fine myself needs to talk to God…ALL THE TIME! and the Our Father doesn’t always say what I want to say.

And, it doesn’t give me room to pray for my family, friends and events, and national leaders, etc.
Understand, I am not saying that Catholics, or liturgically based faiths don’t pray for these things! I was raised Episcopalian, and when I need to focus my prayer life, I have gone back to the prayer book.

I have also utilized a wonderful took by Sylvia Gunter.

4 R


YOu can purchase this at her store. The Father’s Business I have no affiliation with her other than my deep and abiding respect for her ministry.

These resources did not help me to know how to pray for my family and friends on a regular basis.
Do I sit down and list off the 100’s of people I’ve met over the years? When I try, I usually fall asleep.
Praying is a great way to fall asleep – if you are like me, you will wake up praying!

So, here’s what I did.

  1. Meranda
  2. Daniel
  3. open
  4. open
  5. Miheret(a sponsored child)
  6. Adam
  7. Open
  8. Jim & I
  9. Rachel, Sarah G
  10. Asha, John, Connie

So, this isn’t a really hard to figure out concept. Pray for people on their birth DATE – if born on the 2nd of December – pray for them every 2nd!
Now, this handles the people, based upon their birthdates.
What about other dates?

Again, I pray for couples on their anniversaries (my brother John and his beautiful wife, JeanMarie, were married on the 15th of May – I pray for their marriage on the 15th of every month).

  1. Faith & Steven anniversary
  2. Jim & Christi anniversary

One could add a due date to remember to pray for a pregnant mamma!
I have a dear friend who died of breast cancer years ago…her family remembers her on the anniversary of her death(Jewish tradition), I remember her, and pray for her children on her birthday.
It is what YOU need it to be to help YOU pray consistently for others!

I could and should have these written down on printed calendars, but what I have done is on the google calendar.
If you set the event as all day, it just gives you a banner at the top of the day.
If you sent the repeat monthly, you get the repeat notification monthly.
To be honest – sometimes I forget the more distant people’s MONTH of their birthday! /o\

To prevent that, you could also use those yearly calendar things in the back of a printed calendar planner – but that gets too complicated for me to put into days. On the other hand, you could use those dates to remember the special days…and transfer them to a basic calendar, and print it. There’s a very flexible option at Print-A-Calendar.
I think I’ll do this with my yearly calendar when it comes!(I’m a calendar snob…yes, I admit it).

Another tool that I am using this year, comes from the blog “My Beautiful Ugly”, and it’s a January Challenge with a free set of printables, and another set, I just bought for myself – for only $5(the price of these things helps to support the blogger/artist for their work – I’m not affiliated with her other than my respect and love of her work).

Please check out My beautiful Ugly 2018 planner and love challenge blog.

I’m going to go print them out right now!

Now, to comment on my friends wonderment…Prayer is talking with God.
Enoch walked with God and was not…probably didn’t want to end the conversation!
Moses talked to God like a friend.
Abraham talked to God, even respectfully arguing with God about his concern for his adopted son Lot, in Sodom and Gomorrah.
David sang to God.
Peter, James and John walked with God…while Jesus lived here…and talked with Him ALOT! If I can take anything from the interaction the disciples had with Jesus, it’s that I can say anything to Him, as long as I remember to listen for His answer.

There’s another way to pray without ceasing…

Romans 8:26-27English Standard Version (ESV)
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because[a] the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

This comes right before Romans 8:28 –

28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

A perfect reminder that when we pray – we have confidence with the Father that ALL things work together for good….not that it will work out the way we want it, but that it will work out the way HE wants it!

I guess that is the main point for me to remember with prayer.
Prayer is not about me telling God what to do in my, or my family or friends lives…
Prayer is letting God know the desires of my heart…and sometimes, Ps 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Prayer is about letting God take charge of my heart.
In fact, Psalm 37 is a great Psalm about a prayer and a prayerful heart. Psalm 37 talks about rearranging our heart, too! Be forewarned…there are requirements…here’s a couple for starters!

3 Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

verse 40
The Lord helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.

Prayer is NOT just about when I pray, how I pray(kneel? stand? lie face down?), or even WHAT I say –
Prayer is the outcome of my relationship with Jesus Christ.
Prayer is the connection with my Best Friend and Savior, Whom I know intercedes for me, and will intercede with Our Father for others.
Prayer is my time with Jesus!
Prayer is Love…
love of God
love of Jesus
love for those I pray for.

I mean, seriously, if prayer is spending time with someone, sharing your joys, sorrows, hurts, victories, and concerns – isn’t that what you do with the one you love?

And what great a privileged it is for we creation to humbly go to Our Creator and ask….because he has asked us to do so.

The book of James gives us so much to think about in our relationship with God, and prayer.
Pray without ceasing – no, not by James…but still as important.

and writing down those we do not want to forget to remember to the Lord in prayer – that can help with the “not ceasing” part.

I do hope this will help you, I know writing this down has reminded me. Here’s to a prayerful 2018!

 

Jim & Christi 2017

 

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

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