I've been pondering this sentence quite a bit lately, and as I write this, I realize I've thought about this for years. When I share a burden with a friend and they reply, "I'm praying for you." I often think, do they really? Are we really praying for each other, or do we simply hope things work out. My husband often says,
"We often accuse others of what we are guilty of ourselves."
Ouch.
But I do have to wonder, if I am guilty of telling someone I am praying for them, and then don't, how often do people tell me and later forget to pray. Telling someone you are going to do something, and don't is a lie, plain and simple.
Maybe it's just me, and you all are doing fine in this area. If so, great. But I know the Lord has been working in my heart lately to pray. To stop and pray for people. To be more intentional (my word of the year). Not a quick, "Dear Lord, please be with so and so, Amen." No, not anymore. I stop and put focused time on praying for my friends, even people I don't know if someone asks.
When someone shares a prayer request on facebook, I will not reply "praying for you" until I have stopped and prayed for them. Because I know, that when I shut my computer and go on with my day that I will probably forget.
This verse has been a good reminder to me:
"Moreover as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you:
but I will teach you the good and the right way:" I Samuel 12:23
More thoughts on prayer coming soon.
Do you have a prayer request that I can pray for? Please leave a comment or email, and I promise I will pray for you.
Written by Jen Bauer, missionary wife and homeschooling mum in the Northern Territory of Australia.
I also blog at www.bethouexalted.blogspot.com
Thank you for sharing this! I think this is such an important reminder. Awhile back I was convicted of the same thing. It wasn't that I didn't plan to pray for people, but I would just forget! To keep myself from not following through on my word, I pray right away, like what you said, or write a note if it is something that I say I'll pray for on an ongoing basis. And with Facebook, sometimes I just don't write "Praying!" if I know that i am likely to forget. I often do pray later on, but I think it is better to sometimes pray and have the person not know about it than to say I'm praying when I am really not. Thank you for the great reminder and encouragement!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad it was an encouragement to you. I agree, I'd rather not say "praying" and pray, than say it and forget!
DeleteThis is so good, Jen. I have been convicted about that too. I just stop what I'm doing if at all possible and pray for people when I get things like FB requests.
ReplyDeleteOne of my goals for this year is to be faithful to my prayer list, to pray for every last person on my list every day. The last few months I'd been slacking offf and only praying for the first 4-5 people on my list each day, then forgetting the rest. I keep the list where I can see it through the day now. Thanks for your words.