Something My Tablet Doesn't Do...
..but should is to function as a prayer journal.
This is not through any limitation of the technology, but rather owing to a failing on the part of the user. I currently have at least three separate pieces of software installed that would be excellent tools for helping me to track and remember the various things that I need to be constantly praying for or giving thanks and praise for. (Indeed, I wonder how Paul, who speaks of "always" praying and giving thanks for the Romans, the Corinthians, the Philippians, the Colossians, the Thessalonians, Timothy and Philemon, and presumably many other churches and individuals, kept them all straight and in mind. Do you suppose he used a prayer journal of some sort?)
I know of people who keep prayer journals, not only keeping track of things about which they pray regularly, but also of answers to those prayers. Some, I suspect, have filled several of these journals in their lives. How great would it be to have such a thing be perpetual and to always have it with you? Rather than killing a few spare minutes playing Solitaire I could put the time to better use either praying for these things or remembering and giving thanks for God's faithful answers. Whenever I hear of a need, I could not just say "I'll pray for you" and hope I remember to really do so more than once (a big "mea culpa" here). Instead I could immediately enter it into my journal where it would be there as a reminder to pray faithfully. Depending on how it was organized, I could also use it as a reminder to follow up with the person and hear when and how God answered.
As I said, this is one of those things I have known for years--no, decades--that I ought to do. (James 4:17 comes to mind here as a convicting verse.) But I never have. Now more than ever before I have a powerful tool to help me, so I am utterly without excuse - as if I ever had one.
So how about helping me out? Do you keep a prayer journal? How do you organize it? How do you set up each page? Do you have a column for the request, the date you first entered the request, and one for the answer and date of the answer? Do you set up pages for different areas of life, such as family, friends, ministries, etc? Do you set up pages for prayer times on different days of the week? (e.g. you pray for this missionary on Mondays, the Christian School on Tuesdays, etc.) What system works for you and why does it work? If you want to answer but don't want to post publicly, email me: markp@together.net.
I really do want to be faithful in this aspect of my life and my Tablet is the perfect resource for helping me to bring my actions in line with my understanding of what I should be doing. If, or when, I get a system that works for me I'll write about it here. Maybe I'll even journal the process and missteps along the way.
This is not through any limitation of the technology, but rather owing to a failing on the part of the user. I currently have at least three separate pieces of software installed that would be excellent tools for helping me to track and remember the various things that I need to be constantly praying for or giving thanks and praise for. (Indeed, I wonder how Paul, who speaks of "always" praying and giving thanks for the Romans, the Corinthians, the Philippians, the Colossians, the Thessalonians, Timothy and Philemon, and presumably many other churches and individuals, kept them all straight and in mind. Do you suppose he used a prayer journal of some sort?)
I know of people who keep prayer journals, not only keeping track of things about which they pray regularly, but also of answers to those prayers. Some, I suspect, have filled several of these journals in their lives. How great would it be to have such a thing be perpetual and to always have it with you? Rather than killing a few spare minutes playing Solitaire I could put the time to better use either praying for these things or remembering and giving thanks for God's faithful answers. Whenever I hear of a need, I could not just say "I'll pray for you" and hope I remember to really do so more than once (a big "mea culpa" here). Instead I could immediately enter it into my journal where it would be there as a reminder to pray faithfully. Depending on how it was organized, I could also use it as a reminder to follow up with the person and hear when and how God answered.
As I said, this is one of those things I have known for years--no, decades--that I ought to do. (James 4:17 comes to mind here as a convicting verse.) But I never have. Now more than ever before I have a powerful tool to help me, so I am utterly without excuse - as if I ever had one.
So how about helping me out? Do you keep a prayer journal? How do you organize it? How do you set up each page? Do you have a column for the request, the date you first entered the request, and one for the answer and date of the answer? Do you set up pages for different areas of life, such as family, friends, ministries, etc? Do you set up pages for prayer times on different days of the week? (e.g. you pray for this missionary on Mondays, the Christian School on Tuesdays, etc.) What system works for you and why does it work? If you want to answer but don't want to post publicly, email me: markp@together.net.
I really do want to be faithful in this aspect of my life and my Tablet is the perfect resource for helping me to bring my actions in line with my understanding of what I should be doing. If, or when, I get a system that works for me I'll write about it here. Maybe I'll even journal the process and missteps along the way.
posted by Mark Payton at 5:52 PM
2 Comments:
Wow, what a great post. I know so many things are forgotten by me when I pray. I knew of people keeping a journal (my pastor did, with me in it, always praying I would accept Christ - which I eventually did). I never though I'd be able to be consistien so I never attempted it. My mind tends to not attempt if failure is a possibility.
Of course, this is a very crucial time for prayer. Katrina might be a good motivation.
Since you have e-Sword on your system.
i) Every time you get a prayer request, add the request to a prayer module.
ii) Check the box on the prayer module to always be displayed when e-Sword is started.
iii) Say the prayers everytime you start e-Sword.
xan
jonathon
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