Prayer Journal

I have committed to spending the entire month of September in prayer for our pastor. The commitment is 3 times a day for the whole month. I am to document what I pray and when I pray in a prayer journal.

I must say that my prayer life is not up to par. I do pray. Especially for those who despitefully use me : Matthew 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you:
(Which is a challenge~~to get to the point that you can pray for your enemies or people who intentionally hurt you is not easy by any stretch of the imagination.)

I pray for Riky, other's prayer requests that I know of, Missionaries, church families, our family and people close to us, my children, and of course, myself (mostly for my heart to be softened-and not to fall into hard-heartedness).

I pray.

But does it give me the "peace which passeth all understanding"? Not really
Philipians 4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus

Do I "take my burdens to the Lord and leave them there"? Not really

Do I find rest unto my soul? Not really
Matthew 11:28&29 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

Do I take the time to make prayer a priority in my day? Not really

What should my answers be? Yes, Yes, Yes, and a resounding YES

This time that I have had to document my prayers and stay focused on Pastor has been good for me. I have had to think in advance of some topics to pray for Pastor. I have to /get to pray for him specifically 90 times! 90 times I have to focus my time and thoughts toward his well being and life. I have included Mrs. Benton in many of these prayers and will continue to keep her in the forefront of my mind when I pray for him. Being accountable to this journal and the people who are depending on me not to drop the ball on this chain has been excellent for me so far (day 3 :) I am hoping that by the end of the month, I will have established some great habits in my prayer life.

This challenge has inspired me to begin to read "The Power of a Praying Wife" (frankly, I was afraid to read this book in some ways~~Ignorance is bliss ~~I didn't want to find out that alot of the conflicts that we have and problems that we go through are my fault or could have been fixed if I was in diligent prayer for Riky. I wasn't ready to face the chance that by not doing what I should, I was causing hindrances to Riky. I am ready to face facts now (I think). When I read Created to be His Helpmeet, I ran into the fact that I had an "I" problem, which has made me hesitant to jump into the Praying Wife book) I will not only be reading this book, but also doing a study since the scripture references are not KJV, so I will have to look them up and write them down as I go. It should be really good for me.

I am actually EXCITED to pray right now. What a change accountability can make!