How do you find ways to remember to pray? Do you start every morning in prayer and end every day in prayer? Have you set aside a specific quiet time for prayer? Is prayer a focus on Sundays when you go to church?

Or is your desire to pray greater than your actual time spent in prayer?

I’m guessing your life is like mine. You’re busy. Time is chewed up by all the “to-dos” on your list. (Maybe prayer isn’t even on your list?)

It’s not that you don’t want to pray for your spouse and loved ones. You do. But you need ways to remember to pray. Yeah. Me too.

23 Easy Ways to Remember to Pray

To help all of us, I’ve divided these 23 easy ways to remember to pray into 2 sections: Cues to Pray, and Read, Write, Color and Pray Together.

Cues to Pray

1. 1. Put a sticky note on your beside lamp. You’ll be reminded to pray when you see the note. Keep these at your bedside and decide which shape corresponds to what you want to pray for,… it’s fun to change them out and nobody needs to know except you. In fact, you could place them near the light switches around your house, on the dashboard of your car, or at your computer. Lots of ways to remember to pray!
   2. Set up daily reminders on your smart phone. Use the alarm option on your smart phone as a cue. Consider a special tone to pray for your spouse and sync the times to pray to know you’re both praying for each other at the same time. Years ago I knew families who stopped what they were doing at 10PM and prayed. If they were driving, they’d pull over and pray. Hmmm. Maybe we can renew that idea… 
   3. Use these to write a big “PRAY” on your microwave. We often waste the seconds when microwaving our food by watching it go in circles inside the microwave. Instead use those 30 seconds to pray. And if you don’t want to write the word “pray”, then just do a big, decorative “P”! Let visitors inquire what the “P” means and you can talk about your faith and all the ways to remember to pray.
   4. Pray for your spouse when you see the make/model of the vehicle they drive. If you’re on the road use the cue of other cars as your reminder to pray. Know your loved ones’ make or model of vehicle and the opportunities become a regular reminder.
   5. Colors can be a reminder to pray. What’s your spouse’s favorite color or print? When you see that color, it will be a reminder to pray for her or him. If your spouse doesn’t have a favorite color, then use the color of their eyes. You can do the same for your children. (Whenever I see lime green I think of Alex, our son. A deep royal blue is my reminder of Sarah, our daughter. And yellow triggers prayers for Alisane, our daughter-in-love.)
   6. Link social media and prayer. Each time you open the Facebook app on your phone and see the first post, pray for that person. (If you don’t want to pray for that person, then why are you “friends” on Facebook?) Or you could discipline yourself to pray for your spouse before you open Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. If you have time for social media, then you have time to pray! 😉 
   7. Use your television (or computer monitor) to remind you to pray. Use your digital photos, wifi and Chromecast to stream them to your television. Pray for each person in the photo. Our son and daughter-in-love have this set up on their television. Here’s a lnk to learn how to do it for yourself. You can configure your computer screen saver to do the same for many ways to remember to pray.
   8. A shower of prayer. Use your time in the shower to pray. Write prayer prompts on these note pads for the shower or write on your shower walls with these to remind yourself. Moms and Dads of small children have very few moments of “alone time”. We see our daughter-in-love and son grasping at finding the energy and time to do anything other than the essentials. (I understand because after grandparenting for the day, I go to bed early!) However, we all still shower. And a few moments alone can be the perfect time to pray.
   9. Pray as your loved ones leave. Rob and I try to pray together before we leave our little house-on-wheels. (We’re not always successful.) But I ask God silently to be with him in his day as I hear the truck start. I silently pray for my adult children and the grandboy as I leave their house. Even if your spouse leaves your home before you’re awake, as soon as you wake up you can pray for him or her. 
   10. Pour your coffee and pray. It only takes a few moments to make your coffee (or wait as the barista makes your coffee 😉  )  You can use those seconds before you take your first sip of that exilar of energy to pray.
   11. Let what you hear be your cue. A specific song could be your cue to pray for your loved ones. The sound of a train whistle, helicopters or planes could be a cue to pray. We hear many sounds during a day, and we could make use of those noises. When I hear the bubbling of a boiling tea kettle I think of my parents-in-law and pray for them. (They love their afternoon tea.) Are there specific television theme songs that remind you of your loved ones? 
   12. Sing and pray. Use your Praise and Worship CDs/MP3s to tune your heart to pray. Or use an old-fashioned hymnal. The words in our traditional Christian hymns are deep and comforting. Many of them are taken directly from scripture. I have memories of my grandmother sitting with her hymnal, reading the words of the hymns. Keep a hymnal near a comfortable chair, and when your eyes fall on it, sit down and pray a while, using the hymns as your starting point.
   13. Active prayer. Do you run or swim laps? Discipline yourself to use that time to pray. Even a simple evening walk around the block with your spouse can include a time of prayer.
   14. When you wash your hands look at your wedding ring and pray for your spouse. Instead of singing “Happy Birthday” 3 times, use the time to pray for your husband or wife. Those wedding bands are a promise and a symbol of your vows. Bring honor to your role as husband and wife by praying for each other.
   15. Let your hand provide a cue. We take our hands everywhere we go… “Your fingers can be used to bring to mind different things to pray for. Your thumb is the strongest digit on your hand. Give thanks for all the strong things in your life, like home and family, relationships that support and sustain you. Your index finger is the pointing finger. Pray for all those people and things in your life who guide and help you. Friends, teachers, doctors, nurses, emergency services and so on. Your middle finger this is the tallest finger. Pray for all the important people who have power in the world, like world leaders and their governments. Your ring finger this is the weakest finger on your hand. It can not do much by itself. Remember the poor, the weak, the helpless, the hungry, the sick, the ill and the bereaved. Your little finger is the smallest and the last finger on your hand. Pray for yourself.” I found this prompt here on the Church of England’s website and adapted it for this post.
   16. Make prayer an act of service for one person. (Do for one what you’d do for everyone… if you could.) Is there a widow or widower in your neighborhood that you could help? Perhaps take them for groceries, or mow their lawn. What about a single mother/father who needs some time for themselves? Could you take care of their children so they could go get a coffee? Perhaps it’s as simple as delivering Meals-on-Wheels once a week or volunteering at a soup kitchen. During that time when you’re serving, spend some time praying. You could even pray with them.

