Post-It Prayer by Dave Flood
That we all could get along
That we sing the same sweet song
That life could only just be fair
That would be my fervent prayer

Post-it Prayers by Sylvia DeVillers
It seems I have succumbed to the stereotypical old person practice of depending on Post-it notes to help me remember any number of things. I swore I’d never do this, but here I am, making obscure notations on little scraps of paper that only I can decipher. These little notes find their way to my bathroom mirror, to the lower left corner of my computer monitor, to the credit-card section of my wallet, to the front of my phone, and to my car console. They are like long-standing friends, gently guiding me through the complexities of daily life, reminding me of promises made, errands that need to be run, goals that await accomplishment. Many of them are nothing more than alarm clocks: “Dr. Schmidt 2:00 Friday”, “Chit Chat Thursdays 7:00”, “Lunch with Peggi 11:45”, “Lector A 9:00 Sunday. If the Post-its could speak, or sound an alarm, or chime, they would be embedded in my phone. . .all set to go off at the appointed time. Actually, there is an app for that, of course, but somehow the Post-it notes are much more effective for me. Alarms come and go and can be ignored and are often long forgotten. But Post-it notes stick (pun intended) to their appointed task and continue to stare at me until I remove them. They persevere. They intrude. They work. Kind of like prayer. . .
Post-it notes are like the prayers that pop into my head many times a day, short and sweet and to the point. Some of my Post-it Prayers sound like this:
“Dear God, please help me to find my (fill in the blank).”
“Dear God, thank you SO much for (fill in the blank.)”
“Dear God, I am absolutely amazed at what you are doing here, as I stand in awe for (fill in the blank).”
“Dear God, I am really really sorry that I (fill in the blank).”
“Dear God, please give me the strength and courage to (fill in the blank).”
“Dear God, please heal/comfort/console (fill in the blank)”.
“Dear God, please forgive me for (fill in the blank).”
In many ways Post-it notes lend themselves nicely to a prayer-form that fits my scattered and disorganized life. Often I will try to sit quietly and just commune with God, thinking holy thoughts and really enjoying God’s company, without words or gestures or pictures or music or something on a screen. Those moments are precious and good. But when I’m distracted, or busy, or not feeling in top form, those Post-It Moments are precious too. And they work!