And pray in the Spirit on all occasions
with all kinds of prayers and requests.
With this in mind, be alert and always
keep on praying for all the saints.
Ephesians 6:18 (NIV)
In a recent blog post, I mentioned I prayed for a friend whenever her name came to mind. One of my followers left a beautiful comment, something about how this was a wonderful way to pray for people.
I emailed her, thanking her for the kind words. The next day, I had an appointment with our pastor to try to confirm where we were in the process of getting the preliminary work done for the Easter Drama. At the end of our meeting, we prayed-he, for the drama and the cast and the crew. When he finished, I prayed for his wife, who had lost her mother two days before, and daughter and his wife’s father and sisters, When we finished he told me I had prayed as someone who had been through the grief process, as well as one who spent time in prayer. I have never been so complimented in my life.
I related the story of praying for a friend who had an issue major, so that she couldn’t talk about it, in her family. I then told him about the comment I received. I further shared something that happened to me while we were recently on a trip to see our son.
We drove six hundred miles across Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri, and into Kansas. The terrain across Illinois and Missouri is rather flat. The interstate goes by very few towns, causing the trip to seem long and hard. When we did go by a small town, I’d see a church. I felt led to pray for God to draw that congregation closer to Him and for the Holy Spirit to give that pastor or those pastors the words the people need to hear.
Why do we pray?
1. To converse with God
2. To seek His guidance
3. To discover His Will for our lives
4. To be in His Will
5. To obey His leading
I like to pray for a group of people largely forgotten and would ask others to do so as well: our enemies (either personal or national). I am currently working in the land of enemies for a few more days, then will be home. They need our prayers, too, and we are, indeed, told to pray for them.
ReplyDeleteHi Quiet Spirit -
ReplyDeleteI pray throughout the day as the Lord brings a need to mind. If I pass an accident scene, I pray for those involved.
Blessings,
Susan :)
Oh, I love these ideas! Praying for churches you pass on the highway--why didn't I think of that one, since I'm a PW?
ReplyDeleteWe pray for people in accidents when we see or hear an ambulence.
We also pray about the weather. People tell us "there is nothing we can do about the weather," but I disagree. Would God tell us to "ask, and you shall recieve, unless it involves weather"?
These little prompts to pray are what I call "cues" from the Lord.
Thanks for sharing, and for caring enough to pray. That is the ultimate sign of love.
Jen
I try to remember to pray for those who come to mind. It's a good way to keep our minds off ourselves and make a heavenly difference.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Karen
Elizbeth: No group of people on God's earth should be forgotten.
ReplyDeleteSusan R.: We live on the main route to a hospital. In the other direction on another street used to be a fire house. I've prayed for those amublances and those fire runs.
Jeanette: I have prayed about the storms that come from the west and have heard Hubby say later that they broke up just at our county line. Who says we can't do anything about the weather.
Karen: Sometimes when we pray for others, our problems seem very small.