How This $7 Homemade Board Changed My Praying Game

I am going to admit something here, right up front. I spent many (many) years paying little (or no) attention to my prayer game. I honestly felt like God was going to do… well… whatever He wanted to do, with or without my prayers. Wow… that’s a lot of honesty. But maybe you find it relatable?

All of that changed for me about a year ago. If you’ve ever been through a life circumstance that literally dropped you to your knees, then you understand the complete paradigm shift that took place in my heart when I witnessed the truly divine power of prayer.

I had a beautiful friend reach out to me and express that God had been placing me in her thoughts and on her heart and she was praying for me. What? God wanted someone to pray for me? But why? Couldn’t He just reach in and pull me out of the storm himself? I couldn’t understand it.

Then, my Heavenly Father began to tap on my heart. He began to guide me in my own prayers. But why? Clearly He was seeing the pain and destruction. Couldn’t He just whisper the cure and it be done? And yet, every time He met me, I was given a gentle push here or a soft nudge there. An answer that looked more like guidance and direction than the miracles that I so desperately sought.

What transpired over the next twelve months was a series of beautiful, and sometimes very difficult, conversations between my Heavenly Father and me.

I learned how much He loves me.

I learned that He created me and delights in me.

I learned that I am not here by chance, but that He has a calling on my heart.

I also learned that I can trust Him, even when the answer is not what I wanted.

I learned that He is there, even when I feel alone.

I learned that He can reweave my brokenness and bring forth something beautiful from it.

And I learned how to give Him all of me and allow Him to guide my path.

Truly life-changing revelations. NOT something that I merely repeated robotically, like I did before. No… these were DEEPLY ROOTED BELIEFS, based entirely on the personal conversations between my heart and His.

Prayer… our pathway to a relationship with Jesus.

There are many, many reasons why prayer is so very important, but I would like to humbly share with you the biggest lesson that I learned in that year… God desires a relationship with me (and with you).

I no longer see prayer as a way to ask for help from a God that I don’t really know or understand. I see prayer as a conversation between my best friend and me. I await His response with no doubt in my heart that He will answer. And even if the answer is not what I had hoped, I have learned that there are just as many blessings in His “no” as there are in His “yes.” But more importantly, I value my relationship with Him and I desire to be close to His heart.

Once I understood and truly respected the power of prayer, I started paying attention to how many times that I would tell a friend, “I’ll pray for you,” or “I’ll keep you in my prayers.” These may have been flippant words before (ouch!) but now, I took them very seriously and it was hurting my heart when I was struggling to keep up with it all. The problem was that life would get busy and my memory and focus would scatter and I found myself losing track of names that I said I’d keep in my conversations. I needed a solution…

I’m really not sure where this idea initially sparked, but it has worked so well for us that I decided to share it here… After much debate and failed personal attempts to utilize other ideas and methods, I decided to hang a prayer board in our bedroom.

After I made the decision to (sort of) DIY it, I started (bargain) shopping for an inexpensive oversized frame. I found several options at our local thrift shop, but they were not in the dimensions that I wanted. I was seriously thrilled when I spotted this 2’x3′ mirror frame near a dumpster at our local transfer station! It was beautiful, the perfect size, and FREE!

I made a quick trip to the hardware store for a 2’x4′ piece of marker board ($6.48). Tip: You can usually have them cut the marker board down for you at the store if you know the size of your frame. My husband and I decided to put the framed marker board in our bedroom so that we would see it every morning and every night. The final result was exactly what we needed:

We use this board very regularly to write the names of family members and friends that we are lifting in our prayers. Even on the busiest of days, it is a great reminder to pause for a moment and whisper their name to my Heavenly Father’s heart. And let me tell you, there is a tremendous amount of power in praying for each other.

When I say I’m going to pray for you, I want the devil to shake with fear; not because of who I am, but because of Whose I Am! The enemy knows very well the One that walks with me. And He knows that with one whisper of my Father’s name, he will be crushed.

“You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because the One in you is greater than the one in the world.” 1 John 4:4

When I commit to praying with you, I want you to be confident that I mean it. I want you to take comfort in the idea that someone is putting on their battle gear every day alongside you. That I will not forget. That I will be on the journey with you as you pray through your spiritual breakthrough. That together, we will be faithfully trusting God to make a way. And that is why I felt that this board was important for our family. It serves as a daily reminder to take up my sword and join the fight.

“For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.” Matthew 18:20

And, trust me, He is a good, good Father and He will meet us there.

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Romans 12:12

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God’s Promises…

Shortly after making this prayer board, I read about Kris Vallotton’s practice of writing out prophetic words spoken over him on index cards, encouraging words communicating God’s promises and direction. He keeps the cards in his briefcase and reviews them regularly. Vallotton, the co-founder of Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry (BSSM), explains why he does this in his book, The Supernatural Ways of Royalty:

“Promises are like the rudder of a ship. Rudders determine the direction of that ship. And what I do with God’s promises determines the direction of my thought-life and eventually affects my reality. It is essential to understand what God thinks of me (and others) in order to step into my destiny. Regardless of circumstances, God’s word is true.”

I absolutely loved this idea and decided to incorporate it into our prayer board.

We personally use sticky notes, but you could also just make a section of your board dedicated to “prophetic words and promises.” Here, they serve as a daily reminder that no matter what we are facing, individually or as a family, we can cling to His promises and find rest and peace in His faithfulness. Focusing on prophetic words spoken over me and promises that God spoke directly into my heart got me through many difficult days in my healing journey. We may not always understand the journey, but we can refocus on the One True Healer and place our life in His hands.

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We hope you enjoyed this post! Blessings, friends! I’m praying for you today!