As I write this, the polls are about to close on the 2020 US election. In these times, let’s pray for America.

It’s time to get back to the basics. It may not be as easy to get together to pray, to worship, to fellowship, to eat, sing and laugh together. Yet, though it may be difficult, let’s not forsake the assembling of ourselves together with our fellow believers.

My pastor, Pastor Burt Lowry, said it well:

“I’ve burned a lot of firewood in my time. One thing I’ve learned about starting a fire in a wood stove is that a log doesn’t burn well all alone. It takes at least one other log to start a blazing fire to last through the night.”

You may not be able to get together with fellow Christians at this time. Yet, God answers prayer! So, as long as you must miss out on church time, double down on the time you spend meeting with our Heavenly Father! Spend time with Him each day like your life depends on it! This is how you can stay on fire for God through the COVID19 crisis.

I would like to teach you a “game” I play that will add some fun to your prayer time It may seem strange, but it helps me to focus on others rather than on myself as I pray.

1. Find out what works for you

As you’ll see below, the system I use for prayer is somewhat complicated. But I love it! It’s rules are like a game. The whole system can travel with me when I’m on the road. And It’s very organized. Also, It allows me to stay aware of the needs the Father has laid on my heart, and to bring them before Him regularly.

Each of us is different. What works for me may not necessarily work for you. You may prefer to use a notebook, and check off the prayer requests as God answers them. Or you might fill a wall in your room with pictures and prayer reminder sticky notes so you can focused on the needs around you.

What’s most important is that you find a way to pray every day, and keep on tweaking it so it doesn’t become too stale. Have fun with it!

2. Pray mostly for others

“If God answered the prayers you’ve been praying, would it change anyone else’s world but your own?“ ~ Tauren Wells, When We Pray

As children, our prayers tend to be only for ourselves. When we grow up, it’s healthy for those prayers to start being mostly for others.

Our Father wants to use us to make a difference in other peoples’ lives, through prayer. If we let Him, He will lead us to pray for relatives, friends, missionaries… all sorts of people in need. Let Him use you to change nations, and help your friends face difficult situations.

3. Rotate through your prayer list

I have so many people on my heart… I could probably spend all day lifting them all up in prayer, and still miss many people.

Rather than feeling guilty, I keep a list of those who need my prayers. Then I work through it from day to day.

For those I feel the need to pray for every day, I use the Prayer Popper App.

For those I would like to regularly lift up in prayer, I go through an envelope of fifteen prayer guides, missionary prayer letters and 3×5 cards with prayer requests on them. You could also add news articles, printouts, prayer guides, and photos of relatives and friends.

When it’s time for personal devotions, I take these items out of the prayer envelope, and spread them out on the floor beside me, just under the envelope. Next, I read the passage of Scripture for the day, and try to “sense” who to pray the verses for. Then I hold the 3×5 card or other prayer reminder in my hand, and ask my Father to help them according to what the Scripture says. After that, I put the prayer item on top of the envelope. This process is repeated until I’ve prayed for all the prayer requests of the day.

4. Use a prayer timer

I like to use a timer when I pray, and here’s why: I have to find a balance between making time to be with the Father, and getting work done so I can support my family and accomplish things for His Kingdom.

There are days when I should set everything aside, and just pray, pray, pray. Other times, the needs around me are so great that my prayer time has to mostly be lifted up to the Father as the work day unfolds, “without ceasing”.

I find it difficult to use a watch or the clock on the wall to keep track of my prayer time. If I use a watch, I’m tempted to spend most of my time looking at it to see if it’s time to move on. With every look at the watch, I get distracted. I think of what I need to do when the prayer time is done.

For me, a timer is a servant who will let me know when I should start winding things down. In the meantime, I get to focus on my prayer time, undistributed.

And if the telephone or a knock on the door disturbs my prayer time, I can press the “pause” button. When I’m done, I can get back on my knees and finish up my prayer time.

5. Keep your prayer time fresh

Like you, I regularly get prayer letters in the mail. And from time to time, I will write a prayer request the Father lays on my heart, onto a 3×5 notecard. And I’ve received some excellent prayer guides for praying for America and for the planting of Churches in N’Djaména, Chad by e-mail.

Whenever I get a new prayer request, I put it into the “New” prayer envelope. And my long-standing prayer requests are kept in the “Newsletters (NLs)” envelope.

When I finish my prayer time, I pull out the last two prayer requests from the top of “Morning Prayers” prayer envelope pile. Then I ask the LORD if He’d like me to keep on praying for the need presented.

If the answer is yes, I file them at the back of the NL’s envelope. If the answer is no, I file them away in a box. I then pull out the next prayer reminder from the front of both the NLs and New envelopes, and put them in the morning prayers envelope to be prayed for tomorrow.

This way, the prayer requests I bring before the LORD keep changing. A prayer request is allowed to linger for as long as the prayer burden is heavy on my heart. I get to really pray through for the prayer request until the burden is lifted.

How do you like to pray? What methods could you share with those who read this blog post to encourage them in their prayer life? Let us know by leaving a comment below: