Have you noticed that there are more and more “special” days on the calendar? Sure, we are used to traditional days such as Independence Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Memorial Day, Christmas, Easter, New Year’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Halloween, Labor Day, Veterans Day, and Martin Luther King’s Birthday. More recently, Grandparents Day, Earth Day, Discoverers Day, Constitution Day, Mole Day, National Eat More Fruits and Vegetables Day, and others have been added to the list. By making a day out of the ordinary, we can enjoy a change of pace, find a creative response to the subject of the day, or focus on particular reasons to celebrate or remember.
How about if, in our personal prayer lives, we choose a special memory or a present-day life situation, and give our prayer that day a particular theme or focus? We could have “favorite childhood memory day” and pray prayers of gratitude to our loving God. We might thank God for our ability to remember, for special details in that memory, for a lesson treasured from the memory. We could pray for the well-being of someone in that memory.
Perhaps another special occasion could be “problems-solved day.” We could recall in prayer the wisdom and timely help God gave us with difficulties we have overcome. We could pray for friends or family members who are going through tough times. We might reassure them of the Lord’s love.
On a “simple-gifts day” we could stop and think about the little blessings we have enjoyed and might take for granted. Once a phase of life has passed, we might just ignore the good memories of what has helped us to advance. Many big life events had small stepping-stones that gently got us to where we needed to go.
A “children’s day” could include prayers for innocent children in war-torn countries. We certainly pray for the children in our own families, but so many others are in dire situations right now. Maybe we could pray for children in the Middle East in the morning, children in Europe in midday, children in the Americas in the evening, and any other innocents at night. Prayer times don’t have to be hours long; God hears short, heartfelt prayers, too.
A special “day of peace” would be welcome. We could pray as we do some little thing we know will make our family happy and peaceful. Of course, we can pray for world peace. We can examine our own consciences and make peace with God for even some small sinful practice we habitually let ourselves do.
Often, we are very busy people, but small notecards strategically placed, or single words on our phone screens can remind us of what that special day’s topic of prayer. Children in the family might enjoy picking names for special, personal prayer days. It could be a family endeavor.
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The photograph is by Behnam Norouzi on Unsplash.
Sharon Krause is a RENEW volunteer whose writing has appeared in several resources for small-group faith sharing. She is a wife, mother, and grandmother residing in Royal Palm Beach, Florida. Over the years, she has served in many parish ministries.