by Gayle Gernand
It's a new year, and the perfect time to organize your prayer list. I will have to admit that I have not always had a prayer list. It has only come about in the past few years. I recall my Grandma Fuller's prayer list where she listed the names of missionaries and people that she prayed for, but it took me a while to realize that a prayer list is a very handy thing to have. It reminds you about the people you really want to pray for and it keeps you from forgetting about people or groups that you don't really want to forget about. It makes you accountable for your good intentions.
Simply start with a clean sheet of paper or type the "list" up on your computer. I find the computer allows an easier way for me to clean them up every few months, and update them as to who is still needing prayer. First section for me is a reminder to thank and praise God, followed by a request for forgiveness for my sins. Then I include a reminder to ask God to help me see the needs He sees. From there divide your list into categories such as church, government, family, friends, neighbors, those that are mourning, those that are ill, ministries you value, etc. Once you have the categories, go back and fill in the names of the people or groups under that category that you want to lift up on a regular basis. Your sheet of paper quickly fills. Leave plenty of room because you will be adding to your list all the time.Then print the paper, fold it in half and place it in your Bible where you can pull it every day. Keep a pen near by so you can add to it.
God will lead you to the names of people or groups you need to pray for on a regular basis. Take some quiet time, and see who comes to mind. You don't have to know a person well to pray for them, you just have to care. Also add people to your list that you do not necessarily agree with. Pray for your enemies. Pray for politicians, the medical staff, the elections, stressful situations, those struggling with mental health issues. There is so much you can give to God.
Make that prayer list. Deepen that connection in your walk with the Lord. Make a plan to update it again every few months. Don't forget to make sure and sign up for a prayer partner for the coming year. They are due by January 8th!
Prayer for Our Community
by Gayle Gernand
Normally Joy takes us to some of the deepest parts of the world and shares the needs of the unreached. Today I am asking you to go to your front door and then to your back door, and make a mental note of the homes and people that live there, and these are the people you are being called to pray for this month. You do not have to venture far from your home to find the unreached in our community. According to Pew Research:
"If recent trends continue, Christians could make up a minority of Americans by 2070. That’s according to a September (2022) report that models several hypothetical scenarios of how the U.S. religious landscape might change over the next 50 years, based on religious switching patterns.
Since the 1990s, large numbers of Americans have left Christianity to join the growing ranks of U.S. adults who describe their religious identity as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular.” Depending on whether religious switching continues at recent rates, speeds up or stops entirely – the last of which is not plausible because it assumes all switching has already ended – the projections show Christians of all ages shrinking from 64% to somewhere between 54% and 35% of all Americans by 2070. Over that same period, “nones” would rise from their current 30% of the population to somewhere between 34% and 52%."
Pray for your neighbors to know Jesus!
