Learning how to make a prayer binder can actually be quite fun. In this article, I will show you exactly how to do it. Plus, I will give you a tour of what my prayer binder looks like by describing all of my tabs, and believe me, there are A LOT!
So, let’s embrace the journey of making a prayer binder and discover new ways that we can speak to our Father in Heaven. Perhaps you will grow closer to Him through this experience or gain a newfound love of praying or making prayer binders for others.
You just never know where the Lord might lead you when you dive into a project like this. It is my recommendation that you pray before getting started to ensure your heart is in the right place and that you are doing this for the right reasons. God will lead your way!
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What is a Prayer Binder?
A prayer binder is a binder or notebook used for praying. You can add tabs to have categories for your prayer topics. It might be prudent to incorporate thanksgiving or gratitude, confession, prayer requests, and praise as topics. However you make it, be sure that it’s useful to you.
Recommended: What is a Prayer Binder?
Why Use a Prayer Binder?
For people who like organization, like me, it can be very helpful to have a structured system when praying. If you are more spontaneous or creative, you might enjoy praying without any tools. A prayer binder can be useful to keep you on track when praying.
Recommended: How to Pray for Beginners
How to Make a Prayer Binder (Easy Tutorial)
Making your first prayer binder can be as simple or complex as you wish it to be. Follow these easy steps to make your very own prayer binder. You can also use a notebook with tabs or dividers in the same fashion as a prayer binder. Just adjust these setup steps.
Pray without ceasing. – 1 Thessalonians 5:17
#1. Purchase the supplies you need.
If you plan to use your prayer binder each day during your quiet time with God, be sure to purchase a sturdy, durable binder. I have found that many of the more affordable binders fall apart quickly if used on a daily basis. They can also be difficult to close properly.
Here is the binder I use and recommend: Office Depot Heavy-Duty Binder
You can make homemade dividers or tabs for your prayer binder with pieces of paper, unused Bible tabs, or post-it notes. The following products are the ones of my choice. They are what I prefer to use due to the quality and durability.
Here are some dividers I would recommend: Avery Binder Dividers
Here are the Bible tabs I like best: Floral Bible Tabs
These are my favorite sticky notes: Post-It Notes.
To create the guts of your prayer binder, you can always use notebook paper. However, when you make your prayer binder, you might wish to use pretty prayer journals or already-made inserts to place inside each divider or tabbed section.
Many prayer journals and printables you might consider can be found FREE in Our Shop. Grab your FREE Prayer Journal Planner for some beautiful printables.
#2. Decide on the tabs or dividers you will use.
You can make a prayer binder without tabs if you wish or incorporate topical tabs on subjects that you typically pray about. Personally, I adapted the prayer ideas from the book The Hour That Changed the World by Dick Eastman. The main topics give a good deal of variety.
These are the 12 topics listed in the book:
- Praise and Worship
- Waiting on the Lord
- Confession
- Scripture
- Watching
- Intercession
- Petition
- Thanksgiving or Gratitude
- Singing or Music
- Meditation
- Listening
- Praise
Additionally, the book encourages you to pray for each one for approximately 5 minutes. With this system in place, it is very easy to spend one hour in prayer each day. There is no greater joy than having an hour with the Lord each day. It provides much-needed refreshment. Try it!
Recommended: 5 Radical Habits for Spiritual Growth
#3. Decorate or put together your prayer binder.
This step does not need much of an explanation, but it’s important to not just print pretty printables. You want to put it all together so that you will have something that you can use. Remember also that just because you find something for free doesn’t mean you need it.
Call to Me, and I will answer you and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. – Jeremiah 33:3
#4. Use the prayer binder during your quiet time with God.
Probably the most important step in making a prayer binder is to use it. When you pray each day, use your prayer binder to keep you on track, to keep you accountable, and to invite creativity and maybe even a little structure to your prayer time.
Recommended: How to Track Your Prayers (5 Clever Ways)
Prayer Binder Resources
The following prayer binder resources will help you on your journey to make a dynamite prayer binder. Remember to only download and print what you think you will use. It might take some trial and error to see what works for you and what you really won’t use as you pray.
Daily Prayer Journal with Prompts
Prayer Journal Planner (10 Pages)
How I Made My Prayer Binder
As a recovering addict with an obsessive personality, I tend to go overboard when I get “into” things. Making my prayer binder was no exception. I have three rows of tabs that each represent a part of my prayer time when I use my prayer binder.
