“I’m praying for you!”
“I’ll definitely be praying for that.”
“You are in my thoughts and prayers.”
We can all be quick to offer these words but even quicker to forget about them. Remembering to pause and lift up the needs of others is difficult yet important. As Colossians 4:2 says, “Devote yourselves to prayer.”
Devote yourselves to prayer. This is big. The verse doesn’t say dabble in prayer or dip your toe in the water that is prayer. It says to devote yourself to prayer. And if we believe God’s Word to be true, then we should be women and girls who are intentional in prayer.
So how can we intentionally take and remember prayer requests? Here are some tips:
- Form an accountability group.
I have a friend that started asking me for prayer requests when we were in 8th grade. Eleven years later, she still does this. Establishing trust and consistency leads us to rely on each other in prayer. - Have a less obvious way to send in prayer requests.
It may be hard for some girls to openly discuss what is on their hearts. Emphasize that they can always reach out to you or other leaders with prayer requests via text or a phone call. - Download a prayer request app.
Echo is a great one. This app will send you push notifications to remind you to pray. You could set a notification for when you wake up in the morning, when you go to bed at night, or even in the middle of the day. - Set a reminder in your phone.
I once saw that my husband has a daily reminder in his phone to pray for me, and it made me feel so loved! Phone reminders are also a good way to be specific: you could set a reminder to “Pray for the friend struggling with school” in the morning, “Pray for the family member with cancer” in the middle of the day, or “Pray for the neighbor that isn’t a believer” in the evening. On the other hand, you could set reminders for certain days of the week. Maybe you’ll focus on praying for your sister each Wednesday and your friends each weekend. - Write them down in a journal.
This is my preferred method. I recommend making a list of prayer requests you know of and visiting this daily. You will likely find that you have to make edits to this as prayers are answered or as God’s plan unfolds. - Put a sticky note on your mirror.
It’s simple and effective. You can also write down Scripture passages you are praying through or trying to memorize. The mirror can be a place of temptation for many of us, and having a visible reminder to pray in this spot is impactful.
Not only are these great ways to remember to pray, but they also later serve as reminders of God’s faithfulness. When we are able to look back and reflect on how God answered prayers (or protected us by answering prayers differently than we expected), we grow to trust Him more.
Consistent, specific prayers make a difference. And the more we make prayer a priority in our lives, the more we connect with our Heavenly Father and lift up the needs of those around us. If you have more ideas for remembering prayer requests, please leave them in the comments below!
Olivia Thames is a writer, editor, and real estate agent living in Nashville, Tennessee. She loves words, people, and homes, and especially loves connecting all three. Olivia and her husband Grant enjoy walking their dog Curtis, eating Mexican food, and cheering on Ole Miss with friends and family. You can find more of her words at oliviathames.com.
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