We’re in the ASK part of my prayer journal, we’ve spent time in adoration, contrition/confession, and thanksgiving. We’ve read our Scriptures, and taken steps to apply what we have learned to our daily lives, and now, we come to the part where we petition God for the things we need. Supplication is just a fancy word for “ask” or “request”.
This part of prayer is the most familiar to us. I am guilty of spending more time asking for God to help me, or bless me, or hear me than I am at any of the others put together. I started working on this prayer journal for this very reason, so I could stay focused and remember to glorify and honor God, remember His blessings to me, and listen to what He has to say to me in prayer.
I start my time of asking, by asking others to pray for me. I wrote a little bit about that here and here, and there’s more I want to add, but it would be another blog post in itself, so it will have to wait for another day. One of my favorite prayers for intercession is to St. Michael the Archangel. I have this prayer written out to help me ask St. Michael for his protection and his prayers. There are other saints that I know are watching my race and rooting me on as I go. I am so thankful for their prayers for me.
I divided “Supplication” into 7 sections, one for each day of the week. On the front of each tab, I have a sticky note with the day’s prayer intentions written on it. I got this idea from my Catholic Family Prayer book, and added some of my own intentions to their suggestions. It helps me to have it a little bit different every day, so I don’t feel like I’m in a rut asking for the same things every day.
I have pockets in these sections to hold holy or patron saint cards, handwritten notes, pictures, or scribbles on scrap paper with prayer requests on them. These are just aids in reminding me who or what I need to pray for, and gives me something to do with my hands while I’m praying. It really helps me to have a visual prompt, especially when praying for people.
Right now, my tabs include:
Sunday: Parish and neighborhood, a spirit of zeal, true religion and piety, and priests. Since I am praying for my own parish today, I specifically name Fr. Andrew and Fr. Joseph, as well as the Holy Father, Pope Francis.
Monday: Marriages and families, a spirit of meekness and humility, souls in purgatory, and religious communities.
Tuesday: My own children and grandchildren (by name and special intentions), a spirit of faith, relatives, friends, and benefactors. I keep a LOT of pictures in this section. I like to be able to “lay hands” on my family members even though we are far apart. Note: This is a great place to retire those Christmas cards with family pictures 🙂
Wednesday: World leaders, a spirit of charity, the sick, dying, elderly, suffering and poor (and those who care for them).
Thursday: The persecuted Church, love for the Holy Eucharist, vocations to the priesthood, conversion of unbelievers and needs of missionaries
Friday: State and local authorities, employers, spirit of self-mortification and self-sacrifice, conversion of sinners
Saturday: Social media connections, personal ministries, love of chastity and the Blessed Virgin, schools and teachers, children and youth. (Since my children are all out of school, and grandchildren have not yet entered, I pray for their future teachers and schools as well as our local schools, public and private. I pray for the witness of Christian teachers on thier students and co-workers, and for the witness of Christian youth on their peers and teachers.
I am in the process of assigning a patron saint for each day. I don’t have one for each day yet, but St. Vincent dePaul fits appropriately on Wednesday. It’s a handy prompt for me to remember to pray for our church’s chapter of St. Vincent dePaul and their ministry to those in need. Similarly, St. Therese has become our family’s patron saint, so it is fitting that I place her prayer card in Monday’s slot. I became aware of a need in her community in Lisieux, and having her prayer card reminds me to lift those needs up. It’s the least I can do, since she is praying for me, I can pray for her as well. I know others will come to me as I continue to ask, but right now, that’s all I’ve come up with.
Do you have a system for organizing your prayer intentions for yourself and others? I’d love to hear your ideas, and glean from you too. Share in the comments with us.
Last year, a dear friend sent me a little journal, which had remained empty and unused until last week. I’ve put it to use as my Beta version, and when I pick it up, I remember her in my prayers. (She is one that I thank God for in my Thanksgiving…as well as one I intercede for in my supplication) …but I’m getting ahead of myself. By the way, I LOVE how God made this journal with sunflowers! It’s like my prayer life has a theme…and seeing sunflowers reminds me to pray. How great is He!?
New Things 