Today's post is late, because sometimes, that's life. Especially when certain three-year olds decide to throw hour-long tantrums in the middle of the night. And when one is feeling the hot breath of the enemy pressing in on various areas of life. But regardless, I will not be deterred from the message I believe He has given me for this month. Today is Day 7 of 31 Days of Intentional Community. Thanks for reading along.
Sometimes community is messy and hard. But other times? It's beyond simple.
We are to pray for our community.
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. ~James 5:16
You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many. ~2 Cor. 1:11
I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. ~Phil 1: 3-5
Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you. ~2 Thess. 3:1
These verses represent a small fraction of all the times in the Bible that believers hold up the members of their community in prayer. Whoever the Lord has placed in our lives, deserves a place in our prayers (this is definitely an area where I want to grow.).
Obviously we can't pray for every person we know every day, but we can be sensitive to the Holy Spirit's leading in who we should pray for and when. Prayer is a sweet chance to engage in community-- we engage in community with the Lord while we pray and we build up our relationships by girding them with prayer.
Here are a few more ideas for organizing your prayer for others~
- Use a prayer calendar, one you create yourself or maybe one of the ones free to download from Inspired to Action for praying for children & husbands
- Pick a particular friend, family member (or even an aspect of our government or the community at large) to pray for on each day of the week
- Set alarms on your phone to remember to pray at set times of the day
- Display photos of those you want to pray for and lift them up when you see the photos
- Keep a prayer journal where you list requests and keep track of answered prayer
- When a friend asks for prayer online, by text/phone or in person, shoot up a silent prayer immediately. Don't wait until a set prayer time. There's no point in delaying!
And finally, don't be afraid to ask for prayer. Allowing yourself the opportunity to be open with a friend or small group for prayer requests is simply another way to breed authenticity in those relationships. Let them go to bat for you as you also step up to the plate for them.
Looking for something awesome and life-changing to pray over someone? Try Colossians 1:9-14. Boom.
Life is busy. How do you remember and make a priority to pray for others? Does prayer make you feel more connected to your community? (Tomorrow we'll talk about praying with the community.)