One of the staples of my overall life organization is my prayer binder or “prayer notebook.”  I find that my list of prayer requests can get long, and then if I try to pray for everything every day, I feel like I never really do anything justice; I needed a system to break it down.

What I ended up with was a binder with prayer requests divided up into days of the week by topic, much like my household tasks are divided by days of the week.  Urgent prayer requests can, of course, be prayed for every day; this is not to limit myself.  But I can save the more “routine” requests for their respective days, and since I’m praying about fewer things each day, I can spend more time on being more thorough.  Each section includes reminders of ongoing sorts of things.  (More about that as we move through this mini-series.)

This binder also includes an “every day” section, for (of course) every-day prayers, and I also keep a handful of other items in here, since the binder is something I pull out and look at (fairly) consistently in the mornings during my quiet time.

If You Want to Create a Prayer Binder Like Mine

If you want to create a binder just like mine, you’ll need some supplies.  Obviously, you’ll need a binder.  You’ll also want page protectors, probably a set of tabbed dividers (a set of eight is perfect), and probably some cardstock (although regular printer paper is okay — cardstock holds up better).

I prefer to use a “view binder” (the kind with a clear vinyl cover), so I can insert a labeled cover.  I also personally prefer heavy-duty with D-shaped rings, because I like the way these hold up and the way the pages lie inside the binder.  (It seems to be gentler on the pages.)  Avery and Wilson Jones usually hold up really well for me.

(If you don’t want to buy tabbed dividers, or if you’re having trouble finding dividers that will extend beyond page protectors, another option is to buy adhesive tabs you can add to your own pages.)

Oh, and you’ll need either dry-erase markers (finer-point, that you can write with, not chunky ones) or wet-erase markers.

If You Want to Create a Prayer Binder Like Mine, but Smaller

If you want to create a binder just like mine — except smaller — you’ll need all the same supplies, but in a smaller size (probably 5.5×8.5 inches).  The smaller dividers don’t seem to come as readily in sets of eight, so you might need to buy two five-packs.

Days of the Week

The bulk of my prayer notebook is comprised of the seven individual days-of-the-week sections.  Each day is assigned a category.  For me, those categories look like this:

• Sunday – Church
• Monday – Government
• Tuesday – Missions
• Wednesday – Friends
• Thursday – Self
• Friday – (Immediate) Family
• Saturday – (Extended) Family

You might choose slightly different categories or a different order or whatever, and that’s totally fine.  Remember, organization should always be based on what works well for you.  For me, this particular configuration keeps things somewhat evenly divided, and some fo the categories correlate logically in my mind with their respective days, which makes them easier for me to remember.

Each day contains its own relevant prayer reminders and prayer requests, which you can read about in more detail in the posts for each individual section (linked in the list above).

Permanent (or semi-permanent) reminders are printed on cardstock and tucked inside the sheet protectors.  Short-term requests are then written beside them in dry erase or wet erase marker on the outside of the sheet protectors.  This way the short-term requests can be erased as they become obsolete, but the longer-term reminders stay put.

The Every Day Section of the Notebook

The Every Day section of my binder holds basically two categories — those items which are spefically prayer reminders, and those items which are mostly convenient to have close for daily review.

Daily Prayer Reminders

Daily prayer reminders include, most of all, praises!  It’s important to praise God every day, but especially if it’s been a rough morning, it can be a little tough to get into that groove and be grateful.  So I keep a reminder to praise in here, but also a running list of things I’m thankful for.  (Praise and thanks aren’t precisely the same thing, but they’re so closely related that we typically do them together.)  A collage of some of your blessings can also make for a good reminder.

Bob Hostetler has created a list of “31 Ways to Praise,” which focuses on 31 different attributes of God. That would be a great printout for this section of the notebook.

I also have a “confession of sin” that I clipped from a bulletin at a church we visited that I’ve tucked inside to glue in when I get around it. (It’s a responsive reading. I actually found it a bit odd as a responsive reading, but I thought it would be perfect for my prayer notebook!  If you want to find something similar, you might look among the readings on this page.)

This is also a good place for other prayer calendars that are divided up into daily selections, like this one about Praying for Our Children (also adapted from something written by Bob Hostetler, interestingly enough).

Other Daily Things

Other items include my current goals list, my daily schedule (sometimes – it depends on what season of life I’m in), and an exercise plan (also dependent on season of life).  This is because my quiet time is not only the time I pray and read my Bible, but also the portion of my day when I exercise and prep for the rest of the day.  So if I’m using an exercise plan, I keep it here.  And I like to keep my goals list here so I can both pray over and look over it and my schedule before jumping into the rest of the day.

Want My Dividers?  Click the image below.