Pray about it, don’t just talk about it!

I listened as my friend detailed her troubles with her husband and her children and when she finished I told her I would be praying for her.  We hung up the phone and I sat convicted, why didn’t I just go ahead and pray for her?

Too often I find myself saying I will be praying for you when I hear about a situation that could use prayer, but I realized that most of the time I forget to actually do it.  At the time, I always think I will remember to pray for them later, but in reality, I forget before my prayer time rolls around.  What about you?  Do you remember to pray for people when you promise you will?  Do you have a good system in place to remember when you promise to pray for someone?

This summer, I went to a Christian writing conference and God spoke to me through an unexpected encounter with a fellow conference goer.  She heard my story and walked to my hotel room one afternoon to pray for me.  She was one of the first people I have met who didn’t just say I will pray for you, she actually stopped what she was doing, and sat down with me and did it!  She told me that she had learned that if you offer to pray for someone, very rarely will they turn you down.

If you say you are going to pray for someone, why not do it right then?

I developed an entirely new outlook on prayer that trip and I am determined to do more praying, and less talking about it.  I put a notebook in my purse for prayer requests and anytime that someone mentions a need, I write it down.  If I am in a place where I can, I am trying to step out of my comfort zone and lift the prayer up right then!

• James 5:16 says, “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous man has great power and produces wonderful results.”

I want to challenge you to get a prayer notebook.  Write down any and every prayer you can think of.  When you hear a need, write it down.  When someone asks you to pray for them, do it right then and there (and then write it down so you can continue to lift it up in prayer!).  Even if you never speak your prayers out loud in a group setting, take the time to sit down and pray before the Lord; lifting up every prayer that you have written before you.  You can even leave space in there to notate when a prayer is answered.  How amazing is it to see the prayers that you have prayed answered and to have them documented in front of you to continue to see how God has moved over time!

If you decide to start a prayer notebook (or if you already have a system in place for prayer) I would love to hear about it!  Feel free to message me or comment and share what you have found works for you!