Tag Archives: Prayer lists

The Seeds of Prayer

Posted on by under God, Prayer

Journal 2018

I have an overwhelming list of people I want to pray for, and I can’t keep up with them all.

Visual: I am in a square room with many doors, and each open door has monsters (demons) guarding them, preventing me from exiting. I know I cannot fight them all at once, but I still grab my Sword of the Spirit and flail it around. Suddenly, I lose my grip, the sword flies through the air, and it lodges in the wall above one of the doors. I laugh out loud. Well, that was a most ineffective use of my weapon!

So Jesus teaches me like a Jedi warrior how to use my sword: Keep calm, maintain control, and you only have to fight one ogre at a time.

And which one is that? I wonder. Instantly, I know its name: Doubt.

Doubt in my prayer life. Doubt that I’m doing it right or not doing enough or… And so, I invite Doubt into the prayer room. Jesus stands outside the arena, watching me. “Parry here, thrust there. Watch your vulnerable side. Good job. Stay alert,” He calls.

Once I’ve practiced, I invite Doubt into the ring, thrust forward with my sword, and the ogre vanishes like smoke. The doorway is now clear, and I can exit into a lush green garden.

“May I spend some time here with you?” Jesus and I ask at the same time, and we both laugh.

“See this rose?” “Note this bush.” “Do you like this tree?”

Yes, yes and yes!

“I made them all for you to enjoy,” He says. I can see the delight on His face.

“But what about that prayer room?” I ask. “Aren’t I supposed to be in there fighting ogres?”

“At some point,” He replies. “But for now, I want you to relax and rest here with Me and learn to delight in Me. Then when you do fight, you carry My heart and My strength with you, and you’re not fighting on your own. Rest here with Me and enjoy My presence, and I will teach you. I will let you know when it’s time to return to the room. Just stay close to Me for now. In this garden, pay attention, look and listen. There are things to learn in the quietness and stillness that you cannot learn in the midst of a battle.”

I’m okay with that, I think, but I don’t know what to do with the multi-page list I’ve been carrying around.

“We’ll use that for weed control,” He replies. And He carefully lays the papers in a special place in the garden, covers them with dirt, and walks away. “They are important to this garden,” He says. “They aren’t going anywhere.”

“Oh!” I exclaim. “There are little seeds embedded in the pages! When the rain comes, they’ll begin to sprout and grow. I don’t have to keep planting them.”

“I’ll keep watch over them with you, and My gardener helpers will make sure they get the proper nutrients,” He says.

And now I see it. The prayers I pray on behalf of other people are like seeds. The more I plant, the bigger the crop, but I’m not capable of or responsible for making them sprout or blossom. Now I’m eager to find even more seeds to plant.

“Look no further,” Jesus says, smiling, as He pulls out a packet from His pocket.

“Show me where to plant them,” I say.

“Some will be planted in your heart and some in others’ hearts. Some will fall on rocky paths, some will get choked by thorns, some will fall on good soil. (Sound familiar?) Just keep planting and sowing, and I’ll take care of the rest.”

Prayer—A Paradigm Shift

Posted on by under God, Prayer

Journal 2006

I’m struggling this morning with “the prayer list.” When I’m processing with clients, they see/hear immediate answers to prayer. If God doesn’t answer, I know to ask a different question or pray something else. Feedback is immediate.

When I’m praying through a list, however, I don’t know if I’m getting through. Perhaps that’s because my attention or focus has always been on the person him/herself. I visualize the person and try to think what I should pray for—and then I say it.

What dawns on me is that my eyes and ears are in the wrong place. If I look at the Master instead, He will guide my prayers so that they’re following what He wants for the person, not what Karen wants. It moves the focus away from a grocery list to a relationship—where He wanted it all along.

Lord, can I come sit in Your lap as a little child and talk to You about these creatures You’ve made—and loved so much that You died for them? They’re a sorry mess—the whole lot of them. And I’m one of them!

Shall we start with my friends x and y? They are so needy. What do You plan to do for them, Lord? Yeah, I know that’s Your business. But would You mind sending an angel or two to minister to their broken hearts and bind up their wounds; and would You hold them for me because I’m too far away to do so myself?

Thank You.

A 2025 Update. I just read A Change of Habit, by Sister Monica Clare. She was a Southern Baptist who, as a child, felt the call to become a nun. She lived a secular life, married, divorced, and then finally fulfilled her life-long dream and became an Episcopalian nun (I didn’t know there was such a thing!) But my takeaway was what the nuns taught her about prayer. This week I took a hike in the woods and soaked in my surroundings, fully alive and aware with all my senses on alert to the divine. Prayer is more than a list; it’s relationship. It’s awareness and stillness and listening.

Do I Really Need a Grocery List?

Posted on by under Choices, God, Prayer, Scripture

Grocery store

I’ve been a life-long student of the subject of intercessory prayer. I’ve read all the books I can find on the subject, tried all the methods suggested, and read biographies of great prayer warriors. But like the majority of us, I still struggle with my inner prayer life. Here’s a journal entry from 2009.

I have a list of people I pray for—but it’s just that—a list, for the purpose of jogging my memory. It serves the same purpose as a grocery list—it’s a reminder so I don’t forget the items at the store. The list doesn’t do much good though until it becomes fulfilled—that is, the item is taken off the shelf, paid for, taken home, and consumed.

There’s no spiritual magic for listing names of people or organizations on a piece of paper. But when I take those names with me to “the store” (the throne room of grace), I can hand the list to God and ask Him to fill the request for me, and then my soul is satisfied. In the process, I give Him permission to make substitutes—perhaps what I put on the list isn’t good for me (or for the person I’m praying for). Maybe there’s a better selection. I ask for generic and He wants to give me the brand name. Sometimes I specify a brand name, and He gives me generic because it’s a better value for my money. And then I need to ask Him to help me remember the people or things I forgot to put on my list. He’s good at that!

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed (Mark 1:35 NIV).

In his book A Journey into Victorious Praying, Bill Thrasher states: “The word for ‘praying’ in Mark 1:35 does not primarily refer to intercession for others but to the outpouring of His own soul to the Father for renewal and refreshment.”

Thrasher also said, “God is capable of taking my feeble prayer and interpreting my desires and deep longings and motivations. The Holy Spirit knows. . . .” He related the story of Augustine, a leader in the early church, who lived a sensual lifestyle in his early years. When he planned to go to Rome, his mother prayed, “O Lord, do not let him go to Rome because he will only get into further debauchery.” God did let him go to Rome. But it was there that he was converted. “The Spirit of God pled the deeper desire of the mother for his spiritual well-being, and God answered her heart.”

Maybe next time I go to the grocery store, it’s okay if I forget my list. Maybe I should just take time to chat with the “Grocer”!

Do you use a prayer list? Why or why not?