Related: How I Pray for My Husband
My Supplies
You might be able to find supplies at a thrift shop or an online marketplace. I prefer buying from Amazon because I can usually return items if they do not work for the purposes I had hoped for. I think quality trumps quantity when it comes to something I use daily.
The binder and dividers I prefer are recommended above.
Here is the pencil pouch I would recommend using, as I could not find the exact one I have. I add prayer cards and accessories to it: Mr. Pen Pencil Pouch for a 3-Ring Binder.
The flags that I use are the Post-It brand. They are helpful as I try to keep my place on each page: Post-It Flag Combo Set.
If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. – John 15:7
My Prayer Binder Tabs
As mentioned, you can make your own tabs using old Bible tabs or purchase dividers, as I did for my prayer binder. I used quite a few, as you can see from the list below. Only buy what you will use and only use those that will connect you with God. Make it personally your own!
My Cover
I’ve used a variety of covers for my prayer binder in the past. There are many websites that offer free art that you can use as your cover, create your own artistic cover using your creative talents, or grab one like mine in the FREE Prayer Journal Planner in the Shop.
Opening Prayer
My opening prayer encourages me to center my heart and focus on God. It helps me to block out the distractions of the world and focus on what is truly important – my relationship with God. My opening prayer reminds me of the importance of what I am about to do – connect with Him!
Recommended: Build Your Relationship with God
Tab #1 – Praise
The Praise Page from My Prayer Binder is beautiful with flowers and lined paper, giving me a chance to use it like a journal. I typically write the date on the left. Then, next to the date, I usually write out a sentence or two about how I praise God.
If you are unsure what to say here, consider using the FREE Attributes of God printable. Each day, talk to God about one of His wonderful attributes. If you have difficulty with words, there is a Scripture reference for each quality that you can look up in the Bible. I would do one per day.
Recommended: How to Praise the Lord
Tab #2 – The Holy Spirit
Waiting on the Lord or the Holy Spirit tab is one of my favorites. Using the “I Feel Your Presence” page of the My Prayer Binder, you get beautifully lined pages once again. With these pages, I follow the same system as I did with the Praise tab, adding the date and text.
How is God speaking to you? What do you hear from the Holy Spirit? If you do not feel a prompting or nudge at this time, you could always just repeat a phrase that connects you to God, such as, “I love you, Lord,” or “I long to feel Your presence, my Lord!”
Write down whatever the Lord nudges or reveals to you. It could be as simple as “I feel You healing my broken heart,” “I am experiencing Your gentle nudge to make this decision,” or “Thank You for never leaving my side, guiding my every step, and helping me along the way.”
Related: How to Listen to God
Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will hear you. – Jeremiah 29:12
Tab #3 – Confession
Confession time can be very personal. It’s a time for you to reflect on the past day (or more) and discuss with your Creator where you sinned. Whether it is gossiping about an unpleasant relative, having a negative attitude about something minor, or being prideful, talk to Him.
If you have a habitual sin, I highly recommend Christian recovery. Celebrate Recovery is a 12-step, Christian-based recovery program for ANYONE with a hurt, bad habit, or hangup. Consider it a gift or calling to change your ways and follow God.
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. – James 5:16
Related: How to Avoid Gossip
Tab #4 – Scripture
Praying the Scriptures can be quite fun. We even have an entire FREE eBook (in the article) full of topics and verses in the Bible that you can look up and pray. The tutorial in the Praying the Scriptures article should help as well. Use a Bible reading plan under this tab to change it up.
Tab #5 – Warfare
This is the time to be spiritually focused on anything that the enemy is doing to hinder your walk with God. As you pray about what troubles you, it might be helpful to write down what arrows the enemy is throwing at you (sickness, busyness, etc.). Write a sentence to record this.
Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit, indeed, is willing, but the flesh is weak. – Matthew 26:41
Tab #6 – Prayer Requests
A prayer requests tab is helpful because it gives you a chance to list everyone who has specifically asked you to pray for them. If you know of someone who is struggling in some way, you do not always have to tell them you are praying for them but do add them to your list.
Learn: How to Pray (for Beginners – Like YOU)
Tab #7 – My Husband
There are many ways I pray for my husband. One of them is to use the printable Daily Prayers for My Husband. I run down the list and pray for one of the phrases or words for my husband each day. For example, if the day’s word is work, I’ll pray about his career challenges.
Related: How I Show Love to My Husband
Weekly Tabs – Monday Through Friday
You can set up your tabs in whatever order works best for you. If you do not have a family, you might wish to pray for your church family or neighbors. The following example is just how I have my prayer binder set up. Be sure to make yours individualized so that it will work for you.
