How to Make a Prayer List

And How to Keep It
Grace McCready

About five years ago, I decided to make a prayer list. I was in a really dark place at the time because I was in the midst of recovering from anorexia. I was battling Satan’s lies, struggling to believe the truth, and feeling desperate for something that could “cure” me of the awful thoughts that I had about my body. As I wrote about in my book, my mental recovery, emotional recovery, and spiritual recovery were much more time-consuming (and energy-consuming) than my physical recovery. So, I half-heartedly created a prayer list.

To be honest, I’ve always struggled to pray consistently. Even using prayer lists hasn’t transformed me into a prayer warrior. But prayer lists have helped me remember prayer requests. And writing down God’s answers to my prayer requests, helps me remember His answers!

So, if you’re interested in making (and keeping) a prayer list, here are a few ideas to get you started:

1. Start small.
   Before buying a huge notebook to keep your prayer requests in, it might be wise to start with a simple sheet of paper. You can decorate it, use colored pens, separate it into sections, or organize it however you want. Then think of a few of the heaviest burdens you’re currently carrying and write them down. Decide how often you’re going to pray about them—whether it’s once a day, once a week, once a month, or something else.

2. Change it up.
   Currently, I use a journal to write down prayer requests. The reason that I like to record prayer requests in a journal (as opposed to recording them in a list format on a sheet of paper) is because it gives me plenty of space to write out prayer requests and answers to those prayer requests. It also gives me space to organize various sections of prayer requests—for example, prayer requests for myself, prayer requests for my family members, and prayer requests for friends. After you develop the habit of keeping a prayer list, consider how you can expand and organize your list.

3. Be faithful.
   There’s nothing magical about having a prayer list, but as I mentioned earlier, it’s a great way to remember what to pray for and remember how God has answered your prayers. Yes, it can be discouraging to continually pray for something and not see any results. But that doesn’t give us an excuse to stop praying. In fact, that should encourage us to keep praying because our faith grows as we pray persistently.

Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal protection from my opponent.’
For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.’”
And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”
(Luke 18:1-8 NASB1995)

GRACE MCCREADY Grace enjoys spending time with her family, hanging out with friends, and watching her favorite TV shows. She is the author of Real Recovery: What Eating Disorder Recovery Actually Looks Like (2022). She shares her struggles at her blog,Tizzie's Tidbits of Truth.