Prayer App: PrayerMate

I sometimes forget to do things if there's not a reminder. If I don't write down my shopping list, I forget to buy everything I need.

PrayerMate is a delightful app to help me remember to pray (and what I want to pray for). 

It lets a person create lists to pray and add sub-categories to that list. 

Prayer reminders can be set at certain times, and in fact, prayer frequency can be adjusted from every time to once a week.

The app tracks your prayer requests to make sure that nothing is being skipped or forgotten. 

I've really enjoyed learning to use this prayer app, and get the reminders to pray each day.

How to Pray the News: Final Thoughts and What Comes Next

Summary: Country of the Week: 

Source: Link

Final Thoughts 

Instead of going into a fifth way to pray the news to wrap up this month of "how to pray the news", I wanted to share some articles from organizations and other bloggers with ideas about ways to pray the news: Wycliffe, Guideposts, Theology of Work, and Harvest Prayer. 

This series of weekly prayer prompts based on the news has drawn to a close. You might be wondering why I'm not continuing this series since the news changes every day and thus there is a continually ongoing source to draw from. I was reminded that my goal in this series was to encourage people to pray beyond the borders of their cities, states, and countries, as we pray for the people all around the world. But more than providing people with a collection of curated and summarized prayer requests, based on the news, I wanted to equip people to read the news for themselves and make their own prayers. So after 73 praying the news posts in 2020 (I started out doing two posts a week) and 30 praying the news posts in 2021, I am ready to transition to a broader approach to prayer. 

What Comes Next

We will look at additional types of prayer (such as finishing that prayer wheel that last week's theme was based on and diving deeper into lament) and ways to shake up our prayer routines since there is a fine line between a routine and a rut. 

Challenging topics will be examined, such as dealing with tension in our prayers, expanding our prayers (whether by praying for more than healing or making bigger requests), or praying holistic prayers (for a person's body, mind, soul, and spirit). 

Praying for God's will and praying "on earth, as it is in heaven" will also be themes we will explore. 

We will look at praying for different groups: including but not limited to: the vulnerable/marginalized/oppressed, as well as leaders, non-Christians, and other categories.

I hope that you are excited for these upcoming topics. It is my intent to publish two posts a month on this blog, as we examine other aspects of prayer. By all means, keep praying the news, even as we dive deeper into other types of prayer. 

An Explanation

A while back, I was compelled to pray a dangerous prayer. I asked God to change my heart so I would react like He does to world events.

I didn't realize how that prayer would shatter me.

When God observes death, destruction, and sin, His heart is broken.
As God has been answering my prayer, my heart has been breaking too.

I've formed the habit of reading multiple news sites before church services, to find topics to pray for. I've begun to email myself headlines and summaries to share at church.

That's when I thought I could collect these prayer prompts in a blog for others who have a heart for the nations and for everyone in them.

These won't be perfect or complete lists, but it is a step in the right direction to bring these requests before God, even while asking others to join in praying.