Monday
Mondays, I generally pray for groups I am in. Usually, in small groups, there are many prayer requests. I use a Prayer Tracker to list each concern and person’s name (if I have it) along with the answers or results that came from the prayers. I added pictures from groups to the divider.
Related: How to Track Your Prayers
Tuesday
Tuesday is my day to pray for my family. Of course, each person will have different concerns that affect their family, but I just made a list of family prayer concerns, and I use that list to pray for a different family member each day. I have a small family, but you could pray for more than one.
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. – Romans 12:12
Wednesday
On Wednesdays, I pray for our country and the needs of the people who live here. I printed a copy of a picture of the White House in Washington D.C. to add to my divider. Here, I pray for the President and the decisions he must make for our country along with other concerns.
I also pray for the world, in general. This could mean I pray for world hunger, disease, widows, orphans, the sick, the persecuted, or missionaries in the world. It all varies on what I have marked for that particular Wednesday to pray for.
But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. – Matthew 6:6
Thursday
Thursdays, I pray for friends. I created a long list of friends or fellow Christians who I wish to pray for or who need prayers. Then, I use a list of prayer concerns and pray for those that the Holy Spirit nudges me to pray for that day. I will often reach out to that person during the day.
Related: How to Be a Good Christian Friend
Friday
Friday is reserved for special requests. This is when I go to battle with the enemy for a friend or associate. I also use a Prayer Tracker for this tab. If someone is going through a difficult time and not trusting the Lord as they should, I spend additional time praying for them.
Related: How to Trust God in Difficult Times
Saturday
On Saturday, I pray for the unsaved. Typically, I focus on the people in my life – my friends and family members – who have not accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Some “claim” to be believers but bear no fruit. I do not want to judge them, but I am concerned for their future.
Sunday
Sundays, I pray for our church, the local congregation that we go to – Crossings Community
Church. I will pray about the success of the sermons in reaching the lost, a revival in the community, or that the church leaders are obedient and above reproach.
Related: How to Go to Church
Tab #15 – My Prayers
For my prayers or for the petition tab, I go through a list of things to pray for myself. Wherever that day falls on the list, I just pray about that concern. Maybe I have trouble staying strong despite trials, and the word is strength. I will focus on praying for strength and dedication.
Tab #16 – Gratitude
Make a Gratitude List to show our Creator how thankful you are that each and every day you are given many opportunities – things that people in other countries could only dream of. Consider how fortunate you are for the many blessings and say, “Thank You, Lord.”
Related: Creative Gratitude List Ideas
Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. – Colossians 4:2
Tab #17 – Singing
When I get to the Singing tab, I turn up my praise and worship music and listen to music until I hear God speaking to me. I then make a list of the song and the artist that moved me to take action. Often, I write out the words of the songs that especially touch my heart.
Tab #18 – Meditation
For the meditation tab, I generally will find a short and easy Bible reading plan that lasts for one month and place it in the binder here. This gives me a chance to look up that Scripture each day and determine how the verse can impact my life today.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. – Philippians 4:6
Tab #19 – Listening to God
When I have questions for God, the listening tab is a perfect place to ask them. Generally, I only list a line or two of questions and pray about them. Sometimes, I will dive deep in the Bible and do a bit of research to determine if the Lord is speaking to me that way. Listen carefully here!
Tab #20 – Pour Out Your Heart
When I Pour Out My Heart, I often use already-made prayer journals, so I have prompts to know what to talk to God about. The Daily Prayer Journal has many different prayer prompts.
The Prayer Journal Planner also has many pages of a Prayer Journal with helpful prompts.
Tab #21 – Application
Often, when I’m praying, I feel prompted by the Holy Spirit to do something. For example, a certain friend or family member might come to mind, and I’ll think, “I need to check on them after their surgery to see how it went.” Rather than getting distracted, I make a to-do list here.
Closing Prayer
My closing prayer allows me to once again tell the Lord how grateful I am for the blessings He has given us. I also ask for peace, patience, and wisdom for the day. If you have specific fruit or traits that you are working on improving, list them here and ask God for help.
Conclusion
You now have the complete instructions on how to make a prayer binder. Plus, I’ve given you a total tour of my prayer binder, along with plenty of links to printables that will get you started. How will you create your prayer binder? Will it be a big binder like mine or more practical?
We’d love to hear your thoughts and comments. Be sure to look us up on Instagram or Facebook and share pictures of your prayer binder. We’d love to have you in our Sharing Life and Love Sisters Facebook group, ladies. You can join our parties, prizes, fun, and more!
Therefore, I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. – Mark 11:24
