7 Hacks To Help You Remember to Pray

Prayer is one of the richest blessings a Christian has. To be able to have open companionship and communication with the Creator of the Universe is a priceless gift that I can’t even begin to wrap my head around. Yet, even with that knowledge, I tend to leave that precious blessing unwrapped and untouched for days on end. Why is that?

Needless to say, my motives for praying have been skewed for the past couple of years, and I’m learning a new truth about prayer. I used to think I needed to pray to change God’s mind or to change someone else, but I’ve come to realize that 100% of the time – prayer changes me.
I stinkin’ need it. We need it. Not just in the moments we are desperate for it, but every. day. We were made to be in constant communication with our Savior and I believe our walk with Him becomes extraordinarily intimate when prayer becomes a regular part of our lives.

I’m all about  weaving spiritual disciplines into our lives in very practical ways, so here are some *prayer hacks* I’ve been trying out, and maybe they’ll help you too!

#1. Put a Reminder on Your Lock screen
This statistic makes me a little sick, but the average person checks their phone 85 times a day.  Most of those “checks” are to look the time, check for messages, exc.  Try typing up a prayer list on your notes, screen shot it and make it your lock screen. Then, as you check your phone *85 times a day*, you’re also reminding yourself to pause, and pray.

#2. Pick a song, and pray along!
I have some good friends who are going through an extremely rough time. One day, she posted a lyric to a song that resonated with her situation and now I always think about them when I hear that song. When I hear that song on the radio, I pray specifically for them throughout the remainder of that song. Do you have some friends in your life that are needing some serious prayer? Pick a song that makes you think of them and commit to praying specifically for them whenever you hear it.

#3. Write It in Word
When I’m on my computer at home or during a break at work, sometimes I’ll just write out my prayers on a Word document and let.it.all.out. I don’t know what it is, but I’m able to stay focused, really say (or write) what’s on my mind, and then allow time for the Lord to speak back to me and write back down what I feel Him saying to me.

#4. Set an Alarm on Your Phone
It is amazing what we do with those spare moments throughout the day. We scroll through Facebook, check emails, check Facebook, and maybe glance up once and awhile. Do you have a certain time during the day you find yourself with those spare moments? Set an alarm on your phone to go off during that certain time of the day. Let it be a quick reminder to spend those extra moments in the day catching up with your Savior rather than scrolling through social media.

#5. Post It Notes
Whoever created these babies was/is a GENIUS. Post it notes are my best friend. They are fabulous for plastering all over your house with forget-me-nots, notes to self, and grocery lists. They are also great to keep posted around the house with prayer requests for friends, family or those who have asked you to keep them in prayer. Place them in common places around the house such as on the bathroom mirror, your nightstand, or on your desk at work. It’s an easy way to remember to keep people in your thoughts and prayers in a very tangible way.

#6. Put a Penny in Your Shoe
That’s right. PENNY in SHOE. I reluctantly tried this after a youth conference a couple weeks ago, and wow. It is so annoying. Every time you get up to walk around, that dang penny is sliding all around your feet. That was exactly the point. Just like the speaker said, every time that penny moved around, I remembered to pray for what we talked about that night. It actually worked! In the morning, pick something/someone to pray for and plop that chunk of copper in your shoe!

#7. Keep Track and Look Back
This one might very well be my favorite one. Every year, my mom starts a new prayer list that she keeps in her Bible. All throughout the year, she adds more requests while writing next to the already existing ones what God is doing in that situation. She let me look at one she completed from 3 years ago. It made me want to cry. She documented everything God did. She wrote down people who needed healing, direction, or a miracle and then she’d specifically write what happened next to it. When times get hard, THAT is what I want to have to look back on and remember that God is always working even when we can’t see it. Make your own prayer list! Keep track of what God is doing around you and look back and reflect on all He’s done. It will encourage you like crazy.

It may sound silly to have reminders like this to help us remember to pray, but in a world with constant distraction, noise and things begging for our attention, sometimes we need that gentle nudge to help us remember what is truly important.

Do you have a #prayerhack that helps you remember to pause and pray? Feel free to share in the comments!