Do you pray that prayer: “Lord please be with so and so, who is … or be with that one who is…”  I visited a church recently where this is how they prayed for members of their congregation that were ill; had lost a loved one or were absent from the meeting.

I was first touched that they were praying for them and then struck at how irrelevant this prayer was since the Lord is always present with us and particularly with those who are believers, His sons and daughters.

“…for He

[God]Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]”  Heb 13:5b (AMP)

Some of his last words to His disciples and all believers contain this promise and are recorded in what we know as the Great Commission in Matt 28:18-21: “…And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Praying: “Lord be with someone,” is more like an effort to get rid of the responsibility to pray, without actually praying anything.

It is not our quickly rattled off prayers that make God respond, it is our faith.

Praying has an internal heart condition that is turned towards the Lord, we are conscious of being in the Lord’s presence and we speak to Him like a child would, to a Father.

Prayer is a process of asking and receiving.  Why ask for something that is already given?

Now praying for them to become conscious of the presence of God in their lives, makes more sense.  A prayer like Paul prayed in Col 1:9-14 would be more appropriate:

“For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,  being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience,  and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.  For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

Can I challenge you today, to never pray “Lord be with them…” prayers again.  But to take the responsibility of praying for God’s people seriously as we are instructed to do:

Womanpraybible“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.” Eph 6:18

Pray responsibly.  Recently I was sitting with a group of women who came to a time of prayer.  With heads bowed, we sat in long silence. Too self-conscious about their prayers, these girls remained silent and waited for someone else to pray.   If we are truly taking responsibility to pray, we cannot sit in silence when there is opportunity to pray.

We are to  look for opportunities to pray.

  • Pray for people in such a way that their “faith-eyes” turn from their circumstances back onto Jesus, the “author and perfector of our faith.” (Heb 12:2)  Pray prayers of faith, that believe God is Sovereign and Able.  Most times, people do believe and trust the Lord, they have just taken their eyes off Him.  Praying for them, refocuses their faith.
  • Pray over the phone, pray in the street.  Pray in parking lots.  Anywhere is an opportunity to pray, especially when you are confronted by a need.  Get used to saying: “Let’s pray.” Or “Can I pray for you.” Don’t say: “I will pray for you.” Pray straight away, with them, and then continue praying.
  • When people send you a message to pray for them, stop what you are doing and start to pray, let them know you are praying.
  • I have been working hard at this and the hardest part is to get over your fear of being looked at or people thinking you are weird.  My fear is based on me and not the person who needs prayer.  I also have to get over my own assessment of the quality of my prayer, this is more often based on what I want people to think of me.

I have not yet had anyone refuse my request to pray for them, but taking them with me into the presence of the Lord to speak to Him as His children, rebirths faith and sparks hope in the person with me.  Almost every time, the person experiences a touch from the Lord and is encouraged in their spirit and it has nothing to do with me.  I merely take them with me into the presence of the Lord.

Can you do that for someone? Take them with you into His presence so that they can experience Him?

Father, help me never to forget to pray or shirk my responsibility to pray.  Let me be a person that is always willing to pray.  Help me to be so consistent in praying for people, that You send people to me to pray for them, because You know I will do it.  Help me not to be self-conscious, but focus on You and bringing that person to You to do the work in their hearts.  Thank you Father, that we do not face life alone, but you bring others around us to pray.

If you enjoyed this post, also read:

We Got to Pray

The Amen of Faith and Zeal

God Answers Prayer

Be Anxious For Nothing