Read, Write, Color and Pray Together

Sometimes a book will remind you to pray. If your attention is on a subject, there’s a greater chance to take action. Here are 6 opportunities to surround yourself with books and apps that encourage you to pray.

Color your prayers. 

Maybe words escape you and you need a different way to pray… As a visual or kinesthetic learner, a distractable or impatient soul, or enjoying the adventure of trying new things, this book will answer your needs. Why not use color instead of words to pray?

Arrange your prayer time. 

This book has made a huge difference in how I pray. It includes a12 step prayer plan for an hour in prayer or 12 minutes….  There’s an introduction by Joni Erickson Tada and how this plan changed this physically challenged woman’s view of needing to go to bed early every evening because of her paralysis. Every time I deepen my understanding of prayer, it becomes easier to remember to pray.

The Power of a Praying…  

This book, The Power of a Praying Grandparent is just one of the series of books by Stormie Omartian about making prayer specific. I received a free copy from NetGalley, and read it right away. This book deepened what and how I prayed for our grandboy, even though we’ve been praying for him since before he was born.

I first become aware of the Omartians through their books, the Power of a Praying Wife and the Power of a Praying Husband. Robert and I recommend these books to every couple. Just by looking at the table of contents of each book, you’ll see how much you haven’t thought of…  I go back to my copy of praying for husbands regularly. It keeps prayer top of mind when I start to get lazy.

 Echo App – Ways to remember to pray

This is a free app for your iPhone specifically designed to remind you to pray and I’ve been adding in reminders to pray for specific things (things from the Praying for books above) for our grandboy, our adult children and Rob. My phone is usually with me, and the reminders are a way to keep my prayer life active.

Keep a Prayer Journal

Choose a journal and use it as a reminder to pray. Keep it with you as you go throughout your day, and you’ll remember that prayer needs to be a regular activity.

This one is a pretty journal from DaySpring Cards Inc

Use your decor as ways to remember to pray.

Your surroundings show what you value. If you value prayer, then let your environment demonstrate that focus.

We live in a little house-on-wheels, so our decor and possessions are minimal. After researching this post, I’ll be adding a pillow to my couch with a reminder to pray. (Hey- a pillow is both decorative and functional, right? 😉  )

Last, but not least… join a group and/or find a prayer partner.

One of our favorite Bible chapters is John 17 – where Jesus was praying with and for his disciples and those who would follow Him in the future – that’s us! (John 17:20)

Want to remember to pray? Don’t pray alone! Your spouse is an ideal prayer partner. If you’ve never prayed together, or haven’t prayed for a while, then just start in a simple way. Here’s a post that’ll give you ideas.

Or you could join a prayer group at a local church. Or begin one yourself. How deeply do you feel the calling to pray?

Here are two books we recommend in this area: The Prayer Saturated Church and Praying Together: The Priority and Privilege of Prayer: In Our Homes, Communities, and Churches. 

Thankful to link with Spiritual Sundays and Give me Grace

This is a long list, huh?

I started out compiling the best list I could for ways to remember to pray, but this post has gotten quite long. To help you remember all your options, here’s a free 1-page PDF to download. It should make this easier for you.
Remember to pray for your spouse.

This is a general list all pointing to prayer. However, the person you first need to pray for is your spouse.

Remember her. Remember him. First.