The Practice of Written Prayer

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“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” James 5:16

It was a decade ago when my friend sent out a New Year’s prayer e- mail to our group of girlfriends. She incorporated a paragraph for each of us individually, praying over the tough things in our lives and speaking a blessing over our lives in the year to come.

Those written words touched me profoundly, and I realized the incredible impact of written prayer—it’s a gift to have the ability to reread the prayer and secretly soak in the words, to fold it up and carry it around in my pocket. It’s one thing for someone to tell you that they are praying for you, but it is something else entirely to hold in your hands the actual prayer that someone has prayed over you.

I toyed with this idea of written prayer for a few years and would occasionally send an e-mail or a handwritten note to someone I knew was walking through a difficult time. The response was always overwhelmingly positive. It wasn’t until two years ago that I adopted the practice of written prayer sent as text messages. Someone I love was struggling on a daily basis, and I began texting her quick prayers several times a week. It was quick and easy for me, and it reached her immediately and effortlessly.

We both loved texting as a way to send prayers to one another so much that we expanded our text prayer correspondence to include a group text of women who would all pray for one another. As today’s verse in James reminds us, our prayers for others are both powerful and effective. Sometimes when life looks impossibly difficult, the biggest blessing you can give another is the gift of a prayer written in the spirit of James 5:16.

Today's Act of Kindness: Encourage someone through a written prayer via text, e-mail, or social media.

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This is an entry from The One Year: Daily Acts of Kindness. This devotional is available at OMF Lit Bookshops and our online stores, shop.omflit.com Shopee, and Lazada for P365. 

About the book:

What would happen if you and your family committed to doing one act of kindness each day for a year? 

Our world desperately needs more kindness. Whether it’s on social media, in the news, or between your arguing kids it can seem like conflict and disconnection are everywhere. But imagine how much better life would be if we got intentional about being kind!

This year, embark on a journey to make kindness a part of your life, home, and soul. In The One Year Daily Acts of Kindness Devotional, you’ll find Scripture passages and inspirational personal stories about why God calls us to show kindness, what it means to live a life of generosity, and how you can incorporate kindness into your everyday routine (and teach it to your kids) with tons of simple, easy-to-do ideas.

Show your world the kind of love that is possible with daily acts of kindness that will change your heart, inspire your family, and draw you closer to God.