I really struggle with praying sometimes.  Often I end up mumbling a little prayer before I write an exam or essay, or quickly mention the name of a sick friend or family member as I pray over my meal.  But when was the last time I intentionally sat down and really prayed for people in my life?

If this resonates with you, I’d like to share and idea that I had in highschool.

1)    Take a piece of paper and cut it into small pieces.

2)    Write a name of a person you know on each piece of paper. Keep writing down names until you can’t think of any more.  Write down ANYONE who comes into your mind, whether its your close friend, your kindergarten teacher, or the bus driver whose name you don’t even know.  This will take you a while…you will be surprised at how many people come to mind!
3)    Find a container and put all the slips of paper into it.  Establish a time when you can sit down and pray. Draw out the slips one-by-one and pray for the person on that slip of paper.

Girls, this rocked my prayer life! Every time I would look at the name on the slip I had picked, I would get so excited about praying for them.  I would pray that God would give me the discernment to pray for them in a way that they really needed that day, and all of a sudden I felt like I was more interested in their lives and willing to invest into them more.  I would trust that God would guide my hand to pick the slips that really needed prayer that day, and so often I would find out that in fact my prayer had been answered in a person’s life.

So if you are struggling with praying for others, I encourage you to give this a try.  Have fun!

Michelle