Last week we looked at a plan for spending some in depth time with God and making it last. However, the reality is, as you grow in your prayer life, those lists you develop are going to start taking more than 5 minutes a piece. You’re going to start wondering how to get it all in. Or perhaps your schedule just doesn’t allow for an hour. Maybe you’re shooting for 30 minutes or 15 minutes per day (no matter what anyone says, that’s okay). In any event, you’re going to wonder how to get it all in.
You need to set yourself free from the idea that you have to pray for everything in every prayer. You don’t have to cover it all every time you pray. Instead, plan out your prayers for the week and assign different topics to each day.
Obviously, there will be aspects of prayer you keep up with every day. I’m sure you’ll offer some praise and thanksgiving along with confession every day. However, as you consider your intercessions and petitions, you can schedule them out each day.
Consider the following schedule as just a suggestion:
Sunday: Praise and thanksgiving
Monday: Personal requests and family issues
Tuesday: The local congregation, members, elders, deacons, evangelists, the work, special events
Wednesday: Other congregations, their elders, deacons and evangelists
Thursday: Special needs, the lost, the sick
Friday: Our nation, the world, war and peace
Saturday: Clean-up (anything that has come up over the week that you need to pray about)
Obviously, you can make up your own schedule, but you get the idea.
I know some people will say, “But, Edwin, that means I’m not praying for it all every day.” That’s true. However, to be quite honest, before I started this plan, I kept saying, “I don’t have time to pray right now.” Then I wasn’t praying for anything. With this plan, at least I’m getting it all prayed for in a timely fashion.
This is just a suggestion. Just make sure you are praying. You need the connection to God to survive.
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