Items needed: Popsicle sticks, markers, a wall, stickies. Optional: Cell Phone

How's your prayer life?

Mine could use a little bit of work.

Do you feel the same?

Yeah, I think there's always room to improve. :)

I decided to make a short (but sweet) little post about some prayer techniques that might help you in your own prayer life too! :)

1. Prayer Popsicle Sticks 

Nearly a year ago, when I visiting over at my nieces, she had a can full of popsicle sticks, with different names written on them, which she used to play a game. Suddenly, the idea hit me, what if I wrote down my prayer requests on popsicle sticks? It's a pretty cheap and simple idea - while still fun and easy to do. :)

All you need is some popsicle sticks, perhaps a couple markers, and a pencil/pen holder of some sort to contain them! Usually, I would pick out a few each day at random, pray for those specific requests (while keeping those sticks out), until I got through all of the sticks, then I would just start over again!

2. A Prayer Wall

Recently I decided to create a prayer wall in my bedroom, which I'm still working on currently. It's a simple and fun idea to keep track of your prayer requests!  All you need is a wall (yes, really), and the rest is up to you! You can design it in any way that fits you best. I'm still working on how I want mine done, but so far I just have what's up in the picture above - with my prayer requests on stickies. :)

3. Cell Phone Prayers

A few weeks ago during small group when we were discussing prayer requests, the subject came up of how sometimes we tell a person we'll pray for them, and then completely forget! Ever done that? Yeah, me too. (Insert guilty feeling here). Someone mentioned how sometimes, it can be really beneficial to send text messages prayers. At first, I thought it was kind of well... IMPERSONAL! I didn't like the idea too much. However, within the next week, I found myself with several opportunities to write out some cell phone prayers to my friends... which apparently were really encouraging and helpful! :) 

Now, I'm not recommending making text messages your ultimate way of prayer, but it can come in handy! Try it out sometime. :) (Sorry this doesn't apply to those of you without cell phones - Maybe it will in the future!)

4. Don't Wait to Pray

On the subject of forgetting prayers, why not just pray with the person when they mention it? That way, it's real, there's proof of you actually praying for it, the person is there to experience it there with you, they can see that you really care and have concern for their prayer AND, on top of it, you don't have to worry about forgetting. :)

Hopefully you can take, at the very least, one of these ideas, maybe even change it a little and apply it to your life! 

"Pray without ceasing."

1 Thessalonians 5:17