Each morning, very early, during the past couple of years, the Lord has encouraged me to pray alphabetically, particularly for others.

This process has brought great focus to my prayers and revolutionized both the quality and quantity of my prayer time. It has expanded my spiritual life and increased the range of my prayers.

Choosing who to pray for and what to pray for has become wonderfully clarified because each new letter brings to my mind several people to lift up before the Lord.

One letter is more difficult than all the rest, though. It’s the letter “X.” Beyond praying for Xavier High School and Xenia, Ohio -  there aren’t too many options in this particular letter for me. So, that’s how my prayers have come to center on the “X” factors in my life and the lives of others. The letter “X” often represents the unknown.

Each of us is presented with challenges in our lives that can happen in an instant that we had no idea were coming our way. They might be health issues, or the death of a loved one, or circumstances at work or at home.

My prayer for you and for me is that we might have faith and trust God for each of the “X” factors in our lives even before they occur.

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

Our God is the alpha and the omega,

the beginning and the end, and 

He’s everything in between. 

He’s our all-in-all. 

“The “X” Factor Prayer” by Ed Foster,

War Cry Of The Salvation Army Magazine, January 22, 2011