How many times have you told someone,"I'll pray for you"?
And how many times have you forgotten?
I know I've forgotten to pray for specific requests often. After I promised that I would.
I've been thinking on this a lot recently. A friend of ours said that she never promises to pray for someone anymore because she will almost always forget! The best way she said is to pray for them right then and there.
Next, she tells them that she will continue to lift them up in prayer as the Holy Spirit reminds her. How freeing is that?!? I'm not talking about avoidance here, just to be clear, but rather having a pure heart that is in tune to hearing the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
I know it also helps me to have a list of prayer requests in my notebook that I can quickly jot down when they come to mind or are spoken. For this to be effective, however, you need to be sure and open your notebook or have your list nearby during your prayer time!
Whenever someone pops into my mind(especially someone I haven't seen or even thought of in a long while), I try to make a point to pray for them at that moment. I know the Holy Spirit is reminding and prompting me to pray in those times.
At one time, we used a prayer jar which really was a teapot filled with slips of paper with friends and family members names. Each morning we would pull a name out of the jar and pray for that person/family. We loved this but somehow that ritual got thrown by the wayside and we don't do it anymore. I realize that I do want to bring that back. I'll have to talk to my husband about that today!
I have a lot of room to grow in the area of intercessory prayer. It is so important but something that we or at least I tend to rush through!
"Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way." 1 Samuel 12:23
"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
"...The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." James 5:16
"I thank my God every time I remember you." Philippians 1:3
Please share your thoughts on prayer!
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2 comments:
I have always had difficulty maintaining a consistent prayer life. I guess part of it comes from my hard headed mentality that I must conjure up faith in order to force God's hand to move. It's very difficult for me to calm myself and put my eyes on God, realizing that prayer is not suppose to be me trying to move God's hand with my faith, but rather resting in His faithfulness.
I don't know if I sent it to you, but I e-mailed some people from our group with some words from Bishop Malcolm Smith about this. If you didn't get it, I wouldn't mind e-mailing it to you guys.
Hi Mary Ann!
Prayer requests are something I struggle with - I make a great effort at only saying I will pray for someone if I will!
I pray for them right when the prompting comes or when they come to mind and I often tell others I will pray for them when God brings them to mind since that is what I know I will do.
The thing that has been most successful for me overall is having a prayer journal where I write my prayers to God. I go through seasons of consistency on this - but throughout the years, it has been a blessing to do this.
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