Written prayers
Can I write my prayers instead of speaking them?
Something I haven’t addressed yet, but I think might be critical to understanding this newsletter…is how to interact with written prayers.
A long time ago, maybe even before college, someone told me, “Just shoot someone a quick prayer if you’re thinking of them and praying for them.”
…
And it changed my world.
Many prayers are written down for others to recite.
Some of these have become incredibly common and popular that we overlook them.
The Lord’s Prayer being the most obvious example…
…but think about what it means to write out your prayers for others to read. Heck, maybe even for others to pray on their own.
It’s actually incredibly freeing to put pen to paper (or keys to word processor) when you are trying to figure out what you want to pray.
I’m willing to bet many of you do this already if you are the journaling type.
But, I’m also willing to bet that more than a few of you have never shared those written prayers. Let alone sent them to someone else intentionally.
And, in every single one of these newsletters, I write out a prayer that I pray and hope that some of you do as well.
Sometimes, it’s easier to see a prayer written out and just read it with intentionality and let those words be your words.
Likewise, it’s sometimes easier to not try and follow a voice in your heard with a million distracting thoughts and, instead, get those prayers out of your brain and onto something more permanent.
Writing your prayers can help you organize your thoughts and maybe even encourage others (or yourself later on).
My prayer for today
Our Father, thank you for the written word. And thanks for our complex brains that can hold so many conversations and thoughts at once…but we are grateful for the opportunity to jot those down somewhere else or forward them onto those who might need them. Amen.
Remember
Pull up your email or messaging app this week. And write up a prayer and send it to someone you are praying for this week. I think you’ll be in for a surprise.