A couple weeks ago I wrote about praying for people in person, and jumping at the opportunity to go to God alongside of someone who is in need. Taking them by the hand, and into the throne room of Heaven to make our requests known to the One Who always wants to hear them. Today I want to talk about praying for those same prayer requests in private, all by yourself. No one around but the Lord Almighty.
No, prayer is not all requests. When I fall into the practice of only making requests and neglecting thanksgiving, praise, worship, listening, and relational conversation with my First Love things get a little weird. I become self-centered and foggy, more aware of me than God. Prayer requests are only part of prayer but its where I want to focus today.
How should we go about it? Someone gives us a prayer request. Maybe they want prayer or just to talk about something but they need help! A relationship is broken, bills need payed, the car needs fixed, or there’s an illness. They need favor with a certain company, trail is coming up, depression is heavy, or perhaps all of the above.
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2
First, I try to remember to be practical. Can I help with this physically or emotionally? If they are lonely, can I be a friend? Can I bless them with grocery money or show up to court as support in person?
Next, I have to decide how I will pray. Will I say a quick prayer right away then move on? Sometimes that is the right answer, but sometimes God will nudge me to add something to my calendar or an alarm on my phone. Maybe someone needs prayed daily for a month, or I make a list of a few people and add and delete as I try my best to hear from God on how to decide.
Do we pray once on a subject and have faith and move on? Or do we go persistently? Like many issues in the Bible, we see both as an option and a direction. We must ask for things and believe that we have received them, and we are to be persistent. Are those different or the same? It makes me laugh just to think through those things.
Sometimes I feel God moving me to kneel as I pray, and there have been a few times where He asks me to get right down on my face before Him. I also do this when I am desperate and need to leave my request right there after I get up and believe that He will answer. Sometimes I ask Him to do something, sometimes I thank Him in advance. I will often tell God what I am asking Him to do and sometimes throw up my hands and submit to His will when I don’t know what it is.
Thank you, Lord, that you will bless their marriage.
Father, will you heal her? Thank you, Lord, that you are healer and deliverer.
Get him, Jesus. Draw him near to You.
God bless their finances. Bring help from all around them.
Peace over her. The peace of God over her, in her, and around her.
God, help. Please.
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 Lord’s people. -Ephesians 6:18
I pray in tongues, I pray in English, I pray without words as I sit there sometimes and envision holding them up to God on His throne. I say their name and sit in the presence of the Ancient of Days. He knows what to do! There’s a reason I come to Him!
Don’t think for a second that I remember to pray for everyone. Don’t think that I haven’t thrown fits when God doesn’t do things the way I want Him to. I threw such a fit last week on my back deck. Arms folded and shaking my head like the petulant child I am.
I snooze my prayer alarm too often and I give up praying before I should. I pray for the wrong thing in the wrong way. I overthink and underthink and often forget just how important prayer is.
I’m so glad it doesn’t all rest on me. In fact it wasn’t even humanity that came up with prayer or this relationship, it was God. He doesn’t need ideas on how to bless people or to be convinced to be good to us. It’s much more like joining Him in His love and will toward people and situations and phrasing it like a request. He’s not surprised that there is a need, He just invites us to join Him in His work.
If we really knew what happened in the spiritual when we pray, we would do it more often. If we really wanted to lay our hands on the sick and see them recover in person we would pray for the sick more in private. If we truly wanted to see people delivered of spiritual warfare in person we would pray for deliverance in private.
We must pray for our enemies and our friends. God will bring names to mind, make no mistake. Try it right now! Ask Him who to pray for this week. It may be someone you haven’t thought about in so long or someone you didn’t know what suffering.
If you wake up tonight at 2 am and someone is on your mind, take the hint. Pray. Don’t know what to pray? Ask God. It could be a person, a city, a church, or a people group. Just join Him in blessing them and praying for them. Prayer does something, so let’s get excited to see what God does with our obedience.
But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. – Matthew 6:6
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