Have you ever walked past a penny on the ground and not thought twice about it? Maybe you’ve heard the old rhyme:
Find a penny, pick it up, then all day you’ll have good luck.
For many, a penny isn’t worth bending down to pick up. It’s small, forgotten, discarded—tossed aside without a second thought. But what if I told you that every penny—or any coin—you find could be a small invitation to connect with God?
Years ago, God gave me a simple but powerful way to turn these tiny moments into conversation with Him. It started as a small habit, and before I knew it, it became one of my favorite ways to weave prayer into my everyday life.
I actually mentioned this briefly in my conversation with Cara Blondo in Episode 30 when we talked about creative ways to nurture a devotional life. After that, I knew I wanted to dedicate a full episode to it—because Penny Jar Prayers are such a fun and meaningful way to stay connected with God throughout the day.
How Penny Jar Prayers Started
A few years ago, I decided that every time I found a penny on the ground, it would be a spark—a gentle nudge to pray. Instead of luck, I saw it as an invitation. A whisper from God.
So, I made a habit: whenever I found a coin, I looked up and prayed for the first person I saw—whether I knew them or not.
Later, I added another layer. I started checking the year on the coin. If it had my birth year, I considered it a love note from God—His way of saying, I see you. I’m thinking of you. I love you. If it had Brandon’s or Dakota’s birth year, I’d pause and say a prayer for them. If it was another year, I’d think about something or someone significant from that time and pray accordingly.
Over time, this little practice turned into something more. I started keeping the coins in a jar—a tangible reminder of moments spent in prayer. And now, years later, that jar is more than just a collection of coins. It’s a collection of prayers. A testimony that nothing is wasted—not even the smallest, most forgotten things.
What Are Penny Jar Prayers?
It’s simple:
- When you find a coin, do one of two things:
- Look up and pray for the first person you see.
- Look at the year and thank God for something significant from that time.
- Add the coin to a jar—a visual representation of all the moments you’ve spent in prayer. Over time, this jar becomes an Ebenezer, a reminder of God’s presence woven into the ordinary moments of your life.
- When your jar is full, don’t stop there.
Ask God who you can sow these prayers into. Maybe it’s a single mom in need of extra help, a ministry, a young person chasing their dreams. Let your jar of prayers become an offering—a tangible way to bless someone else.
Why This Creative Prayer Practice is Meaningful
It Makes Prayer a Habit
Sometimes we struggle to remember to pray throughout the day. But Penny Jar Prayers turn prayer into second nature. You find a coin, you pray—it’s that simple.
It Adds a Sense of Fun & Wonder
This practice makes prayer feel like a treasure hunt! It invites us to stay open, expectant, and curious—watching for the little ways God might be speaking to us.
It Creates a Tangible Reminder of Spiritual Growth
As the jar fills, it becomes a testimony. A physical reminder of the prayers you’ve whispered, the gratitude you’ve expressed, and the ways you’ve turned your heart toward God.
It Teaches Us to Give What We’ve Gathered When your jar is full, it doesn’t have to sit on a shelf—it can keep doing God’s work. Those pennies, nickels, or quarters, collected in moments of prayer, can now become a gift, an answer to someone else’s need. Prayer doesn’t just stay in our hearts; it moves outward, into action, into love.
Nothing is wasted in God’s hands. Not a prayer. Not a moment. Not even a discarded penny.
Try This: Penny Jar Prayers Challenge
This week, I invite you to start your own Penny Jar Prayers practice:
- Look for coins.
When you find one, pause and pray. Either look up and pray for the first person you see or look at the year and thank God for something from that time. - Find a jar to collect them.
It doesn’t have to be anything special—just a simple place to hold these little moments of prayer. Or, if you’d like, take a few minutes to decorate your jar, making it a beautiful, intentional reminder of what it represents. Let the process itself become a conversation with God. And every time you see it, let it nudge you to gratitude—to pause and thank Him for the prayers He has already answered and those still unfolding in His perfect time. - At the end of the week, take a moment to reflect.
How has this simple practice drawn you into prayer in unexpected ways? - And when your jar is full, ask God where to sow the prayers you’ve gathered.
Give the coins to someone who needs them. Let them be a blessing beyond yourself.
Anything Can Be a Simple Spark
I first introduced Penny Jar Prayers in my 10-Day Do Something Challenge in Episode 10 as something I call Simple Sparks—small, everyday things that nudge us to pray. Anything can serve as a gentle invitation to turn your heart toward God. If you’d like more ideas like this, go check out that episode. I’ll drop a link in the show notes.
God is never wasteful. He is endlessly creative in the ways He speaks to us, catches our attention, and invites us into relationship. And sometimes, that invitation might just look like a penny on the sidewalk.
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