{Prayer Binder} Carrying someone through in prayer

I have had my prayer since about 2014.  I don't use it every day, but it is the main backbone of my prayer time.   I love it.  

It's messy.

It's well used.

and much loved.

Recently I tried something new with it.  The cool people call this a "hack."  I call it "carrying a person through my prayer binder."

Here's how it goes:

If there's a person heavy on my heart, or someone I have been thinking about or praying for, I'll "carry" them through each of my prayer binder sections.  Let me tell you my sections, then specifically, how I do it.

THE TABS:

My current prayer binder tabs (or sections) are:  

Praise

Rest

Confess

Petition

Others

Prodigals

And a tab for my husband and each of my sons

THE CARRY:

For this example, I carried one of my sons through the sections. He's currently not walking with the Lord.  Here's how I carried him through each tab:

PRAISE:

I praised God for giving us this son.  Praised Him that children are a gift of the Lord.  I praised Him for the wonderful times we've had with him.  For the sweet memories to the hard, hard times.  I praised Him for forming me through the painful times and smoothing my rough edges through the sandpaper times (when my son and I were painfully scraping against each other).  I praised Him for humbling me with the hard gift of a headstrong son.  I praised Him that He is not done working in either one of us yet. 

REST: 

The rest tab is the "just sit and talk with God" tab.  So I did.  I talked about what I didn't like about what my prodigal is choosing.  And what I didn't like about God's timing.  And what I was afraid of.  What I am thankful for.  What I am longing for. (I ache to hear my son's voice lifted in prayer and the praise of Jesus!)  I talked to Him about all the things I was pretty sure He should have done by now, and acknowledged that, really, His way is A THOUSAND times better than my way.  I just don't like the wait.  

CONFESS:  

And that rest time led easily into confession. I confessed the ways I've sinned against my son.  My anger, my not listening, my laziness.  My not waiting on the Lord to work, but instead working my own plan.  Not talking to my son about the LOVE of God, but mostly about the WRATH of God.  I prayed that the Lord would cover those sins of mine.  That He would forgive me, and that I would move forward looking to Him, trusting Him.  

PETITION:  

This is where I pray for myself in the relationship with my son.  I pray that He would enable me to wait well and die to myself better.  That He would give me wisdom and discernment and clear thinking when I'm with my son. That I would be sensitive to His spirit and not move head ahead or retreat back without Him.  I pray for grace in our interactions.  I pray for me to have His grace to mortify my own sins instead of looking at my son's.  I pray for times to interact with my son, and sometimes I'll pause here and write a note to remember to text him and ask him to dinner or to do something.

OTHERS:  

Here is where I pray for others who interact with him.  I pray for old friends who are following the Lord to still have a place in His life.  I pray for them to be loving and bold when talking to Him.  I pray for people who maybe he hasn't even met yet, who will draw him to Christ.  I pray for family who love him to also be praying for him.

PRODIGALS:  

Since he is a prodigal I pray some of the notes and verses I have in this section for him.

MY HUSBAND'S TAB:  

I pray for my husband's relationship with him.  I pray for there to be love and joy and also truth.

MY SON'S TAB:   

And when I get to his tab, I pray through the verses and notes I have in there.

MY OTHER SON'S TABS:

I pray the same for my other sons.  That they will remember the good times they had growing up together.  That they would forgive old sins and hurts. That they would be humbled and forgivers.  That the Lord would grow them in love and mercy and grace for each other.  That as they grow into adults that their relationships would be strengthened and close. 

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I love this method because it helps me pray in ways that I normally wouldn't think of.

If you don't have a prayer binder, why not start one to use in the new year?  

You can find all the information under my Prayer Binder tab above.

If you do have one, but it's been a while since you've used it, pull it out and try to carry someone who you have been praying for through the tabs.  I'd love to hear how it works for you!