My Word for 2015

                                                         

                                    

                                       Prayerful

Many of you may have noticed a new trend in the old way to make New Year’s resolutions. Instead of making a whole list of things that you wish to accomplish in the new year, you pick one word. 

It seems less daunting to have a one word goal than to have a whole list of things that you never get around to. 

My word for this is year “prayerful.”  The Merriam-Webster Dictionary describes prayerful as, “tending to pray often.” 

That is what I want to do this year. I want to pray often. I want to have time set aside daily for prayer. I want to go through my day and stop whenever I feel a need to pray. 

In September of last year I joined a great Bible study on prayer, Digging Deep in God’s Word. I have been amazed by all we have learned so far. This study has made me want to make sure I devote more time to prayer. (If you are interested in reading more about what the Bible says about prayer, it is not too late for you ladies to join us.)   

Following are steps I have taken so far to accomplish my goal.

I started a prayer journal.

 In this journal I have different pages with people or things listed at the top. I list what I want to pray about for that specific topic. My husband, children, blog, etc., each have their own page. I also have a page for names of people who have requested prayer and the date that the prayer was answered.

I have a separate page for Facebook prayer requests. I usually pray as soon as someone asks for prayer on Facebook. If it is something that I want to continue to pray about, I will add it to my other requests.

I started a prayer schedule with a different focus for each day.

This schedule helps me to not be so overwhelmed. 

 Here is my schedule:

·        Sunday—church family and the lost

·        Monday—friends and family outside of our home

·        Tuesday—my  husband

·        Wednesday—my children

·        Thursday—myself

·        Friday—thanksgiving /God’s mercy and holiness

·        Saturday—government, current events and our community

 I use a chalk board to write the main things or people to pray for during the week.

Now when I walk into the kitchen, I can remember to pray for these things right then. 

These are all ways that I hope I will be able to accomplish my goal of being prayerful this year.

What is your word for the new year?