It wasn’t until this time last year that I realized the weight that the words, “I’ll pray for you”, had for a person who was on their knees in desperate agony crying out and begging for prayer. This is the week last year that my reality truly set in as my husband and I spent an entire seven nights in the hospital as he prepared to be listed for a heart transplant. My need for prayer grew to be so desperate that became very sensitive when I heard the words, “I’ll pray for you.” I wanted prayer for John so desperately that I was willing to pay for them (see my blog post Pay for Pray), but I didn’t have time for empty words. I rather not hear the words at all then to hear them and have no prayers lifted up to God – the only one who could heal him. I did not need flippant encouragement. I needed a miracle.
Throughout our journey I reflected often on how I respond to the needs for prayer that surround me. My reflection was very convicting. Sometimes I am the person who offers flippant encouragement without honest intercession to our Heavenly Father. With great intentionality I began to observe and seek the needs of people with whom I come into contact.
Wow, were the burdens great! As I sought the prayer needs of others my list kept growing and growing and growing! I would have to become a nun to have time to pray for all the needs that surrounded me! But the thought of not praying for these needs saddened me greatly. What if no one else was praying for them?
In an effort to lift up in prayer the needs of so many people I did two things. First, I became more aware of the Holy Spirit’s prompting of who He is calling me to prayer for. I read, “If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans” Romans 8:26 (The Message). I tried to not allow my perfectionistic tendencies trap me into making prayer legalistic – like if I don’t pray for this list of people something bad is going to happen – as if I am in control.
The other thing I did is more practical. I decided to make a prayer calendar. I assigned people and needs certain days of the week. Some prayers are ongoing and never ending. Some are more than one day a week. Some are just for a season, but each day I have a list of people that need prayer. I wanted this list to be with me at all times so that I can quickly refer to it wherever I am, so I decided to put the list on the calendar in my IPhone. I programed the list to display all day instead of certain times during the day so that I could see them all at once.
For me this has been so helpful! I feel like I am honoring God with prayers like I wanted in my great time of need without the burden of who or when or how long or how often. I know now that each person has their special day or days, and on those days my prayers will be specific and thoughtful.
