If you ask a typical church member if they would like to improve their prayer life, they will likely answer yes. I mean, who doesn’t want to improve their prayer life?

Recently, in a quest to improve my prayer life, I started praying through my contacts (both my address book and my Facebook friends).

What I do

  1. I pray for a letter of the alphabet every morning (sometimes two letters, depending on how many people I know with that particular letter and how much time I have).
  2. I write a little note to most of the people I pray for that day (either an email or a Facebook message – I prefer email) telling them I’m praying for them and asking for specific requests.
  3. Throughout the day, I usually receive emails back from those people and pray for their specific requests, which causes me to pray again for my friends.
  4. I file the emails in a special folder in gmail that I can review later.
  5. I mark the requests that are time sensitive on my calendar so I can remember to pray again on specific dates.

What I’ve Noticed

  1. It has helped me think about my time with God first when I wake up in the morning.
  2. I actually find myself praying for these people throughout the day, not just in my specified “prayer time.”
  3. When I write the email or a facebook message, almost everyone responds, both to thank me for praying for them and to give me specific prayer requests. I also have gotten a few responses that include, “Tell me how I can pray for you.”
  4. Many people have situations in their lives for which they need prayer but have nobody to share them with. I have a lot of ministers on my list. Sometimes they are the loneliest people and have nobody with whom to share their requests, so it’s good for them to have someone ask them for specific prayer requests.

I’m wondering if anyone else has any creative ways to pray for their friends. Leave your ideas in the comments.