Would you like to take a peek into my personal prayer journal?

Well, maybe not…but, I hope that this look into a format that I use will be beneficial to you and in your walk with the Lord.  I don’t have any illusions that this is the only way to pray, the best way or even the way that YOU should be praying.  However, you may find that this is a good fit for you.

The format that I use helps me to pray in a systematic way…and keeps me on the task at hand: praying.  I have a tendency to allow my mind and thoughts to wander sometimes, and this really helps to keep me focused.  Most of this pattern for praying I have gleaned from the wisdom of Dr. Ronnie Floyd and to a lesser extent Dr. Adrian Rogers…and I hope that it will be a blessing to you.

I keep my prayer list on my iPad in the “notes” app.  That way it is fairly convenient for me to edit–add names and take names off as I need to.  However, you could type up your own or write you own out.  The headings in bold are the individual sections of the prayer time…with a short reminder of things to pray for.  Here is the break down:

Daily Prayer

Praising God–I start out thanking God for His many blessings and for who He is…and then I transition to:

Confessing Sin–I ask the Holy Spirit to search my heart for any unconfessed of sin in my life…and I acknowledge His finished work for my forgiveness when I come to Him and ask for it. And then:

Praying for spiritual covering for my family and me–often I will pray the “whole armor of God” found in Ephesians 6:10-18 (sometimes other passages) over each member of my immediate family.  Naming them individually and praying for them specifically. And then:

Praying for the filling and anointing of the Holy Spirit–I pray for the filling of the Holy Spirit…I ask God to especially anoint me for preaching, teaching, leadership, decision-making, vision, my relationships, and gladness.  And then I ask God for:

Empowerment to walk in the authority of the Great Commission–I ask God to help me fulfill it, as a pastor and in leading my church, globally, through going, sending, and impacting and influencing others, financially and otherwise, to reach the world for Jesus.  And then I transition to:

Asking God to send a mighty spiritual revival in my church and in America–I plead with Go to pour His Spirit upon us in an amazing, powerful way that is undeniable.  And then:

Ask for God’s leadership upon the leaders of our country—

I call out the names of:

• President: Donald Trump
• Vice-President: Mike Pence
• Congresswoman: Marsha Blackburn
• Senators: Lamar Alexander, Bob Corker
• Tenn. Governor: Bill Haslam
• Tennessee House: Rep. Steve McDaniel
• State Senate: Senator Dolores Gresham
• Henderson Mayor: Bobby King
• Henderson Aldermen: Mark Barber, Johny Farris, Buel Manness, Michael Phelps, Donna Butler and Keith Smith
• Chester County Mayor: Dwain Seaton and the Chester County Commission
• Chester County Board of Education, Principals, teachers, staff, and students
• Madison County Mayor: Jimmy Farris and the Madison County Commission
• Madison County School Board, Principals, teachers, staff, and students.

I pray that God will raise up a generation of godly leaders.  And then:

Special Prayer Requests–Here I ask God to provide physical and spiritual healing and restoration upon those who need it…and for those who recently lost loved ones:

• I usually keep four or five names (that I’m not showing you!) here that I will constantly be adding to or deleting from. These are usually top priority intercessory prayer for others.  The iPad makes it very easy to edit this.

Focus Day Requests–On certain days of the week, I end my prayer time praying for specific things on certain days.

• Sunday: World missions and missionaries
• Monday: Lost and unchurched
• Tuesday: United States
• Wednesday: Friends
• Thursday: Christian leaders
• Friday: Grace Baptist Church ( I do this daily…but Friday is a special day of emphasis for my church)
• Saturday: Extended family

And there you have it.  My personal prayer routine.  I do not follow this every single day through the year.  Sometimes I will change things up as I feel led…but, this is the outline that I come back to the majority of the time.  In addition to this, I also use the church prayer list, often praying for a certain section on different days.

I hope this is beneficial to you…please feel free to let me know what you have done in your own prayer time!

Pastor Marcus D. Kelley