I’ve always struggled with prayer.  More than anything it’s because of my lack of focus for a long period of time.  I’ve just not nailed it down.  Now, I usually do have some success with short prayers throughout the day, but what happens is I miss so many people I need to be praying for.  My prayers have the tendency to be self focused if I just pray throughout the day.  So, here’s what I’ve been doing lately with a little more success than before.

I’m now praying during my morning devotional time for 10 people.  It has been really helpful to limit it to 10 and make sure I get up to 10 a day.  That seems to take care of the people most in need of prayer and I don’t get overwhelmed.  Now, when I say 10 I usually mean 10 more than my immediate family.  I try to pray for my wife, my children, and their families daily.  So, here is what I’m attempting to do:

Mondays I pray for 10 pastors. Monday’s are usually their hardest day and it’s when they really begin to ponder what to preach about Sunday.

Tuesdays I pray for 10 people in our congregation who don’t fall into one of the following categories.

Wednesday I pray for 10 people who are dealing with health issues.  I pray for those in our congregation first then others.

Thursday I pray for 10 people who are businessmen and women.  I pray for those in our congregation first then others.

Friday I pray for 10 people who are far from God.  I pray for those in our congregation first then others.

Saturday I pray 10 people who will be involved some way or another in our weekend worship service either volunteering or paid staff.

Sunday I spend time in praise and worship preparing for our worship service.

I’m going to keep at it and see if this has more success than other ways I’ve tried before.