A prayer list can be a faith builder—or a guilt trap. Keep it living, not static. Start by organizing requests into categories: family, church, work, mission, and urgent needs. Limit daily focus to a few items (three–five), and rotate others through the week. Add context to each name: one sentence about the situation and a verse to pray. Note the date you began and leave space for updates and answers. When a request is fulfilled, mark it boldly—seeing God’s faithfulness fuels more prayer than any checklist. Review monthly. Archive items that have concluded. If a request remains unchanged, ask if you should adjust how you pray: broader, deeper, or with new partners. Invite the Spirit to refresh language—move from “fix this” to “form Christ in us.” Use variety: pray aloud, write a brief prayer, send a text prayer to the person, or pray during a walk. Keep the tone hopeful and specific. Your list serves you; you don’t serve the list. Let it guide attention, not measure spirituality.