Today marks the first day of Lent, Ash Wednesday. You may have eaten pancakes for dinner last night. You may have declared yourself off Facebook for the season (several Facebook friends bid us all adieu in posts yesterday evening).

In last week’s post, I mentioned that instead of giving up something for Lent this year, I’d be adding something in: prayer. Specifically, I would like to lift up your prayer requests each day.

Some of you have already sent requests to me, and I lifted those up in holy, quiet moments earlier today.

My prayer journal

My prayer journal isn’t as full as it should be, not because I don’t pray every day but because I don’t write down my prayers every day. For the next 47 days—yes, even Sundays including Easter—I’ll write down prayer requests, pray over the ones I’ve already written, and fill in God’s answers to at least some of those prayers.

There’s a Christmas connection to my Lenten prayers as well. I save all the Christmas cards and letters my husband and I receive each year, punch a hole in them, and save them together on a metal ring. I haven’t quite gotten to the metal ring part yet, and so each day, I plan to pray for three or four friends whose Christmas cards will go on a ring. By Easter, I will have prayed for each of our dear friends and their families. (Shout out to my friend Jennifer for the Christmas card on a ring idea and my friend Shannon for the idea to pray through the Christmas cards.)

No card? No worries. I’d love to pray for you from now until Easter—and beyond if needed.

If you prefer to contact me with a private request, fill out the information right below here, and send it my way. I’ll receive your request as an email and will not share it with anyone else.

Your prayer may not be as personal, or you may want as many people praying as possible. I have some amazing prayer warriors who follow this blog, and so feel free to put your request in the “Leave a reply” section below if you’d prefer for all of us to lift you up in prayer.

Throughout the season of Lent, please feel welcome to drop by this page again and again to add new requests, to offer news of God’s answers, or to pray along with me for those who ask for prayers.

I look forward to journeying—and praying—through Lent with you. May the season be a blessing to you.