Do you ever get overwhelmed with all the prayer requests that come in--prayer chains, small groups, Bible Study, friends, family, etc. And you sometimes feel guilty when you forget to pray for someone? Of you forget to thank God and look for the praises later? Well, I came up with an idea for our family because that was me! So, I went to the dollar store and purchased a simple jar. Then, I decorated it at home. Next, I wrote down as many prayer requests as I could think of on small pieces of paper, folded them up and put them in the jar. We placed the jar on the kitchen table so we remember to pray. Then, usually at lunch time, each kid enjoys picking out a piece of paper from the jar, especially the 2 year old! Then, we pray for the requests we have picked. When we are done, we place the papers we just prayed for in the lid of the jar. This way we are sure to get through all the requests. When we have prayed through all the requests, then we take the papers out of the lid and place them back into the jar.
The praises come so easily now and the kids get to see them too! Let's say we've been praying for a particular prayer request for some time now...my sister's house to sell. We pick this request out of the jar once again and it becomes a praise because my sister's house just sold!! So, now we thank God during our prayer time for the house selling and His faithfulness! The kids are excited! Next, we throw that prayer request out since it has been answered.
Every time we get a new request in, we just write it down and stick it in the jar. Mom is no longer overwhelmed, enjoys prayer time more (because the jar helps me remember who to pray for), the kids are involved (even the 2 year old), and we get to see God work!
Here is our Prayer Jar
Here is a picture of the lid where we put the papers we just prayed for
