31 Days of Prayer

For a while now I have felt that I need to do something about my prayer life. I pray every day - for friends and family, the members of my online prayer group, my dogs, etc., but it's not focused or conscious prayer. I pray while I am driving in the car, doing laundry, or cleaning the house. Not that there is anything wrong with that, prayer is prayer, but I personally feel that I need to do more. Or maybe it's God nudging me to do more. Whatever it is, I have this feeling that I need to be on my knees, crying out to God. Sometimes I can see myself doing so, but then I don't actually go do it.

I also just started following Leigh Ann over at Intentional by Grace and watched the video about the "Surrendered Marriage" series they are doing. In it she mentioned the book "31 Days to Build a Better Spouse" and since I want to be more intentional about my prayers for DH as well, I went ahead and purchased it.

Some of you might think this book is about changing my husband into the person *I* think he should be, but that's not what it's about at all. Actually, from what I have seen so far just reading the first page (day 1) and skimming through it, the book is about knowing and praying *God's* will for your spouse.

So I decided to combine my desire to have a more intentional prayer life and my desire to pray more for my husband, with this 31 day prayer book. I figure it if takes 21 days to build a habit, then 31 days has to be even better. Since July is just around the corner and just so happens to have 31 days, I decided to start this little challenge on July 1st. Why not start today? Well, maybe it's because I am slightly OCD or a structured German or too anal or because I have gut dysbiosis causing weird behavior, but I can't get myself to start today. A Wednesday. Toward the end of the month. That just seems odd to me, but that's a whole other story and post! Let's just say I count the spaces between hangers when I hang clothes to dry on my wire shelf in the utility room. Believe me - I KNOW!

Of course I will continue to pray as I did before over the next few days until I start this challenge, I just won't be starting the prayers in the book yet.