I have to admit my prayer life struggles at times. I have a lot of things I mean to pray for, people with needs, family situations, the government, friends, this list is actually quite extensive. And that is my problem. Until recently I struggled with remembering everything I wanted to pray about when I pray. This is where my new iPhone 4S, Siri, and Reminders have changed everything. I have my phone set up now where I can simply tell Siri “Add John Smith’s surgery to my Prayer list.” Siri knows I have a list in my Reminders called Prayer and adds the item to that list. Throughout the day I simply tell Siri what I want added to my Prayer list and then when it is time for me to pray, I can bring up my Prayer list and I have a list of all the things I wanted to pray for right in front of me.
You can even set the phone to remind you to say a prayer at a certain time. As an example, a member is going in to surgery at 10 a.m. and you would like to say a prayer before they go in. You can have the phone remind you of that prayer at 9:45. I find this particularly useful.
The Set-Up
One feature of Reminders in that you can create different Lists. In the Reminders app, touch the small icon in the upper left (the one with three short bars on it). This takes you to the Lists area where you will see all the different Reminder lists you currently have. Touch the Edit icon (upper right) and you can edit the list and you should see “Create New List…” at the bottom. While you are there, create a new List and call it Prayer. (Note: I have found it best to use one word when naming lists. Don’t Call it My Prayers, or Michael’s Prayers, that will confuse Siri later.) Once the Prayer list is created, press Done and then Done again you are ready to go.
Tell Siri to add an item to your Prayer List
Now, start Siri and say “Add Mary Smith’s surgery to my Prayer list.” The keyword here is “ADD” and “to my Prayer list.” everything you say between these phrases is what Siri will put on the list. Siri will ask you to confirm the item and add it to your Prayer list. When it is time to pray, go to the Reminders app, scroll to your Prayer list and you will see a list of everything that you have added. After you pray, you can click the checkbox next to the item to remove it from the list or leave it for the next to you pray as well.
If you want to be reminded to say a prayer at a specific time. Add the item to your Prayer list, then go into the Reminder app and edit the item by touching it. Select Remind Me, set On a Day to on, select a day and time and the phone will remind you on that day at that time.
Also note that these Reminder lists will appear in the Reminders app on your iPad too if you have one. Siri is not available on the iPad, but you can see your lists and update them by typing if you want to.
That’s it. Now you can use Siri to help you write down and organize things you want to pray about. This has been a big help to me and I hope it is for you too.
#1 by Gipson Baucum on November 15, 2011 - 9:34 am
very interesting….do you think Siri will be available on the next generation iPad?
#2 by Daniel Dalp on November 15, 2011 - 11:37 am
Very neat feature! That would be incredibly useful to me for sure. Is there any option to sync your prayer lists with those created by others on the iPhone? Thanks for the neat tip Michael, now I might have a reason to try and upgrade to the 4s!
#3 by jmichaelhite on November 18, 2011 - 11:47 am
I do think Siri will make its way into future iPads. Right now it is a flagship feature of the iPhone, but I think they will expand it to the iPad with the next generation.
#4 by jmichaelhite on November 18, 2011 - 11:53 am
I don’t know of anyway to sync your lists with those created by others. Reminder lists are personal reminders for the user. Although that would be a neat feature in a small group or ministry setting.